Rising operational costs, changed payer policies, decreasing reimbursement, and increased compliances adversely affect the financial health of the family practice. In addition, operational inefficiencies and waste cut even deeper into profits and income. A certain amount of each factor is inherent in any family practice. In this blog, we shared ways your family practice might be losing money and prevention tips that can help you maintain the financial health of your practice.
Efficient Family Practice Billing
Medical billing and coding are the backbones of the revenue cycle of your family practice. Following bad billing practices might create unnecessary financial losses. Bad billing is caused more often by the incompetence of your in-house staff. For example, front desk staff may fail to verify and document patient demographics and insurance details. Due to this, claims may be sent late or to the wrong payer, and patients may walk out without being billed correctly. You must familiarize yourself with proper billing practices and enforce them in your practice. Basic billing activities like confirming insurance coverage, processing new claims, and following up on past-due accounts have to be done as per quality standards. At the end of the week, review reports of the practice’s charges, collections, adjustments, and accounts receivable for unexplained changes or trends.
We shared ways to Maintain the Financial Health of Your Family Practice
Accurate Coding
The most common way to maintain the financial health of your family practice is to code accurately. Most family physicians fail to update their coding knowledge, reducing reimbursement and delaying or denying claims. Some family physicians under-code, fearing the penalties for over-coding and unbundling. Leaving coding entirely to the support staff could lead to lots of errors since they don’t know what occurred in the exam room. Medical coding guidelines and payer policies update regularly, you need ongoing continuing education. Periodically, you can have a coding audit done by an experienced consultant. Frequent coding audits will suggest more accurate diagnosis and procedure codes and check the documentation per industry standards.
Updated Fee Schedules
Many family physicians think that fee schedules no longer matter in this age of discounted medicine. Still, even in a capitated environment, you can’t calculate a fee-for-service equivalent to evaluate a plan’s PMPM reimbursement without an accurate, up-to-date fee schedule. Some practices base their fees on a whim or Medicare reimbursement. Others base their fees on the survey results of what nearby physicians charge, which tends to result in localized, informal fee freezes since the same groups keep comparing fees with each other year after year. Fee schedules not based on the resource-based relative value scale (RBRVS) often result in fees that are set too high or too low. And just one underpriced service could cost your practice thousands of dollars annually. Update your fees annually on your own or with the help of a consultant.
Avoid Excessive Overtime
Wrong resource planning and providing excessive overtime can cost family practices thousands of dollars per year. Overtime is a fact of life for most family practices, it can and should be tightly controlled. At time-and-a-half pay, every hour of overtime could have been replaced by 1.5 hours of work at regular pay by another person or by an alternate schedule. Often, staff will work overtime unnecessarily, such as when reliable staff members stay late while the last patient is seen. Adjust staff schedules to minimize overtime, such as with the use of split shifts or 10-hour days. You can have only one staff person stay to assist in exiting the last patient. Always insist on pre-approving all overtime and always stick to the staffing budget.
Outsourcing your medical billing and coding activities to a medical billing company could be a great way to maintain the financial health of your family practice. MedicalBillersandCoders offers experienced medical coders and billers who will handle complete revenue cycle activities for your practice. Periodic reporting will give you an exact idea about the financial health of your practice. With all billing worries removed, you can focus on patient care. To know more about family practice medical billing and coding services, contact us at info@medicalbillersandcoders.com/ 888-357-3226
FAQs
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What does it mean to maintain financial health for my family practice?
Keeping your family practice financially healthy means managing your money well so your practice can run smoothly. It involves things like budgeting, saving, and making intelligent financial decisions.
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How can I budget effectively for my family practice?
Start by tracking your practice’s income and expenses. Set aside money for regular bills like rent, utilities, and salaries. Also, build an emergency fund to plan for unexpected expenses.
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Why is it important to monitor cash flow in my family practice?
Monitoring cash flow helps you know how much money is coming in and leaving your practice. It ensures you have enough funds to cover expenses and can help you spot any financial problems early on.
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What are some ways to increase revenue for my family practice?
Offering additional services, attracting more patients through marketing efforts, and negotiating better reimbursement rates with insurance companies can increase revenue.
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How can I manage debt effectively for my family practice?
Start by prioritizing high-interest debts and paying them off as quickly as possible. Consider consolidating debt or negotiating payment plans with creditors to make it more manageable.
