Thursday, June 28, 2018

Five Tech Tools to Help Boost Revenue Cycle Performance for Your Medical Practice

Most physician practices are either in the process of implementing or already using EHR systems to record patient encounters, track clinical progress, and report on outcomes. EHRs are also vital to improving financial performance, according to revenue cycle management experts, but many physicians still aren’t taking advantage of some key features.


“It’s important to understand what technology you have available that you are not optimizing,” said Lucy Zielinski, vice president of The Camden Group, a Los Angeles-based healthcare business advisory firm. “I often find that practices already have the bells and whistles built into their systems, but they are not using them effectively.”


EHR and practice management systems used to be separate entities but most systems now integrate clinical and billing functions, said Derek Kosiorek, a principal consultant with the Englewood, Colo.-based Medical Group Management Association. Most of an office’s technology tools are now contained within its EHR system, which has become the central platform that ties everything together.


“Some offices are still using their EHRs as an emulation of paper,” said Kosiorek. “But it is actually a way to leverage clinical and financial information as opposed to just documenting it.”


While there are myriad technology features and add-ons that can help optimize workflow and bring in payments, a few are becoming essential to revenue cycle efficiency, Kosiorek and Zielinski both said. Start at the front desk with these five tools that leverage the capabilities of your system:


Insurance verification. Traditionally, administrative staff would call the insurer or go online to verify a patient’s insurance information, but they can now use real-time verification software. Although there may be a fee to create an interface between your EHR and the verification service, said Kosiorek, “look at that cost as an investment offset by the hours your staff would have spent manually entering information.”


Price estimators. Patients facing high deductibles are shopping around before booking procedures, noted Zielinski. An estimator tool, along with your EHR, can help search for the lowest cost for a procedure, such as a colonoscopy, and generates a final estimate that incorporates the patient’s copay and deductible.


Credit card on file. Storing patients’ credit card information is a much more efficient and cost-effective way to collect than sending out statements and waiting for checks to arrive by mail, said Zilienski. Patients agree to have their card information stored securely via a payment processing service and are automatically charged after the claim has been finalized, making it much more likely that you will receive timely payments.


Electronic check-in. Similar to the airline industry, medical offices are streamlining the check-in process by installing electronic kiosks or handheld tablets in the waiting area that allow patients to self-register as well as view and submit payment information. The tools reduce data input errors and aid collections by prompting patients to swipe their credit cards to take care of any copayments or outstanding balances on the spot. Note that business owners must be prepared to accommodate Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) — or chip card technology — by October 2015.


Patient portals. Patient portal software not only offers patients secure online access to their records, but it also makes it easier for the practice to update patient profiles, send reminders, and collect payments. “Having patients communicate directly with the care team is a huge step in improving the accuracy of information in your records,” said Kosiorek. “I believe portal use will skyrocket over the next few years — it is the new front door to your practice.”

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Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Two Types of Demanding Patients

Hell hath no fury like a patient who wants all his tests done, reported today, and/or to see the specialist immediately.


I divide them up into two groups. The first are the patients that are quite ill and scared as they have waited too long to get medical help and are afraid things will not turn out well. They generally tend to come in later in the day, especially on Friday or Saturday morning at the office. Friday, I can send them to the hospital lab for blood then have the lab page me with the results so I can call the patient at home.


For radiology, I call the department and ask that the films be read and have a report called to me. I advise the patients the hospital will charge more for the services when done this way. I also tell them that they should not hesitate to go to the ER, as these labs and x-rays can be done there and a decision on treatment can be made immediately based on the results.


The second group are the patients with an aggressive personality who want everything done right this minute, even if it is not an emergency. I give them the x-ray and lab slips and tell them to go immediately to the hospital.


It's funny how they change when they're informed that the hospital will be charging more for the tests, as their insurance may not cover as it is not an emergency. Referral is made to the specialist and I give them the number for the physician's office so that they can call concerning the appointment.


Since almost all the specialists are hospital employees, referrals can take weeks to months for the patients to be seen. They can get on a cancellation list, but the appointment will be at the convenience of that office. Lastly, I recommend the ER but explain that the waiting time until seen can be several hours.


When they call back demanding things I also recommend they call their insurance company so that I can make an out of town referral to a regional center for evaluation of the problem. Again they are welcome to call the center and demand an immediate appointment.

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Tuesday, June 26, 2018

How to Grow Your Business: Tried and True Ways

Learning how to grow your business isn’t just a worthy goal; growing your business is often a necessity for your business’s survival and your economic well-being. What can you do to get your business beyond the bare sustenance level? What can you do to turn it into the income-generating powerhouse you envision? Try one or more of these growth strategies. All have been successfully used by other businesses and, with some planning and investment, will work for you.

1. Penetrate your existing market.


When you think about how to grow your business, the first thing that probably comes to mind is getting new customers. But the customers you already have are your best bet for increasing your sales; it’s easier and more cost-effective to get people who are already buying from you to buy more than to find new customers and persuade them to buy from you.

2. Ask for referrals.


That's not to say that getting new customers is a bad approach. One of the easiest ways to do this is to ask your current customers for referrals. But notice the verb. Having good products and great customer service and just assuming that your customers are passing the word about your business isn’t going to do much to increase your customer base; you have to actively seek referrals. During or after every job or sale, ask your satisfied customer if he knows anyone else who would be interested in your products or services.

3. Innovate your product or service.


Discovering and promoting new uses for your products or services is a great way to both get existing customers to buy more and attract new customers. Think petroleum jelly and duct tape—and how few of these would actually be sold if they only had one use!

4. Extend your market reach.


There are several ways of growing your business by making your product or service available to a new pool of customers.


The most obvious is to open stores in new locations, such as opening a store or kiosk in a new town. New locations can also be virtual, such as a website with an online store. Another approach is to extend your reach through advertising. Once you’ve identified a new market, you might advertise in select media that targets that market. If your new market consists of a younger demographic, you may want to use social media for advertising,

Trade shows can be a great way to grow too. Because trade shows draw people who are already interested in the type of product or service you offer, they can powerfully improve your bottom line. The trick is to select the trade shows you participate in carefully, seeking the right match for your product or service. 

5. Conquer a niche market.


Remember the analogy of the big fish in the small pond? That’s essentially how this strategy for growing your business works. The niche market is the pond; a narrowly defined group of customers. Think of them as a subset whose needs are not being met and concentrate on meeting those unmet needs.


A nursery, for instance, might specialize in roses while a home design business might focus on window treatments.

6. Contain your costs.


Surprised? Bear in mind that when we’re talking about growing your business, we’re actually talking about growing your business’s bottom line. And the difference between pre-tax and post-tax money can make this a very effective growth strategy. There are two main approaches to cutting costs; liquidating your “loser” products and improving your inventory turnover. 

7. Diversify your products or services.


The key to successful growth through diversification is similarity. You want to focus on the related needs of your already established market or on market segments with similar needs and characteristics.

An artist might also sell frames and framing services, for instance. Or a mountain bike rental business might switch to renting skis and snowshoes in the winter season.

8. Franchising


The stories of entrepreneurs who have become both well known and well heeled due to franchising their small businesses are legion - and not just stories. If you have a successful business and can develop a system that ensures that others can duplicate your success, franchising may be the fast track for growing your business. 

9. Exporting


Expanding into international markets can also be a powerful boost to your business’s bottom line. Like franchising, this is a way of growing your business that requires quite a commitment of time and resources, but can be extremely rewarding.

There you have it; how to grow your business. Don’t let this list overwhelm you; pick one or two of these ideas that are suitable to your business and your circumstances and get your plan for growing your business underway.

While you probably won’t experience growth right away, whichever way of expanding your business you choose, you will see progress if you keep at it, and will successfully transform your business into all you want it to be.

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Monday, June 25, 2018

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Friday, June 22, 2018

The billing conundrum

I am working with two physicians who are leaving a large group because they are dissatisfied with the back-office operations and billing situation. Years ago, they had their own practice and did everything in-house. Now, three years later, they want to recreate the practice of their past.


These experienced docs operated a successful private practice in another market before coming my way. After a lot of discussion, it became apparent that they are not only strong clinicians who know what support they need from their clinical staff, they also have the characteristics of good leaders who know how to motivate a small staff and engender a healthy “family business” type environment.


We’ve found them a great independent practice association to work with, one that provides good in-network rates and a slew of value-added services and vendor connections to help make it a smooth transition. In fact, there’s only one real issue.


Billing. What did you expect?



I’ve worked with a host of practices over the last 10 years. Some billed in-house. Some billed in-house but employed a certified coder to oversee things. Others used a certified coder to oversee outsourced billing. Others were cash only. And some were out-of-network, a whole other Pandora’s Box of issues.


Billing is always a hot topic with docs. I’ve met many who have felt no person or company could collect their money better than an in-house staff. I’ve met others who shied away from outsourced billing because of a bad story they heard years ago from a peer, and there are certainly some bad stories out there.


Anxiety is always present when turning over the collection of your money to people you don’t see every day. Should it be?


Unless you’re an all-cash practice or have a practice that is predominantly Medicare or Medicaid, I’ve come to feel like outsourced billing is the way to go for a number of reasons:
  • Payer relationships 
  • Regulations 
  • Complexity of insurance plans and ACOs 
  • Government and hospital reporting requirements 
  • Claims denials 
  • Perspective on payer reimbursements 
  • Patient balances 


This is, of course, a short list. In fact, each topic can generate a lot of discussion and comment. It’s almost impossible for someone not dealing with payers every day to understand how they are constantly changing reimbursements, reporting requirements, and even some rate structures. This can be especially endemic within the government plans.


I think the bigger questions to ask are these: Can a billing company stabilize my cash flow, aggressively address my revenue cycle, and keep me up to date on all billing-related matters that might impact my practice? Can they help my staff and me learn how to code more effectively and understand what payers are looking for in complex coding situations? Is their pricing truly expensive given what I would have to create within my own office and, more importantly, manage?


Focus on that last word. Most docs I know don’t want to take on another internal management position where they are going to be forced into a learning curve on a subject with extreme levels of detail and risk. In fact, in most instances where I’ve seen in-house billing, the docs start by being dedicated but fall away as their private practices and lives becomes more demanding. Managing the billing effort and staff becomes a pariah of a responsibility. Cash flow usually suffers in one way or another. Only, no one noticed until their salary check was affected. Then crisis mode and high anxiety levels set in.

It’s not always about cost. It’s about the value realized for the expense. You have to ask a lot of questions. You can rely on your peers for a variety of opinions, good and bad stories, and cost data. Or, you can work with a consultant who’s been down this road before, who can analyze what you need and be there to ask all the right and necessary questions.

You need to find ways to effectively use your time and manage the nonclinical parts of your practice as healthcare reimbursement becomes more complex in lockstep with the growing responsibilities of your clinical practice. Outsourced billing, when done right, is certainly one of them. And if the entry strategy is good, there should be no reason for anxiety.

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Tuesday, June 19, 2018

How to Write a Mission Statement & Mission Statement Examples

​​As I say in my mission statement definition, the mission statement articulates a company's purpose. It announces to the world at large why your company exists.

So you can think of a mission statement as a combination of what your business or non-profit does and how and why it does it, expressed in a way that encapsulates the values that are important to you. Here's how to write a mission statement in three easy steps with some mission statement examples.



01 Describe what your company does.

•••



No need to be fancy here. Just say it, for the moment. Whatever it is your businessproduces or provides is your business's purpose.
My company's purpose is to:
Sell shoes
Provide educational services
Grow market vegetables
Design phone apps
Provide financial advice
Sell women's clothing
Provide pet sitting services




02 Describe how your company does what it does.

•••



This is the tricky part, because we're not looking for a detailed description of your business's physical operations here; we're looking for a description of how your business operates generally. For most people, this means incorporating one or more of your core values into your description.

So take a moment to think of/list the core values that are important to you that are expressed in your business. Here are some sample values that might be important to you and the way you do business that you may want to use when you write a mission statement:
Sample Values
Provide high product quality
Provide superior customer service
Protect the quality of the environment
Ensure equal access to resources
Encourage innovation/creativity
Practice sustainable development

It might be helpful to focus on your business's core competencies when you're considering which values are worthy of being a part of your mission statement. Once you've decided which core values are most important, add one (or two at the most) to your description of what your company does.
Mission Statement Examples

Here's what the first three example companies used in Step 1 of how to write a mission statement might look like when you add values to them.

My company's purpose is to:
Sell shoes of the highest quality.
Provide educational services that allow all children to experience learning success.
Grow market vegetables using organic, sustainable farming practices.

Remember, these are not done yet. There's one step to go before your mission statement is complete.




03 Add why (your company does what it does).

•••



When you write a mission statement, this is the part that describes your spark, or the passion behind your business.

Why does your business do what it does? For some people, it helps to think back on why they started their business in the first place.
Mission Statement Examples

This is what our three mission statement examples might look like when you add "why" to them:

My company's purpose is to:
Sell shoes of the highest quality so every customer can find a pair of shoes they actually love to wear.
Provide educational services that allow all children to experience learning success and become life-long learners and contributing members of our community.
Grow market vegetables using organic, sustainable farming practices to give people safe and healthy food choices.

When you're finished, have another look at your mission statement and see if it says what you want to say or if there's a better way of phrasing it. Be sure to change the phrase "my company's purpose" to the name of your company.
For example:

"My company's purpose is to grow market vegetables using organic, sustainable farming practices to give people safe and healthy food choices",

might be rephrased to produce this finished mission statement:

"At Earth's Bounty, we grow market vegetables in a way that's good for the earth and good for the table".

And another mission statement example:

"Our company's purpose is to provide educational services that allow all children to experience learning success and become life-long learners and contributing members of our community"

could be better phrased as:

"Our company, Hopscotch Learning, exists to provide educational services that allow children to experience success in learning and success in life."




04 Put your new mission statement to work.

•••



Once you've crafted your business's new mission statement, you'll want to put it to work right away.

Besides directing your business planning, you want your mission statement to be front and center in the minds of everyone who works in your business and be communicated to customers and/or clients. As the statement of why your business exist, it's also the statement that explains to them why they would want to do business with you.

Some businesses go so far as to make their mission statements the themes of their advertising campaigns. If you do nothing else, you should make sure your mission statement is highly visible in your business premises, on your website if you have one, and on all your marketing materials.

A good mission statement isn't just a slogan, it's an operations manual and it can't provide the guidance it's intended to provide if people aren't familiar with it.


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Monday, June 18, 2018

How to Generate Sales Leads in Your Small Business

Many successful small business owners are continuously looking to expand their customer base and grow their businesses. Business growth can be a difficult and long-term process, though. One of the foundational elements of growing a business is having access to a steady stream of sales leads. A lead is a person, or business if you have a company that sells to other businesses (B2B), that has an interest in the products or services you are selling.


Here are some tips for creating a system that will help you identify sales leads in your small business, and -- with the right focus and effort -- turn them into customers.

1. Identify Your Target Audience



The first step of lead generation is identifying your target audience. You can't successfully reach and sell to your ideal customer if you don't know exactly who that is, so it's important to research your audience and come up with a clear picture of who they are, where they live, what they like to do, how much money they make, what their lifestyle and personality is like, etc.


If you don't already have one, you should also create a comprehensive marketing plan as part of this step.

2. Pick Your Promotional Methods Wisely



In order to generate leads, you need a promotional plan that will get your products and services in front of members of your target audience. There are a number of ways you can promote your business, and again, you will want to use your marketing plan to identify the most effective methods for your business.


Some ideas include an informational website, a blog, social media, speaking engagements, industry events, current customer referrals, pay per click (PPC) advertising, and traditional advertising.

3. Create a Sales Funnel



Once you know who you are targeting and have determined how best to reach them, you need to have a plan for collecting contact information. The first part of the process involves funneling all prospects to a standard form or landing page that encourages them to share their contact information, generally in return for a free gift, a coupon, a sample or some other value-added incentive.


At this point, it is vital to have a customer relationship management (CRM) database that will help you keep track of potential customers through the process.

4. Use an Email Newsletter to Build Relationships



Now that you're in contact with prospects, it's time to cultivate those relationships so you can take them from the lead stage through a sale (and eventually a repeat sale!). One of the best ways to create consistent communication with your prospects is through an email newsletter.


This article on email marketing provides a number of tips to get you started. Make sure you are aware of and follow regulations that are a part of the CAN-SPAM Act.

5. Leverage Social Media to Connect and Engage



Social media provides a number of opportunities for small businesses to create conversations with prospective customers and generate new leads. You can create a Facebook page, Twitter profile, LinkedIn company page, Pinterest account or a YouTube page to attract and engage your audience, then funnel them through your process to become leads.


Plus, once you have leads in the system, you can use social media to talk to them and find out more about what they need and want. The more positive touch points a customer has with your business over time, the more likely he or she will be to trust your brand and eventually purchase from you.


Lead generation should be thought of as a long-term and continuous process. If you get an efficient system in place using the sales lead tips above, you can streamline the lead generation process and increase your opportunities for business growth.


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Saturday, June 16, 2018

Successful Sales Tips for Small Business Owners

Sales is an important part of every small business; it's also a common challenge for many small business owners. If sales is something you struggle with in your small business, it can be helpful to spend some time getting a better understanding of the sales process and fine-tuning your sales skills. With some practice, you can become a better salesperson, one who is not only more comfortable with the process but also more effective.


Here are some tips, tools, and advice to help you improve your sales skills so you can sell your products and services more effectively.

Understanding the Sales Cycle



The first step to becoming a more effective salesperson is refreshing your understanding of the sales cycle. It can become a lot more manageable and less overwhelming when you look at it like a standard process with recurring activities, instead of a leap into the unknown every time you begin the process. Get familiar with the seven stages of the sales cycle that go from prospecting to asking for referrals from the new customer, and begin to systemize the process.


Once you have a solid understanding of the sales cycle, it's time to make it shorter and more targeted. The last thing you want is a sales cycle that goes on and on without ever being able to close the deal. You can control the sales cycle by becoming more efficient at each step and adjusting the time accordingly. With practice, you can reduce the length of the sales cycle and close sales faster.

Creating the Perfect Elevator Pitch



An elevator pitch is a useful tool to have in sales and many other business situations. The more comfortable you are delivering a summary of who you are and what you do, the better you will be able to do it. And this applies to sales meetings, cold calls, and everyday networking.


Writing an elevator pitch may take a little time, but once you have the perfect pitch, you will be able to use it over and over again. Develop a pitch that works in any pre-sales or sales situation.

Writing a Unique Selling Proposition


Another very useful tool in sales is your unique selling proposition (USP). A USP is a statement that outlines how your business, product or service is different from the competition. Your USP can become the cornerstone of your sales pitch that identifies your business as the better choice and explains why prospects should choose you over the competition.

Overcoming Sales Objections



One very common hurdle in the selling process is dealing with sales objections. To get past this challenge, you need a plan in place that helps you identify sales objections so you can build the right arguments to overcome them.


Although every sales process may be different, there are several common sales objections that you will see pop up over and over again. Using the right techniques to overcome them can help you close the sale.

Negotiating Successfully



Negotiation can be a key part the sales process, and the ability to negotiate effectively can be useful in many different business situations. When you are a good negotiator, you can avoid sales objections, make your prospects and customers feel like they have been heard, and close the sale with terms that work for everyone involved.


If you don't know how to negotiate, you may struggle with closing sales. Start with knowing what you want to get, tackle the easiest issues first, and keep compromise in mind and you are on your way to a great negotiation.


By understanding the sales process and practicing the areas where you struggle, you can become a better salesperson who not only has the ability to sell more of your products and services but do it with more confidence.​

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