I know exactly what you are thinking, who prescribes medication to someone who is not sick. Well we both know even the most healthiest person has to have some type of regimen to stay healthy. Whether they exercise, take vitamins and or work out daily. The same way we have to nourish our bodies, we have to do the same for our medical practices. You can’t expect to go out and lease a building, hire some staff members and then open your doors for business without first doing a market and practice analysis.
I know you are thinking that is crazy why do all those things? I am a doctor, people are going to be knocking down my door for services. Well guess what? The same day you open your medical practice, 25 other providers open their practice within a 50-mile radius of you. Oh let me think you’ve had a tech guy to approach you about creating a website and optimizing your search engine that guarantees when someone decides to Google your service you will be the first name to pop up on the list. Okay, now you have solved the problem in getting the patients in the door; what happens when the patients start coming in by the truckload and your current staff starts to cut corners forgetting to verify insurance benefits, collect copays and their wait time increased to an hour or longer? Let me guess you will continue on doing your same routine because the patients like you and needs your services. WRONG!!! This same mindset is why a lot of medical providers are closing their doors, have a current claim rejection rate of 33%, high patient receivables, waiting 120 days to be paid from insurance company, unable to take a vacation, spend all night charting records, and becoming physically sick themselves, etc. The problems are endless because they did not do a thorough check of their medical practice.
The healthcare industry has changed. Specifically, the days of easy money, easy practice start-ups and easy clients are gone. To be a successful medical practice you must start completing annual check-ups of your current medical practice and making adjustments to your prescription. Having a fancy Website, office space, and a lot of staff members cannot compete with an important tool -- S.O.A.P., which stands for Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan. You should complete a business assessment such as this every year.
How to use S.O.A.P.?
Subjective: Did your current medical biller allow you to tell them what symptoms you are experiencing? Did you provide them with your current receivable records for review?
Objective: Has your current biller written down his/her observations? What tests were performed?
Assessment: Were you given a thorough system check of why you are experiencing these problems?
Plan: Is your plan the same he/she gave the last 5 clients? When is your follow-up appointment? Are you happy with this plan?
Here at Triple E Medical Solutions LLC we understand the importance of revenue cycle management. Our trained, certified and licensed staff members specialize in making sure our clients are in compliance and most importantly getting paid in as little as14 days on average. If you are afraid that your current prescription has expired or it’s just time for your annual assessment, give Triple E Medical Solutions LLC a call today at 1-888-338-7293 and get your FREE Practice Analysis.
Tracie Clark, BSHIIM, HCM, RHIA, CMRM, is the Medical Billing Operations Director at Triple E Medical Solutions LLC. Contact her by telephone at 888-338-7293 ext.101 or fax 888-391-2109, email tracie.clark@tripleemedicalsolutions.com.
