Growth | Task Management
One of Those Days Will disorganized task management derail efficiency at Dr. Ben’s practice? It was just going to be one of those days; it was only 10:15 am and Ben’s teeth were already on edge. He and Luisa seemed to be bumping into each other all morning and it was slowing everyone down. “Excuse me, Dr. Wilson, do you know where the office supply order list is?” asked Luisa. “I was going to take care of that this morning.” “Oh, I gave it to Pam yesterday afternoon so that she could add whatever she needed,” said Ben. “But she’s not in on Wednesdays and I need to get the order in today or else we’re going to run out of stuff we really need!” Luisa huffed. “I’m really sorry, Luisa,” Ben said. “I didn’t realize you already had a procedure in place for the ordering. I’ll go check Pam’s desk to see if I can find the list.” Later that morning: “Luisa, I can’t find my call list for last week’s patients,” Ben said. “You know I like to follow up with the most critical cases so that I can make sure they’re feeling better.” “You were so swamped with patients on Monday that I took care of the calls,” said Luisa. “I should have let you know – I’m sorry. Yesterday I emailed you the information on the patients I was able to reach.” Finally, mid-afternoon: “Dr. Ben, I’ve looked everywhere for the test results for last week’s patients so that I can scan them and attach them to the proper patient records,” said Luisa. “Do you know where they are? I blocked out a couple of hours this afternoon to take care of that.” Ben looked down at his feet. “I’m so sorry, Luisa, I took them home last night so that I could check on a couple of patients who may need adjustments to their care plans,” he said. “This morning was crazy at my house – the records are locked up in my home office.” The two eyed each other warily. “We’ve been getting in each other’s way all day,” said Luisa. “This is definitely a case of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing.” “I know, we’ve wasted so much time searching for missing forms and files,” admitted Ben. “As long as we’ve worked together, it’s still impossible to know who is supposed to do what, and when. There are so many tasks that need to be accomplished – some every day, some for each patient – and the sheer volume makes it difficult to keep track of everything.” “It would be great if we could know just by looking at our computers what needs to be done, by what date it needs to be done and who is responsible for making it happen,” mused Luisa. “That would save us so much time and aggravation.” Could Dr. Ben’s practice be performing better with a more efficient and transparent task management system? Disclaimer: For HIPAA compliance, all characters appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.
Are You Investing in Documentation Software
The Java Blues Will a glowing review of Genesis amount to a hill of beans with Dr. Ben? Dr. Ben parked in the only available space in the bustling parking lot, grabbed his keys, got out of the car and practically ran to the front door of the coffee shop. With things so busy in his practice and at home, he felt like he was perpetually running behind. He hoped his friend Steven hadn’t been waiting long. “Hey, Ben!” he heard from across the room. Ben smiled and walked toward Steven’s table. The two had so much in common – Steven was a partner in a practice across town. He was looking forward to catching up with his friend. “How have you been, Steven?” Ben asked. “I know it’s been a few months but things have been so busy. Sorry for losing touch!” “No worries, Ben,” Steven said, giving his friend a firm handshake. “I’ve been busy too but things have never been better!” “Tell me all about it,” Ben encouraged. “I could use some happy news.” “We made some big changes in the office – we had been going around and around about whether or not to invest in that software that helps us to manage the practice but we finally dove in,” Steven said. “It was intimidating at first but it has made a huge difference in our operations.” Ben sat back and stared at Steven with renewed respect. He and his friend had talked many times about Genesis, but he never thought Steven would be the first to go all in. “Tell me all about it,” Ben said. “You and I have always complained about how documentation is so tedious and takes away time from patient interactions,” said Steven. “Plus data entry mistakes can be so costly – whether they hold up insurance reimbursements or take away from patient care because we don’t follow up on missed appointments. What put us over the edge was our poor performance on our recent audit.” Ben nodded, knowing what was coming, since he and Luisa had been talking about this just last week. “We made it through our audit relatively unscathed but one area the auditors pointed out needed drastic improvement was our patient notes,” Ben admitted. “We’d all rather just scribble notes and stuff them into files so that we can maximize our time with our patients, but that never works out well. I’m pretty good at documenting patient visits and conversations but I haven’t always documented in ways that are compliant with state, federal and insurance rules. We got ticked pretty good on that. I made a vow that we’d change things for the better and gave our Genesis coach a call the next day, after the audit was over.” “So how are things working out with your new system?” asked Ben. “I couldn’t be happier – in fact, everyone seems to be enjoying things more,” Steven said. “We have become more efficient and accurate in documenting patient notes. Not just the SOAP notes but also getting in the related images, forms, test results and verification of benefits that are required to give the proper overview of care. All of us – from reception to treatment room – are now able to spend more time with our patients and ensure a great experience.” “Best of all,” Steven continued, “I know our patients are happier, too. This month we saw a 10 percent increase in referrals. Our investment in the Genesis software is going to pay off in no time.” “That does it, you’ve talked me into it,” said Ben. “Tomorrow I will call Charlie, our Genesis coach. Today, the coffees are on me!” Dr. Ben is finally ready to take the plunge and start using Genesis to help with documentation. So what is the next step? Disclaimer: For HIPAA compliance, all characters appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.
Revenue | Committing to a Software Solution
Much Ado About Data Committing to a Software Solution Can Dr. Ben move past being overwhelmed by data and commit to Genesis? As he made his way into work on Monday, Ben was preparing himself to take the next step in his Genesis journey. He knew that the software was going to help in innumerable ways, from records management, to tracking insurance payments, to helping to get patients reinvested in their own care plans. But with reports come data – a TON of data – and what on earth were he and Luisa going to do with all of those numbers? “Good morning Luisa,” Ben said as he entered the office. “Hello Dr. Ben – how was your weekend?” asked Luisa. “It was great,” Ben answered. “Carmen and I tried out the new downtown Indian buffet. It’s really good – and I even have leftovers to enjoy for lunch today!” “Hopefully Jonathan found something he liked to eat, too,” said Luisa. She stopped for a minute, then continued, “So… have you given any thought to moving forward on Genesis?” Ben sighed. It was going to be difficult to put this off for any longer. “I know, I know, we shouldn’t wait any longer,” he said. “Before we get started, I’m going to call our coach, Charlie, and ask her a few questions.” “Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” said Luisa. Ben placed his lunch in the refrigerator and then went into his office, closing the door. He stared at the phone for a minute and then laughed at himself. Boy, change can really be hard, he thought. He picked up the phone and, within a minute, he was connected with his Genesis coach, Charlie. “How are things going, Dr. Ben?” Charlie asked. “Well, we’re doing fine but … I have to admit, we understand that this software is going to help us manage the office more professionally and efficiently but we’re having trouble taking that last big step and rolling it out,” Ben admitted. “Oh, you’re not alone,” Charlie said. “Ask me anything – we’re here to help!” “I guess we’re overwhelmed by all the data,” said Ben. “Neither Luisa nor I are number crunchers, and the reports can get so complex. How can we be sure that this is going to help us, rather than adding to our already busy workdays?” “One of the wonderful things about the billing stats report is that it will help you to create consistent, repeatable processes for collecting patient information and assessing billing performance,” Charlie said. “It might be daunting looking at the possibilities from the outside in, but once you’ve got things set up, it will actually help you to get a handle on your office cash flow and more easily identify where – and why – things are being held up in the reimbursements pipeline.” He continued, “Have you ever looked at your revenue stream over a period of a few months and seen a decline, and panicked? With the billing stats report, instead of trying to go patient by patient, week by week, month by month, and guess what the problems are, you can actually run reports with up to 45 different parameters and pinpoint where exactly in the process things are breaking.” “I don’t see how that is possible,” protested Ben. “Let me put it this way: you can run a 60-day report and get a breakdown of the status of each claim,” said Charlie. “If the claim is not at the insurance company, then you’ll be able to figure out if you’ve got an intake problem, if your claims are going out in a timely fashion, or if there are issues with the information you’re sending out with the claim. You can also look at which CPT codes are getting paid or underpaid. With the power of accurate statistics, you can have the right conversations with front desk staff, your office manager and billers.” “What’s also great is that with the radar chart, you can set parameters for your practice,” Charlie continued. “If you get to a point where everything is within the parameters you’ve set, then you will render the billing stats report unnecessary. That’s a terrific thing about Genesis – we help you achieve best practices in your office management so that you can be in control of your practice and focus more on your patients.” “That’s exactly what we want,” said Ben. “I don’t know anyone who went into medicine so that they could spend most of their day staring at a computer screen!” “But do you want to hear the most wonderful thing of all about Genesis?” Charlie asked. “Of course,” said Ben. “Whenever you have a question, a concern or simply want to talk through some numbers that don’t seem to make sense, you can call me,” Charlie said. “We are committed to being here when you need us.” “Well, that is the most wonderful thing I’ve heard all day!” laughed Ben. “I can’t thank you enough for your time today.” After a few more minutes of small talk, Ben emerged from his office and walked toward Luisa, who knew just by looking at him that change was afoot. “That must have been some phone call,” said Luisa. “It was,” smiled Ben. “I think we’re ready to begin our Genesis adventure – together!” Is Dr. Ben ready for launch? Disclaimer: For HIPAA compliance, all characters appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.
Overcoming Workflow Bottlenecks
Traffic Jams Can running the right reports improve workflow bottlenecks in Dr. Ben’s practice? “Mrs. Wilson!” Pam said, looking up as Carmen came through the door. “Did I hear you talking about me?” Carmen asked her husband playfully. “I was hoping you could come to lunch with me.” “Dr. Ben was talking about our workflow bottlenecks,” Pam put in. “Workflow matters,” Carmen said. “And I think you also should be talking about scalability. Naturally you pay full attention to one patient at a time, but for the sake of the practice you have to be able to look at the big picture and identify the bottlenecks in your workflow.” Pam was silent. “We’re speechless,” Ben said. “I’m glad to see you, of course, but I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.” Pam darted a glance at the patients around them and welcomed a new patient. “Should we be discussing these things in front of them?” she asked quietly when she was free again. “It’s business,” Carmen shrugged. “Your practice is growing because you give your patients excellent care. So you want to continue doing that. How could they object?” She stepped behind the desk and looked over Pam’s shoulder. “For example, can you run a report that shows all the tasks that are coming up tomorrow and who is assigned to do them, and what tasks are still left from today?” “Honey, I don’t think you should be–” Ben began, but Pam stopped him. “I’ll just pull up the list of reports I can run,” she offered. “There’s no sensitive information there.” “There sure are a lot of reports!” Carmen said, her eyes widening. “New Patients, No Shows, No Future Appointments–” “There are lots of patient reports,” Pam agreed, scrolling down the page, “and then we also have things like Inventory, Billing, Patient Balances, Third Party Vendors…” Ben joined them in staring at the screen. “Is that going to help us identify bottlenecks in our workflow?” “I only run a few of them,” Pam admitted. “Mostly, I don’t really know how to set them up the way I want or how to use them once I run them. I think they’re open to interpretation, too, because sometimes they make me think we should do something but the partners don’t agree — sorry, Dr. Ben!” “That’s okay,” he said. “I know what you mean. Often we partners don’t agree with each other, either. It’s like we’re all looking at different information.” “Reports like these are for analysts,” Carmen said firmly, “not for doctors and nurses. You can’t expect to look at a couple hundred lines of a Tasks and Events report and see what you need to do next.” “Plus,” Pam added, “it’s hard for me even to figure out which report to look at. If we’re talking about how smoothly the work goes, I know that a lot of the tasks we do involve multiple aspects of the practice, not just one of the things listed on those pre-made reports.” Ben took his wife’s arm. “We’ll get out of your way now, Pam,” he said, “but thank you for your help.” “How much time do you spend on those reports?” Carmen asked her husband as they walked. “Hardly any,” Ben shrugged. “As Pam said, I don’t really understand how to use them. Plus, I don’t exactly have lots of free time — and I’d rather have lunch with you.” Can running the right reports improve workflow bottlenecks in Dr. Ben’s practice? Disclaimer: For HIPAA compliance, all characters appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.
