Visual Embedded Analytics in Your Software

Can of Worms

What do the numbers mean to you and your practice?

Opening your own practice means opening a whole new can of worms. That’s because there are so many elements that they don’t teach you about in school: aspects of running a business that you’re left to learn on the fly — all while attempting to provide quality care for your patients.

One of the most critical components of achieving practice success is making sense of the numbers. There are numbers everywhere, from revenue to no-shows, from patient visits to accounts receivable.

When you first start to look at them, it can almost seem like you’re staring at signs in a foreign language, hoping that the context might shed some light on what they mean. Practice management software can help, but until you know what numbers are most important to your practice — and how they signify growth or, conversely, difficulties — you’re still left wading through a mess of mathematical gobbledygook.

Fortunately, there are analytics — tools to help you make sense of the data — available, and the best chiropractic software solutions, such as Genesis, embed those tools into the program so that they’re easily and immediately accessible. Offering a visual presentation of the numbers, these analytics finally make it possible for you to interpret and understand the numbers that drive your practice. Examples include:

Radar chart — Visually resembling a spiderweb, the radar chart shows multiple variables on axes starting from the same point, radiating outward like spokes on a wheel. The length of the spoke is proportional to the magnitude of the data. This allows you to examine the correlation of values — say, accounts receivable and NFAs — that aren’t otherwise measured in comparable units.

Trend report — A trend report presents data on a traditional line graph, thereby allowing you to see the peaks and valleys of your information — and the inter-relation of different data sets — over time.

Histogram — With a histogram, you can choose three charts to show you a graphical representation of a single area of your practice over a given time period (weekly/monthly), depending on the selection. This allows you to gauge how your practice is doing comparatively for a set amount of time.

Dashboard — A dashboard is an organized presentation of the numbers, so you can get an at-a-glance picture of where your practice stands on collections and outstanding work. Genesis, for example, can show you failed claims, AR > 120 and outstanding tasks — or “tickets” — on a single screen through its homescreen dashboard.

Billing Stats Report — This type of report allows you to view claims by date of service. The report can then be broken down in a number of different ways, depending on what you’re looking for (customizable by practice). The Billing Stats Report, or BSR, is very useful for digging into problems.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to determine which numbers provide the best snapshot of practice success; however, analytics are the tools that help bring that snapshot into focus.