You will use technology in your new independent practice in a number of ways, to help you provide quality care for your patients and to run your operations more efficiently. An electronic health record (EHR) solution enables you to access and manage patient data and coordinate care with other providers. Technology can also support your practice management, reducing your daily administrative load.
What is practice management? It is essentially all the activities that keep the business aspect of your practice running smoothly while you focus on keeping your patients healthy. Technology can support practice management as it streamlines appointment scheduling, billing, reporting, and other non-clinical functions.
Technology can also help you and your team stay organized so you can provide higher quality care without concerns about an inefficient workflow or duplication of efforts within your office. With the right practice management software, you can:
- Manage appointments, including customizing appointment types and time-block intervals
- Management check-ins, check-outs, and copays
- Send automatic reminders to patients prior to their scheduled visits to help reduce no-shows
- Generate and print appointment reports to review cancelled appointments and no-shows, enabling you to operate at your full revenue potential.
Technology that is intuitive to use can help reduce the potential for human error, particularly regarding the management of secure patient data. It can make your practice more efficient by reducing the amount of work required by your administrative staff to keep records updated and to stay current with billing.
Practice management software features that are important for your new independent practice include:
- Maintaining accurate and curreennt information on patients, including their medical history, medications, and upcoming prevtive health screenings.
- Verifying insurance, including copayments and prior authorizations.
- Scheduling that enables you and your staff to review the patient information before their visit.
- Processing payments, reviewing billing history, and processing credit card payments.
- Coding and submitting claims for reimbursement, including managing those that are denied or rejected.
As a small business, your independent practice will also need reports for you and your team to review to ensure that you are operating efficiently. Technology can support practice management in this regard by providing the patient data you need to improve patient care. The accuracy of this data is important, as you share the information with patients and with other providers caring for those patients.
As a business owner, you will also need to review financial reports that can be generated by practice management technology. Reports that are vital to the administrative side of your practice operations include accounts receivable, how many days your claims spend in accounts receivable, and the total amount of reimbursements as compared to expected reimbursements. Regular financial analysis is critical to having a real-time picture of your practice’s health and well-being as you care for your patients.
You and your team can become more organized and more efficient with the use of technology that supports your practice management efforts. Administrative tasks that have the potential to waste time and effort can be streamlined with the appropriate practice management software, and that can play a major role in your practice’s long-term success.