Gathering the data

So we’ve talked about several ways of looking at your data that can help improve your cash flow, but how do you get those reports? Most practices don’t have an analytics specialist on staff, but luckily software is available to help ease the burden.

Practice management and clinical software
Many practices need to report on the same types of data. This commonality is accounted for in many practice management and electronic health record software programs. These built-in reporting options may offer standard reports to help you improve your practice’s performance, monitor its financial health and learn about the patient experience.

But sometimes you need more. While these applications are excellent tools for managing information, they tend to present one-dimensional views of your practice. They represent silos of information instead of in-depth analysis of data across your entire business.

Analytics tools
If you’re looking for more flexibility with your reports or to combine data from different sources, such as analyzing insurance reimbursement trends for specific procedures, you should look into products specifically designed for healthcare business intelligence purposes. These tools range in complexity and design though, so research is necessary to find the right system.

Are you looking to pull data for pay-for-performance purposes? If so, consider the reporting options that these systems provide this specific purpose. For instance, Practice Analytics by Sage includes 35 reporting templates based on DOQ-IT standards.

Also consider the skill set necessary for running the software. Does the tool require an IT professional or can you run ad-hoc reports yourself? The answers to these questions will lead you in the right direction for your practice.

Ready to get started?
Intergy by Sage and Intergy EHR by Sage come with a multitude of built in reports, but for your more complex needs Practice Analytics by Sage is a robust analytics tool built specifically to provide usable data for medical practices like yours.

Practice Analytics allows you to create specialized reports in minutes with no IT intervention. The newest version, V5.0, makes running reports even easier. The re-designed workflow makes the system simple to learn for novice users and helps proficient users become even more productive. And you can bundle multiple summary reports, so you spend less time processing data and more time using it.

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