Knowing the numbers + using your data = $$$

Okay, so let’s face it – most of us aren’t trained accountants or analysts. And sometimes numbers are intimidating. But once you learn what to look for and how to use the data, those numbers can turn into dollar signs. Here are a few tips on how to use your practice data to better manage your cash flow.

How does it affect your practice?
In this case “it” refers to four Ps – patients, procedures, plans and providers. Knowing more about these sources and how they feed your cash flow can help you maximize your office visits and your profit.

Patients: How are your new patients finding you? Is it through referrals from other providers? Are they responding to advertisements that you’ve placed? Maybe other patients are recommending you. Are they from a particular area of town?

Running a referral report from your practice management or analytics system can show you which physicians are referring business to you. Maybe you can partner more closely with those practices to generate even more referrals.

Use data gathered on patient enrollment forms to see which other sources are driving your new patient flow. If you’re using a practice portal, you can ask the patient how they heard about you online and easily run reports from that data. If a particular source stands out, look for ways to maximize it.

Procedures: Do you know which of these are driving the majority of your revenue? Depending on your specialty, you may be able to capitalize on certain procedures by advertising them on your practice’s website or by courting providers that refer patients to you for those procedures.

Plans: Which payors are providing the majority of your practice’s income? What is the difference between the amounts you bill the payors and what you’re actually paid? What are the main reasons for claim denials?

Knowing the answers to these questions can help you set up internal procedures to capture the money you are owed and you’ll be better informed the next time you’re negotiating with a payor.

Providers: Are certain providers in your practice more effective at generating revenue? Running reports to see which providers are generating the highest amount of revenue is a good place to start investigating. What is it about these providers that lead them to generate more cash flow? Is it the type of procedures they perform? Are they more effective with time management (i.e. do they see more patients on an average)? Do they code their visits more accurately?

Determining what makes these providers profitable can help you develop some best practices or tips for other members of your office staff.

Ready to get started?
Sage Software provides many ways for you to analyze your data. From reports built into practice management systems like Intergy by Sage, The Medical Manager by Sage and MedWare by Sage to clinical tools in Intergy EHR by Sage and our advanced business intelligence tool Practice Analytics by Sage we’re sure to have the right solution for your needs.

Find out more about how these tools can benefit your practice by: