Managing practice performance

With so many pressures to contend with, physician practices are scrutinizing their performance perhaps more than ever.

“You can measure everything from a leading indicator as well as outcomes related to financial performance,” said John Boland, managing director, healthcare practice at Navigant. “It can be very overwhelming for even an experienced practice manager.”

However, Boland said, financial fundamentals will likely continue to be the smartest place to begin.

There are four specific areas that will lead practices to better financial output, Boland said:

Billing for everything that is done Billing in a timely manner Sending out clean claims Asking patients for dollars that are owed as early as possible in the service cycle

Boland said professional groups such as the Medical Group Management Association and Healthcare Financial Management Association offer quality tools and resources for benchmarking performance.

“They [associations] all have local, regional and national conferences where a lot of the content is driven by case studies and what actual members are doing to continue to get better results out of their practices,” said Boland.

While benchmarking and revenue cycle performance often get the majority of the focus, Todd Evenson, vice president of consulting services and data solutions at MGMA, said the most successful practices are often focused on a more holistic approach to performance. They pay attention to factors such as patient satisfaction and quality outcomes as well.

“Financial is not the only piece of the puzzle,” said Evenson. “Things such as innovation can be an important aspect of what you would like to measure to understand how your group is performing.”