5 Focus Areas for High-Growth Practices

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With nearly 90% of medical practices reporting that costs have risen faster than revenues in the previous year, administrators and board members are looking for ways to equip their practice to hit revenue targets this year.  

Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) reports that top-performing practices, generate $138,522 more revenue per full-time physician. High-growth practices are investing in digital solutions to drive growth, without increasing labor costs. With a proven, patient revenue solution, you can unlock your practice’s growth potential in 5 core areas. 

Time to Revenue    

• A Peek at Reality:  

  • Less than two-thirds of medical practices hit their revenue goals in 2021 

  • Denials represent 90% of missed revenue opportunities 

  • Out of all the denied claims, 65% of them are never reworked 

  • 52% of patients who missed their appointments simply forgot 

• Roadblocks:  

  • Denied insurance claims 

  • Unfilled appointment slots 

  • Last-minute no shows 

  • Low patient collections at the time of service 

  • Too few premium service appointments   

• Best Practices:  

  • Automate insurance verification 

  • Improve data capture 

  • Empowering patients to check-in themselves digitally 

  • Send customized and accurate appointment reminders 

  • Use custom check-in questions to source premium service leads at no cost 

• Action that speaks for itself:  

  • “Since implementing Clearwave, we’ve seen an incredible return on our investment. Patients have effortlessly adapted to using kiosks. Our rejected claims have dropped by approximately 20%. Our point of-service collections at the kiosk have increased by roughly 78%.” Jason Biddy, CEO at Urology Centers of Alabama 

Point-of-Service Collections   

• A Peek at Reality:  

  • Probability of collecting once a patient leaves the office is 30% 

  • On average 58% of self-pay patients become a write-off 

• Roadblocks:  

  • Staff forgetting or avoiding asking for payment 

  • Uncertainty around deductible and copay costs due 

  • Inability to quickly determine insurance eligibility or solve insurance issues prior to rendering care 

• Best Practices: 

  • Instantly verify insurance at every patient touchpoint 

  • Provide staff clarity around how to solve insurance issues 

  • Send estimations to inform patients of financial responsibility   

  • Collet copay and estimated amounts digital, at check-in 

  • Always ask for payment on deductibles and outstanding balances through self-service check-in 

• Action that speaks for itself: 

  • “Going beyond our goal of driving compliance, our patient responsibility due, like most practices, was high. Our estimations and collections strategy using Clearwave and Rivet Health, is helping us tackle that challenge and increase self-pay collections.” - Jennifer White, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Concord Orthopaedics 

Patient Acquisitions & Retention  

• A Peek at Reality:  

  • 89% of US adults state that “Ease of Access” is a major factor when choosing healthcare providers 

  • 40% of appointments are booked after business hours. 

  • 67% of patients prefer online booking. 

  • 26% of online appointments are for same-day or next-day appointments. 

• Roadblocks: 

  • Increased competition for patients 

  • Referral challenges 

  • Access is increasingly important to patients, over loyalty 

  • High patient demand pushes back available appointments 

• Costs to acquire patients are increasing 

• Best Practices: 

  • Offer 24/7 simple, patient-provider-matching online self-scheduling 

  • Provide referral partners with a patient self-scheduling links 

  • Try an automated waitlist 

  • Streamline call center and online scheduling 

• Action that speaks for itself: 

  • “The real benefit is ultimately: This online scheduler never sleeps, it never takes breaks, it never goes on lunch, it never gets sick - it's always there.”  -Ben Seals, CEO, Thomas Eye Group 

Employee Satisfaction  

• A Peek at Reality:  

  • Labor cost per patient increased 19% in 2021 

  • YoY Labor costs are up 30% 

  • 8% cost of living raises were not enough to retain staff, 12% was required 

• Roadblocks: 

  • Staff overburdened and under-resourced 

  • Full time employment costs are rising 

  • Staff spending too much time on tasks that could be automated 

• Best Practices: 

  • Automate every tedious tasks 

  • Engage your patients through self-scheduling, registration and intake tools 

  • Let patients enter their own registration and medical data, digitally 

• Action that speaks for itself: 

  • “Our PMS system could only get 65% of the way to eligibility verification, Clearwave gets us 95%, dramatically reducing burden on front desk staff” – Keith Froleiks, Chief Financial Officer at Rockland Eye Physicians & Surgeons 

Patient Revenue Touchpoints  

• A Peek at Reality:  

  • Increases in utility costs, lab supply and drug costs, malpractice premium rates coupled with sluggish patient visits means practices must get creative to continually grow revenue 

• Roadblocks: 

  • Minimal line-of-site into critical patient revenue metrics 

  • Inability to determine data-drive opportunities to increase revenue 

• Best Practices: 

  • Monitor patient revenue touchpoints like collections, premium service revenue, visit statistics, self-service utilization, etc. 

  • Get proactive recommendations on patient revenue goals and strategies 

  • Make data-driven discussions to maximize the value of your patient engagement tools 

• Action that speaks for itself: 

  • “I had a constant Clearwave representative whom I could give feedback to, and they would go to their team and constructively work on it. I can say Clearwave was willing to do what it takes to get the job done. The entire team was very supportive and customer friendly.” - LeAnne Moran, VP of Revenue Cycle at East Alabama Health