In this time of economic hardship, business owners need to know that
their businesses are running as efficiently as possible. To increase efficiency
in the office, owners should put in place a number of administrative and
practitioner-based procedures designed to save time and money.
When office procedures run smoothly, practitioners have more quality
time to devote to their patients, and to be more efficient in scheduling
patients, Marita Dorsch Carozza, CP, FAAOP, with OPRM, as an ABC facility
accreditation surveyor, said. The administrative staff, too, makes fewer
billing errors and shortens the amount of time it takes to reprocess a claim. A
department such as
accounts receivable also benefits from this system when the
processes become more streamlined.
By consistently monitoring monthly, quarterly and annual reviews of
sales, and accounts receivable and
accounts payable, business owners are able to piece together
a comprehensive financial picture of the organization.
“The business owners can use this to improve their business by
tracking the data, comprised of all financial reports, accounts receivable,
accounts payable, analysis of
billing and coding error report, reviewing
manufacturers’ and distributors’ discount plans,” Dorsch Carozza
said.
She suggested a few ways to improve patient satisfaction. First, she
recommended setting up an efficient scheduling program, to be used in
conjunction with a detailed patient education program. This will help to reduce
extensive patient follow-up phone calls, which can be time-consuming and
frustrating to both the patient and the office, she told O&P Business
News.
Business owners also should consider implementing the American Board for
Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics Performance Management
and Improvement Standards, particularly noticing the patient satisfaction
surveys. Dorsch Carozza stressed the importance of collecting and monitoring
data that is detail-oriented and pertinent to your patient population. This
procedure allows companies to gain another perspective — from their
patient’s eyes, for example.
“Many times I see companies expending a lot of financial resources
and time on questions that give back minimal information of their
patients’ satisfaction,” she said.
Dorsch Carozza compared the need for this efficiency in business
procedures to the need for proper documentation in facility accreditation.
“As an ABC facility accreditation surveyor I have always told the
facilities that documentation equals validation,” she said.
In that scenario, proper documentation of services provided to the
patient validates the success of the practice. Here, she instead is referring
to the validation of the day-to-day procedures of your company are worth the
time and effort put forth to complete them. In order to determine whether that
is the case, business owners should consistently review financial reports and
other data to ensure the practice is as efficient as possible, she said.
Dorsch Carozza always has lectured on and informed sites of one basic
rule: “Documentation equals validation” for both clinical and
administrative procedures. — by Stephanie Z. Pavlou
