Anyone who’s ever reorganized a dishwasher understands the importance of optimization. You know that the dirty side of plates should face the middle. Utensils that are too tall to fit in the carriage on the bottom rack can be laid on their side in the top rack. If you’re just slightly obsessive, like me, you might place all the forks in one compartment, all knives in another, and so on to ensure that unloading will be a breeze. It can be a very simple and enjoyable process depending on how you prep. Even though the technology does the dirty work (pun intended), a human touch is still needed at certain points in the process.
What does loading the dishwasher perfectly have to do with your healthcare practice? Well, for starters, the details that staff members may treat as trivial can actually have a major impact on your bottom line. Details like what language to use when talking with patients over the phone or which process to employ when verifying insurance eligibility. You can imagine how a conversation or even tone of voice can affect a patient’s satisfaction levels and willingness to return to the clinic. By the same token, providers want to confirm they’ll get paid for their services before actually providing them. Both scenarios can greatly impact the practice’s profit margin.
This is why every single step of your practice’s workflow can and should be examined, no matter how small. Especially in this era of change in healthcare where more technology (EHRs, patient portals, etc.) is in place, payment models are starting to shift (PFS to PFP), and providers are faced with penalties for not keeping up with the pace, clinics nationwide would be smart to start optimizing every nook and cranny of their dishwashers, so to speak.
Let’s take the verification of insurance eligibility example. A lot of EHR vendors will proudly tell you that you can check procedure eligibility and copay in real-time through their technology. But what happens if there’s an error? Do you have a workflow in place to regularly check for mistakes and to quickly resolve them?
That’s where ClinicSpectrum’s Hybrid Workflow comes in. We have built our business on optimizing many of the workflows that are peripheral to technology. So, in instances where technology does the major lifting, but at some point falls short, we have engineered several tried-and-true processes for clinics to keep operating at maximum efficiency. Our human element wraps around any existing EHR/PM and works as a perfect virtual back-up to technology and existing team members.
No joke, we have analyzed all the touch points of EHRs, defined workflows that will not only make your job easier, but also your business stronger. We’re talking about everything from prepping charts, to sending clinical reminders, inquiring about claims, handling recalls, and of course verifying insurance eligibility.
We understand that a complex system is only as good as its weakest link and that sometimes it’s the small things that make the biggest difference.
Clinicspectrum blog 