A growing therapy practice is something to celebrate! However, every clinic, at some point in its growth, encounters aches and pains that can hinder further or even current success. Here are some process improvements you can make to mitigate growing pains -even as your patient list grows.
Implement Smart Scheduling and Waitlists
The foundation of any successful clinic is scheduling that runs like a well-oiled machine. Your scheduling software should make this as easy as possible for your office staff. That means more than keeping provider calendars at their fingertips, it means being able to categorize appointment types and using tools that automatically find open appointment slots.
Smarter scheduling also includes implementing a waitlist that’s integrated into your scheduling tools, so you’re not missing out on revenue from patients who you don’t have the capacity to see now.
Don’t Skimp on Documentation
Like scheduling, documentation is an essential therapy function that is more likely to trip you up the more patients you have. Your EHR should have built-in documentation tools and evaluations that mirror the natural workflows of a therapy office. These notes should be easily accessible from any point in a patient’s treatment and track progress and show object mastery. Plus, these should be super easy to share with patients and insurance companies.
Open Your (Metaphorical) Doors
Regardless of what the future holds for COVID, telehealth has become an expectation for many patients and their caretakers. And who can blame them? With busy schedules to accommodate, possible mobility issues, lack of transportation, anxiety, or even rising gas prices, there are tons of reasons that get in the way of making in-office appointments. And we all know how detrimental missed appointments can be for outcomes and retention. So, take advantage of telehealth. By offering a secure and convenient treatment option, you can see more patients than ever before.
Get a Handle on Billing
You know the saying. More money. More problems. Well, you’ve increased your billings, so you’re likely running into more revenue red flags. These likely include:
- More delinquent payments or bounced checks
- Troubles with insurance companies
- An overtaxed billing team
- Denied and rejected claims
- Coding concerns
- Need we say more?
One of the best things you can do for your clinic to make sure you’re capturing all the revenue you should in order to maintain your growth is revenue cycle management. Revenue cycle management is the process of drafting accurate claims, following up promptly, correcting denials and rejections, and following through to make sure you receive payment. Make sure the software you’re using to run your practice has billing tools or even offers revenue cycle management services, so you can unload that burden from your billing team.
Another way to streamline your billing is to consider onboarding credit card processing if you haven’t already. Allowing patients to pay conveniently online allows you to see an immediate improvement in your cash flow and reduces the likelihood that a patient won’t fulfill their financial responsibility.
Know What’s Working and What Needs Work
How can you possibly know what’s working, what’s not, and where you can grow without data to guide the way? If reporting isn’t on your wishlist as a growing therapy practice, it should be. Having key insights available at-a-glance in dashboards allows you to manage the performance of your clinic and understand and prioritize improvements that need to be made. Insights can also help inform creative solutions to problems your clinic is facing and identify new opportunities for growth.
Software that Empowers Growth (and Scales with You)
We promise, we don’t read minds. We’ve just worked with so many therapists (and did we mention we were built by some) who have encountered these growing pains. Let’s help you get a jump on your growth, so the sky truly can be the limit. Schedule a demo of Therapy Brands’ Fusion PT/OT/SLP EMR today.