Internal, day-to-day operations within your office are a vast array of small moves which must all work in harmony to create order and efficiency. The way the telephone is answered, the routing of calls, the information gathered to determine the necessity and urgency of scheduling an appointment, the flow of pertinent patient information, and the screening for insurance information and coverage are all pieces of an intricate puzzle which must mesh. Once the flow of information is established, very minor and innocent adjustments to any piece can reduce efficiency throughout your whole office system, leading to an overall increase in costs.

To find the areas where inefficiencies exist in your practice, you need an experienced outside perspective that can provide an objective and broad view of your internal processes.

Steps to an Operations Assessment
Schenck Health Service Solutions’ knowledgeable team of consultants will review office documents, observe all aspects of the internal human and information flows and question staff about function and purpose. All of these activities will lead to an overall picture of the appropriateness and contribution of each piece to the efficient operation of the practice. Perhaps important pieces of insurance information are not captured in the right form, resulting in an inordinate number of resubmissions, or worse, lower reimbursement. Perhaps the route slip/charge ticket layout hampers accurate coding and documentation. Or, perhaps patients are not notified of return appointments, resulting in lost opportunities to provide services or liability for failure to follow up on a problem. All of these issues will be reviewed, and problems uncovered, with a comprehensive Operations Assessment.

The process begins with the gathering and review of information about the office by the team conducting the assessment. Then, a site visit is conducted over one to several days depending on the size of the office. This visit will include extensive observation and interviews with all staff regarding their role, function and understanding of how they fit into the larger picture. Finally, all of the information and understanding gathered will be analyzed and compared to benchmarks and best practices standards, and a detailed Assessment Report will be prepared and personally presented.

The assessment may also include a review of employee policies and procedures, job descriptions, a detailed review of managed care contracts and overall reimbursement as well as an analysis of current fees.

Call Schenck Health Service Solutions today at 800-236-2246 to discuss the options and opportunities in your everyday routine which might make your practice more productive.