How Can Better Healthcare Technology Simplify Everyday Practice Operations?

Patients arrive, providers treat them, claims are filed, providers leave for the day. Behind the scenes though, there are several dozen minutiae that are taking place as a receptionist answers phones, confirms appointments, obtains insurance verification, looks up treatment codes, relays information for billing, informs others of new plans, takes notes, and interacts with healthcare staff, all within a matter of moments. 

Practice management software offers an alternative to a PC filled with scattered file folders and disconnected applications. 

It offers a centralized record and resource for management and scheduling as well as a significant reduction in processing time allowing staff members to focus on value added work. A good practice management system streamlines appointment scheduling, patient registration, billing, claims processing, reporting, and communication, and provides administrators with a quick summary of what is going on at any given moment in the practice. Integrating all of these platforms lessens the chance of losing information and reduces unnecessary repetition on the part of patients. In healthcare, even the smallest issue can become a big problem.

what can Practice Management Software do?

“Practice management software” is a term used loosely, and can refer to a wide variety of products depending on the system. They all perform the basic tasks associated with managing the business or administration aspects of a practice; appointment scheduling and tracking, patient demographics, insurance info, billing workflows, claims, payments, report generation, etc. 

The goal is to eliminate the need for an office team to use multiple applications, and instead manage the array of different administrative functions through one integrated system. This integration can make a real difference in a busy practice. For example, when a patient cancels an appointment the staff must often reschedule someone else, contact that person, modify his or her availability, and document the change correctly. An integrated practice management system can eliminate some of that duplicative effort. It can also facilitate oversight of aging claims and unpaid balances for accounts receivable analysis. 

This doesn‘t mean that the practice management is a cure-all for poor office procedure. It‘s not. However, it can make an already-effective process even easier to perform and reveal issues that might otherwise go unnoticed. The most effective practice management solutions are simple, pragmatic tools that allow people to efficiently locate the information they need without introducing further complexity.

The Administrative Side Matters More Than People Think

Patient interaction components of the conversation tend to be heavily skewed toward clinical technology topics, but efficient administration has to do with the quality of the patient experience as well. A late claim or dropped reminder or a scheduling error may seem to be a tiny inward-facing glitch, but to the patient it leaves the impression that no one is paying attention. Practice management technology can help improve the process underneath it all.

How Better Scheduling Can Improve The Patient Experience

Scheduling appointments is just one of those areas where little problems turn into big ones. A handful of double-booked appointments, unreliable scheduling slots or unnoticed cancellations can make the entire day unruly. Then, time usually spent on patients is spent on solving scheduling issues. 

Today‘s practice management software solution can provide teams with a shared calendar, appointment availability and patient scheduling information, along with scheduling tools. Many of the systems include online appointment setting, confirmations and wait list management. When these don‘t seem all that sophisticated, they do save a tremendous amount of time for many practices. Patients are also not necessarily looking for something complex, their needs in regards to scheduling really do boil down to when they are expected and what they need to bring to the appointment, and who they can contact if there are any changes. No unnecessary features required. Again, emphasis is placed on the schedule itself, both for staff and providers. 

If the schedule is not only accurate but easy to work with then providers will be better prepared for patient visits and front-desk personnel will be not so “behind” in managing the practice schedule. From a financial perspective, cleaner scheduling and fewer missed appointments will ultimately make the scheduling of appointments more easily optimized. This can‘t prevent no-shows, but reminders and convenient communication can help to cut down on the unnecessary.

Why Patient Communication Should Be Part Of The Workflow

Patients have gotten used to instant communication in nearly all other aspects of life and have become accustomed to ordering dinner, confirming a delivery, getting banking alerts, and texting businesses from their phone. However, healthcare is somewhat different in that patient information can be considered confidential and practices can’t just choose a messenger app that is most convenient without considering the security implications. 

This is where HIPAA compliant text messaging is key. Secure messaging allow health care practices to have communication with patients regarding appointment reminders, confirmations, follow up instructions, administrative questions and other appropriate information without turning to unsecured methods of communication. The important word here is “compliant”. Not just any text message can become “appropriate” for a health care practice simply by using it professionally. Practices must consider both how information is transmitted and where information resides, who has access to the data, and what safeguards are in place. 

Technologies designed properly and correctly can speed up patient communication while assisting with privacy/security needs. It can provide staff with a more streamlined communication system no more second guesses about whether an employee called the patient three times or left a message. Having more visibility may be more useful for practices. It can eliminate a bit of the chaos seen when many employees all communicate with the same patient.

Convenience Shouldn‘t Come At The Cost Of Privacy

It‘s not to give them more messages. No one wants that. The goal is to make needed communication easier, safer, and more reliable. The best patient communication feels like help rather than a burden.

Connecting Practice Operations With Secure Patient Messaging

This is where the real benefit is. The real value is when administration software and communication interoperate instead of existing as separate islands. Think of a patient who has an appointment booked in for next Tuesday. The practice management system has that information, but the communication system performs the secure reminder. If the patient responds, that could potentially flow back into the workflow. 

It depends which product is being used, but that means staff doesn‘t have to monitor multiple conversations and update multiple records. That sort of interoperation removes a lot of mundane managerial work. It can also help smooth out the patient journey. Registration, recall, reminders, payment, and follow-up don‘t exist as isolated stages in the patient‘s view. They are all part of the same experience. When the technology is less integrated, patients often know that; they may need to tell the receptionist three times what they need before they get it sorted, or they may have to make a second call to get something done that shouldn‘t have been an issue to begin with. Integration can help avoid some of those issues. Having said all that, not every practice needs such deep levels of integration. Another mistake is thinking one size fits all.

 Buying a big technology system because it has 20 features is no good if staff only need ten of those features. Practices need to start by understanding the inherent workflow of delivery and then select the technology that seems to support that workflow.

How Software Can Support Billing And Revenue Cycle Tasks

Administrative efficiency is more than just scheduling and communication. Revenue cycle management is yet another important way to efficiently maintain a healthy business. Proper claims prep, submission, follow-up, and appeals management are crucial to a practice that wants to be healthy. Patient balances need to be monitored, payments recorded, and small errors can cause delays that grow into adverse cash flows. 

Practice management systems can help consolidate much of this into a single workflow so staff can access billing activity, account balances, claims, and reports without depending on a series of spreadsheets or paper ledgers. Again, software is not a silver bullet, but when insurance data is not dialed in correctly the machinery can‘t see inside your head. If claim reps are not doing their due diligence on rejected claims the machinery can‘t do it for you. But it can provide much better visibility and help track down problems more efficiently. Reporting features can be helpful in quickly highlighting outstanding balances, claim activity, appointment patterns, and operational metrics that can help practice leaders understand where the business is incurring delays or “leaking” cash flow. Armed with this knowledge they can make more informed, data-driven decisions. Sometimes the data can even reveal an uncomfortable fact. 

Perhaps a workflow process is taking a disproportionately long amount of time, or a significant proportion of claims are being rejected for the same reason. Recognizing that pattern is a vital step toward addressing the root cause.

What should practice be looking for when selecting a system?

If you‘re shopping for healthcare software, don‘t lead with a sales demonstration. Instead, lead with a brutally honest assessment of the practice‘s immediate problems:

• Where is staff spending too much time?

• Which activities are redundant?

• Where mistakes frequently happen?

• Where is necessary information hard to come by?

• What‘s the number one complaint from patients?

A clear understanding of these issues will free up the practice to better evaluate software. Before choosing a platform, a practice should consider usability because this is what the staff will be using every day. An application with a robust feature set is irrelevant if users find it confusing. 

Additionally, integration is key, especially for practices that are already utilizing electronic health records, billing systems, patient engagement platforms, or secure messaging solutions. Security should not be an optional add-on but rather a given when selecting a product to ensure that the practice can entrust the software with sensitive data. Scalability is another factor to think about. What works for two providers may prove inadequate for a multi-provider practice. Lastly, support and training should be factored into the decision.

No team has unlimited hours in which to learn complex applications on the fly. There is an art to implementation, which entails training, accountable processes, and patience. Ultimately, the objective isn‘t just to implement technology but to make practice operations more effective.

Don‘t Buy Features Just Because They Exist

If a system is to be useful, it should be solving a real problem. If a feature sounds good but doesn‘t seem to fit into the practice workflow, it can become expensive digital clutter. Simple and useful is often better than complex and impressive.

Conclusion: Better Technology Should Make Healthcare Feel Simpler

Technology should simplify a medical practice, not complicate it further. That is really the bottom line. Practice management technology has the ability to organize scheduling and billing, patient records, reporting, and administrative workflows so practices can reduce the number of disconnected tasks employees have to perform. At the same time, the use of HIPAA compliant text messaging  and other secure communication facilities can provide patients with a much more immediate and convenient way to receive and send the relevant information. And increasingly these two areas are interconnected because to patients healthcare does not consist of two software systems they experience one journey. 

A confusing appointment process, sluggish response, or billing glitch all become part of that journey. Practices that address the underlying systems have the chance to improve that journey in a noticeable way. But good technology is just one part of the equation. The new software must be integrated into the workflow, staff needs training on the new system, and security issues must be rigorously addressed. When the pieces fit together, electronic tools are no longer yet another area of expense but also become a vital infrastructure. That is when healthcare technology truly is justified in the practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is practice management software?

Practice management system is a technological tool used by healthcare organizations for their business and administration management. It may vary from one platform to other, but mostly it helps in scheduling, patient registration, billing, claims, payments, reporting and other everyday work flows.

What advantages can be provided by practice management software to medical practices?

• Can cut down on the amount of duplicated administrative work that the practice has to do.

• It can enable the practice to keep good records of patients, appointments, and schedules.

• It can aid scheduling for the practice.

• It can assist the practice in billing.

• It can generate reports which enable practice managers to view the practice operations.

What do we mean by ‘HIPAA compliant text messaging’?

HIPAA compliant text messaging- refers to a secure messaging practices and technology established to meet the privacy and security mandated in allowing the protected health information. Practices should assess the security measures, access controls storage and transmission practices of their messaging provider.

Will secure texting have any effect on patient involvement?

Absolutely. Secure messaging can simplify the process of practices sending appointment reminders, confirmations, administrative updates and other more appropriate types of communication. The pace of communication may help build stronger patient connections to a practice.

Do practice management systems need to be interoperable?

In many instances, yes. Integrations can eliminate repetitive data entry and facilitate information flow from scheduling, billing, electronic health record, communication and other systems. The optimal integration will vary depending on the workflow of the practice.

Is Practice Management Software only applicable to large practices?

No. Smaller practices can also be more efficiently scheduled and billed, have efficient reporting, and smooth workflow through the office administration. The key is to decide on the functionality needed for the scale and complexity of the site.