Recent studies have popped up showing that between 25% and 30% of income lost by medical practices is a result of underpricing, charges that were either missed or not submitted, no proper follow-up, or wrong coding. As a means of correcting medical billing issues, some medical practices turn to electronic health records (EHRs) for help, but they won’t be able to take care of all of your problems. Some reasons for shortcomings in the revenue department aren’t easy to detect, and it can get understandably frustrating. Here are some lesser-known reasons your medical practice may be losing revenue.
Undesirable Features of Free EHRs Causing Patients to Leave
You may feel the temptation to use a free EHR system. At surface level, they might appear to be just what your medical practice needs to become more efficient and manage their expenses. The problem is that these systems sometimes come with some strings attached, most notably that they may have hidden features that could be unappealing to your patients.
As an example, patients could be sent product review emails that look like they were sent from their doctor. All the while, doctors could be completely unaware that this is taking place. Patients who are worried about how their data is being handled might not like these features, and therefore, they may switch providers.
Overstaffing After Successfully Implementing an EHR System
You should only raise your staff numbers while you’re transitioning from paper records to your new EHR system. It’s the process itself that requires the extra assistance. You will also likely still be operating your practice while the transition is happening. Then, people will have to learn the new system.
Once all of that is done, though, you don’t have to have as many staff members anymore. Your medical practice should be efficient enough to hold its own without the extra staff helping out.
An Excess of No-Shows
It helps when your medical practice has a policy for charging people if they have repeated no-shows; however, if you have plenty of no-shows, you need to know what the reason is and how to resolve the issue. Your billing/EHR system could have a feature that automatically reminds patients if they have appointments scheduled, and you should make use of that feature if you have it.
It also helps to send messages via phone or text. The timing of reminder calls is key because calling a patient towards the end of the day could mean they don’t pick up, and then they attempt to either cancel or reschedule once your office has already closed.
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