Six Steps To Make 2021 Great For Your Practice

Welcome to 2021!

After the challenging year that was 2020, it is comforting to look at this new year as a fresh opportunity to strive for new goals and take your practice to new heights.

With two vaccines in use, there is light at the end of this pandemic tunnel. Now is the time to position yourself, your staff, and your practice to come out of the pandemic stronger than ever.

Let’s take a look at the six steps you can take to make 2021 the year for your practice:

1. Update Procedures – We are all familiar with the phrase “Necessity is the mother of invention.” The pandemic forced most businesses to change how they operated to accommodate social distancing guidelines. Suddenly, there were many new policies and procedures, most of them created on the fly. Chances are that some new procedures were actual upgrades to old ones.As we begin the new year, it is an ideal time to review all your procedures to determine which new procedures were an improvement and make those changes permanent. Additionally, take a look at which procedures are not producing the desired results and make the necessary adjustments. The goal here is to ensure your practice is operating at optimum efficiency.
2. Review Your Billing and Coding – This is a big one, and something that we at Mednet are very familiar with. You want to make sure that your practice gets paid for the services you provide and that you get paid on time. To do this, you have to review your practices around coding and billing.Here are some questions to ask:
   • Who is in charge of quality control?
   • What happens when a claim is sent back?
   • What happens when a patient does not pay?
   Asking and answering these questions will help you decide whether or not you have the proper procedures in place to collect the money your practice is owed.
3. Keep Telemedicine a Part of Your Practice – For many practices, telemedicine was a new service that required them to develop new policies and procedures quickly. Regardless, if you were an early adopter or did so out of necessity, telemedicine is here to stay.Patients who have experienced the ease of visiting their doctor from the comfort of their home will now expect the experience moving forward. As we move past this pandemic, you should plan on telemedicine being a core part of your business model.
4. Focus on Your Patient – Properly managing the customer experience is essential for any successful business. As a medical practice, your customers are your patients. You need happy patients who trust that you have their best interests in mind when they visit your office.Earn and keep your patients’ trust by focusing on their needs and making each visit as pleasant as possible. Make sure they understand your payment policies and that your staff is following all COVID-19 safety guidelines recommended by the CDC.
5. Consider Outsourcing– Although we highlighted the importance of proper billing and coding above, that does not mean it is easy to achieve. A lot goes into operating your business, and it is easy for things to fall through the cracks.If you find this happening consistently, it might be time to consider outsourcing your coding and billing (potentially to a company with over three decades of experience and a 98% collection success rate).
6. Stay Safe – Although we are close to the end of the pandemic, the risk has not abated. The best thing you can do right now for your practice is to make sure you operate as safely as possible. Follow all guidelines recommended by the CDC and your local government.

The start of a new year represents a fresh start. The steps detailed above will help you position your practice for success. As we alluded to earlier, if you need any help with billing and coding, then all you have to do is reach out and let us know.