It’s hard to believe that 2016 is drawing to a close. There’s no better time to measure your practice's success compared to last year. Still, as important as financials and the number of new and returning patients are to your practice, what’s equally important is totting up the personal and team-based wins achieved throughout your practice.
Data is the first thing you need at your fingertips to assess revenue cycle management. That’s financial and clinical data that informs your decision-making for the year ahead. Sure, you want to build your profit and loss statement, but there are other numbers that are equally important, according to a recent commentary by consultant P.J. Cloud-Moulds in Physicians Practice.
You’ll also need data on cash inflow, patient charges, the number of patient visits per month, total accounts receivable broken down by days outstanding and the number and percentage of patients who are sent to collections.
But it’s not just hard numbers that illustrate your practice’s success. Another is the “happiness level” of your staff. And that can be measured by the number of patient smiles or by securing 100 percent of the required up-front collections for the month, according to the commentary. And celebrating those “wins” can be as simple as popping open a bottle of sparkling cider and sharing it with the staff--even in the middle of the workweek.
Another great way to improve staff morale is being smart about your break room, as previously reported by FiercePracticeManagement. Keep in mind that the size of the break room isn’t nearly as important as its location. If it’s not close to patients, it’s going to be difficult to get staff to spend time relaxing there.