At present, it feels as though medical practices are battling against a fierce headwind in the healthcare landscape. With inflation, surging healthcare demands, escalating expenses, and the widespread effects of the Great Resignation achieving smooth sailing has become an uphill battle.

Yet, despite these formidable challenges, many practices are not just surviving but thriving, rising above the rough sea.

How do these practices manage to stay afloat and rise?

What's the secret? A multifaceted approach incorporating technological advancements, strategic financial planning, and benchmarking techniques.

Let's dive in and explore strategies to rise above the challenges of the healthcare landscape and propel medical practice revenue to new heights.

Strategies to Boost Practice Revenue

Every medical practice aspires to thrive and surpass expectations. However, true success is akin to a coin: one side represents excellent healthcare services, while the other side symbolizes financial stability and growth. Finding the right balance between the two is the key.

Yet, it's concerning to learn that in 2023, 89% of medical groups faced a sudden surge in operating expenses, endangering this stability. To steer your practice towards sustained growth, embracing proactive strategies that address revenue leakage and optimize resource utilization is imperative.

Bolster your practice revenue with these cost-saving and revenue-boosting initiatives:

1. Streamline Scheduling

The key to boosting practice revenue is to improve how efficiently your practice operates. Inefficient scheduling systems create silos within healthcare organizations, leading to low productivity and burnout. It also affects employee and patient satisfaction, impacting patient care outcomes.

Physician planning and scheduling involve managing factors such as physician availability, shift length, rotations, workload balancing, expertise, patient demand, and waiting lists. Manually scheduling this intricate process is time-consuming and inefficient, requiring meticulous attention to detail and comprehensive coordination.

A centralized scheduling system alleviates the administrative burden on office teams, enhances productivity, and ensures better continuity of care. It eliminates the need for constant back-and-forth communication with planners, particularly for last-minute changes or shift swaps, saving valuable time and significantly improving overall practice efficiency.

2. Minimize No-Shows

The US healthcare system loses over $150 billion annually due to missed appointments. In 2023, around one-third of medical groups reported having increased patient no-show rates. These no-shows disrupt practice operations by creating idle time slots, impacting the expected net gain, and potentially delaying treatment for other patients.

Implement these effective strategies to prevent no-shows in your practice and safeguard your revenue:

• Confirmation Messages — Send emails, SMS, or automated calls shortly after scheduling appointments for recipients to confirm or reschedule.
• Pre-Appointment Reminders — Send reminders a day or two before appointments with essential details.
• Transparent Policies — Communicate cancellation and no-show policies during booking, including fees for missed appointments.
• Confirmation Calls — Make confirmation calls a day or two in advance— for critical appointments — to ensure commitment.
• Waitlist Management — Maintain a waitlist to fill vacancies caused by no-shows and notify individuals accordingly.
• Post-No-Show Follow-Up — Reach out to patients who miss appointments to understand reasons and collect feedback.
• Incentive Programs — Offer discounts or rewards for clients consistently showing up on time.

3. Examine and Negotiate Payer Contracts

As Medicare reimbursements decline, ensure you reassess your reimbursement rates and engage in renegotiations with commercial payers. While payer contract terms are vital in determining when negotiations should commence, factors such as legislative updates, market shifts, reimbursement fluctuations, and performance metrics can also prompt renegotiation.

Collaborate with your payers to create win-win agreements. Leverage your performance metrics, patient outcomes data, and market position to strengthen your negotiation stance and demonstrate your worth to secure higher fee schedules.

Reduce reliance on a single payor and diversify your revenue sources. You could limit interacting with underpaying carriers or consider going out-of-network if viable. Interestingly, an increasing number of practices are choosing to opt out of participating in some value-based programs due to heavy administrative burdens and the insufficient benefits they offer.

The MGMA's payer negotiation checklist assists in effectively preparing for negotiations with payers. It provides step-by-step guidance and a payer evaluation spreadsheet to assess and compare the performance of major payers.

4. Harness Benchmarking Insights

According to MGMA polls, 84% of healthcare leaders agree that benchmarking data enhances their practice operations. However, many haven't yet harnessed its full potential. A 2023 MGMA Stat poll revealed that only 24% of healthcare providers benchmark their organization's data monthly against external sources, with an additional 15% benchmarking quarterly.

Benchmarking is pivotal for healthcare organizations as it identifies operational issues, offers solutions, and highlights successful procedures within practices. It provides insights into best practices adopted by top-performing organizations in the industry. By studying these practices and learning from successful peers, you can adopt strategies and techniques to improve your practice performance and achieve better outcomes.

5. Prioritise Team Engagement

Technology makes your job easier, but it can't replace the importance of human interaction and team morale.

While turnover remains a pressing concern, you can address it by fostering a work environment where your team feels connected, motivated, and valued. Implement shared decision-making and leadership to empower your team and promote a culture of collaboration, trust, and loyalty. A collaborative approach may require more time and effort but enhances employee engagement and ensures sustainable long-term benefits.

Furthermore, streamline your workflows by leveraging technology. Analyze and refine practice workflows to reduce burnout and increase efficiency. Streamlined processes clarify roles and responsibilities. Clear communication, individual goal setting, and action-oriented feedback are vital for developing a successful people management strategy.

6. Assess Lease Arrangements

Rising overhead costs can put a dent in your practice's revenue. Reassessing your leases can uncover opportunities to trim practice overhead and optimize resource utilization. Delaying action on issues like inefficient space use, poor maintenance, or unfavorable lease terms can cost you more in the long run. Here are some practical steps you can take:

• Negotiate Lease Terms — Work with your landlords to negotiate more favorable lease terms to reduce costs and increase flexibility.
• Reconfigure Space Usage — Consider rearranging your space to meet your current needs, such as making room for telehealth services or improving storage efficiency.
• Review Document Retention Policies — Review your document retention policies to ensure they comply with legal requirements and help avoid unnecessary storage costs and legal risks.
• Assess Furniture and Equipment Inventory — Identify and dispose of unused furniture and equipment to cut storage costs and potentially earn extra revenue.
• Evaluate Lease Terms — Review your lease agreements to see if switching to a month-to-month lease would be more cost-effective for your practice.
• Consider Subleasing Unused Space — Explore the possibility of subleasing unused office space for better space utilization and to generate additional revenue sources.
• Assess Timeshare Arrangements — Consider any timeshare arrangements your practice may have and determine if they're still a good fit for your needs and budget. You can reduce costs by sharing resources with other practices or professionals.

Plug Revenue Leaks and Boost Practice Growth

Despite the challenges in healthcare, ensuring seamless operations in your medical practice is paramount. While it may seem overwhelming, strategic financial planning, operational optimization through benchmarking, and leveraging technology can empower your practice to thrive.

Glenwood's revenue cycle management tools plug your revenue leaks, safeguarding your medical practice revenue. Our expertise extends beyond financial planning; we've helped numerous practices combat no-shows, streamline scheduling, and boost team engagement through our advanced practice management tools — Glace EMR and Glace RCM. Partner with us and take charge of your practice's financial health today.