Strong revenue cycle management (RCM) is dependent on accurate charges and quickly processed claims. Yet, many healthcare organizations overlook untapped resources that can improve the RCM process.
One of these resources, physician performance data, enables physicians to self-monitor their treatments, referrals, and patient population, while helping to identify opportunities for organizational improvement. In our recent industry study, top-performing health organizations overwhelmingly (74%) implement or have a plan to provide physicians access to performance metrics.
“Having data available to you in as real time as possible is critical to performance improvement and thriving, high-quality care. It lets you know that the processes you’ve put in place are working and you’re able to improve at a much faster pace than you would have, otherwise.”
– Ledys DiMarsico, Vice President & Chief Medical Officer at Adfinitas Health
To identify areas where performance metrics could improve quality care and revenue cycle processes, ask the following questions of your organization:
1. How well are your physicians performing?
According to the Medical Group Management Association’s recent MGMA Stat, “36 percent of healthcare leaders indicate that their physician’s compensation plans are linked to quality performance metrics.” When providers rely on positive outcomes for compensation, they are invested in improving the health outcomes of their patient population. Offering transparent quality data enables physicians to self-evaluate their performance.
Providers with access to transparent metrics can change behavior to meet or exceed national benchmarks. Physicians can then improve the quality of their care delivery, receive greater reimbursements, and increase practice revenue.
2. Which physicians are your top providers?
Performance metrics inspire healthy competition among physicians in a practice or health system.
High-performing medical groups provide transparent physician metrics to give providers a clear picture of their performance. Top-performing health organizations further rely on physician competition to draw out and strengthen weaknesses. When physicians compare their performance to others in their practice, they are incentivized to achieve better results and outperform their colleagues.
Yet, instead of alienating physicians from one another, transparency also builds trust among team members when they see others working hard to perform and all team members share the organization’s goals.
“Beyond simply rewarding or chastising top and bottom performers, metric transparency provides a real opportunity to engage in a meaningful dialogue to modify treatment plans, provide relevant training sessions, and reallocate resources.”
– Felice Felser, Director Portfolio Management & Analytics, Ingenious Med
3. How can performance metrics improve provider satisfaction?
To combat the increasing presence of physician burnout, healthcare organizations must target the root causes of physician dissatisfaction.
The American College of Physicians estimates that nearly 80 percent of physician dissatisfaction stems from systems-based issues. By analyzing performance data, healthcare leadership can identify high-performing workflows that provide the most efficient care delivery, with the least amount of administrative burden. Implementing workflows with minimal clerical demands and a patient-focused approach will improve physician satisfaction and reduce burnout.
When practice can mitigate physician burnout, they also increase provider retention. Lowering physician turnover provides a myriad of organizational benefits, including lower recruiting time and costs, fewer onboarding needs, and provider consistency for patients.
4. How could workflow improvements benefit your organization?
Through the collation of clinical and billing data, health organizations can uncover procedural issues and target simple, systematic improvements. Healthcare staffing and management practice, Adfinitas Health, preemptively addressed shortfalls in care delivery by leveraging provider-level data to create more efficient workflows and improve training opportunities for physicians.
Healthcare organizations can emulate Adfinitas Health’s methods by using transparent physician performance metrics to improve workflows, increase the number of patients seen, and raise the number of billable services physicians provide.
Physician and hospital performance metrics enable health organizations to improve billing and revenue cycle systems. If you didn’t get a chance to read it before, please check out the first blog in the series: Identifying Charge Capture Best Practices to Improve RCM.
If you’d like to discover even more opportunities to improve your revenue cycle, download Ingenious Med’s full charge capture survey report.
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