Usually a computerized billing system captures and reports information differently from the way you manage your practice’s business. Unless you build a customized program, you will have to understand your computer’s thinking in order to maximize its use as a management tool for your business.

Transforming a clinical service into income requires managing tens of thousands of transactions with hundreds of thousands of data elements. In order to make the difference between mediocre and outstanding collection performance, an effective and efficient billing process is required.

As the practice owner (or manager), one of the most powerful points of leverage you have for having your practice be effective and successful is your staff.

Implement systems to assure that an appropriate charge is entered for each clinical service. Use your computer system’s appointment scheduling to compare appointments with charge tickets, identifying missing tickets.

In the last issue we laid the groundwork for a monthly reporting package. We showed how to prepare reports of clinical activity and patient type. In this issue we’ll use the data from those reports in describing the reporting of collection performance, accounts receivable (AR), and practice expense.

One of the most challenging tasks for ophthalmology practices is the business process of sending thousands of fee-for-service claims (for both medical and surgical services) to third-party payors and of ensuring proper payment.

In past issues of this newsletter, we’ve worked through the methodology to use in the analysis of your practice’s financial performance. In the next two issues, we’ll look at a set of regular management reports formatted for review by you and the physicians in your practice.

Hiring the right number of staff and paying staff at the right level are both key factors in managing staff costs and office overhead.

We will make the assertion that PHYSICIANS DO HAVE TRAINING IN THE TOOLS REQUIRED TO MASTER THEIR BUSINESS.

Personnel costs may represent as much as 25­30% of overhead in a medical practice.

Are you dreading going through a computer installation in your practice? Complying with HIPAA regulations, phasing out an obsolete system, and making functional upgrades to keep pace with your business needs are but a few of the reasons you may be facing installation of a new practice management software system.

It’s the end of the year and time to review every aspect of the business of your practice in order to plan for the upcoming year.

Many ophthalmology practices use optometrists and opticians to expand the practices’ productivity, income, and profitability. Your ability to obtain and retain the services of these professionals, as well as to improve their performance and productivity, is enhanced by offering compensation incentives.

Many ophthalmology practices find themselves functioning as a finance company for patients’ unpaid balances and co-payments.

Certain functions obviously require expertise beyond the capabilities of the ophthalmologist and the practice staff, such as accounting, legal, and equipment maintenance services.

What is the best way to acquire capital equipment? Purchase with cash? Finance purchase? Lease? Although this newsletter provides solid guidelines to help you evaluate purchase choices, it is not a substitute for consultation with your professional financial advisors (e.g., accountant, tax attorney).

The following are measurable practice revenue sources that staff can dramatically impact to make or break the bottom line.