Even the most organized private equity-backed medical groups struggle with onboarding newly acquired groups. Over the last 13 years, RCxRules has worked with leading PE groups like yours as they scale post-acquisition operations. And these groups would agree – implementing technology to enable system and process standardization is necessary for rapid growth.
Through working with top RCM leaders, we have identified their biggest standardization challenges. Finding the right approach and technology to optimize this process depends on your systems and goals. Let’s look at how technology can address these top issues.
Physician Satisfaction with EMRs
Successful onboarding of medical groups requires a delicate balance between maintaining the physicians’ EMRs of choice while improving data continuity. Many groups choose to standardize on a single, best in class, specialty-specific EMR. Other groups chose to give their physicians the choice between a few EMRs. Regardless of your approach, the best performing groups understand that implementing technology that complements and standardizes patient data is a priority. Having multiple systems doesn’t help physicians unless the data can come together to create complete patient records.
Managing disparate EMR data
No two EMRs are created equal. Therefore, when combining data from multiple systems, you will find that changes in formats, data tracking, and patient identification can vary greatly. Being able to combine different data fields is essential to creating a comprehensive system of record. And while some EMRs excel in tracking data necessary to simplify patient coding and billing, others may lack the requirements that your teams need to create a self-sufficient revenue cycle. Having software that aggregates the various data sources will provide your staff with the data they need to maintain accurate patient records.
Data Integrity
A cornerstone of high-performing organizations is preserving data integrity. Integrity challenges increase when groups use multiple EMRs. Without technology to standardize the data, you’re left with a lot of manual work and increased chances of incomplete or incorrect billing. Not only is having accurate, complete, and valid data necessary for fast reimbursement, it is crucial to clinical quality reporting programs such as MIPS. Using a single system to aggregate multiple EMRs provides better oversight on productivity and performance and in most instances costs a fraction of what you'd pay in salary, benefits, or contracting fees for dedicated specialists to bring systems together.
Charge Review and Coding Process Standardization
As a PE firm who has acquired new practices, your goal is to increase revenue while reducing costs. However, the increase in revenue doesn’t need to come in the form of increased work for your staff. The best way to streamline your revenue cycle is by removing routine manual coding and billing tasks and assigning focused work queues to your coding and billing teams. Allowing your team to code, review charges, bill, and automate corrections in a single system increases revenue and reduces the total cost to connect.
RCxRules – An Experienced PE Partner
We have partnered with PE-backed medical groups across various specialties to help them scale their operations with technology that enables system and process standardization necessary for rapid growth.
Interested in learning more?