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Five Ways SMSC Can Improve Your Practice’s Financial Health

When the revenue cycle team at SMSC partners with your practice, we ensure you’re not leaving money on the table and allow you to focus on your core business: providing excellent patient care.

Being diligent in your organization’s revenue integrity can include both improving overall compliance and identifying revenue opportunities. Staying on track with these processes takes a professional, certified team who closely follows policy trends, laws, and regulations for accurate coding and documentation. This ensures you’re being properly reimbursed for your services.

“In the healthcare industry we understand the comprehensive approach that a person should be taking for their own health. Spectrum Management Services Company takes just as thorough an approach with your organization’s financial health,” explains Patty Frechette, director of revenue cycle at SMSC.

When the revenue cycle team at SMSC partners with your practice, we handle all aspects of revenue integrity, including customizing documentation tools to the needs of your organization. This ensures you’re not leaving money on the table and allows you to focus on your core business: providing excellent patient care.

Our talented team offers a range of services, including executive-level strategy, comprehensive analysis, billing and coding services, day-to-day operations, bookkeeping and support, and everything in between.

Here are four areas where our revenue cycle team can help improve your practice’s financial health:

1. Identifying discrepancies and creating process-simplifying tools

Our dedicated team will help identify any discrepancies in your current revenue process. This review includes physician documentation, payer guideline adherence, charge master setup, and the accuracy of claim preparation and submission.

Proper documentation during a consult is the first step to avoid unnecessary claim denials. When your provider has an easy tool that supports all payor requirements, the continuation of the claims process is going to stay on track. 

2. Creating a customized revenue action plan

In reviewing our clients’ coding in their charge capture practices, we often find opportunities for revenue enhancement and recovery. Once we have reviewed your current practices and conducted a comprehensive analysis, SMSC will create a customized plan for your in-house team members to follow.

We can also continue to partner with your organization to implement and manage the process.

3. Tracking every step of the claims process

SMSC’s revenue cycle team can help you eliminate revenue loss or delay by tracking the claims process. This includes pre- and post-claim or billing edits, returns for additional information or addendums to providers, and timely filing of claims.

Our team will identify the trends unique to your organization and create proactive solutions, ensuring you’re taking every possible revenue opportunity.

4. Staying on top of policy trends

Keeping up with ever-changing policy trends and regulations will ensure that you’re being properly reimbursed for your services — and not leaving money on the table.

We can help you understand unique payor rules, such as the correct modifiers or coding bundles. This saves you from regulatory missteps that could lead to compliance circumstances your practice doesn’t have the time to deal with.

5. Customizing staff training

Our team can prepare your in-house staff for achieving professional certifications by customizing education and training for their specific needs. This kind of investment in personnel is key to building an efficient, thriving practice for the long-term.

It’s also one of the facets of comprehensive revenue cycle support that SMSC excels at, thanks to having a highly experienced team dedicated to the revenue cycle aspect of practice management.

“Working in revenue cycle means that I get to focus on the business portion of a medical practice, which ultimately trickles down to a seamless billing process for patients — and financial peace of mind for providers, allowing them to fully focus their time on patient care,” notes Patty.

To speak with Patty Frechette directly, please email her here.

You can read more about SMSC’s revenue integrity services here.

SMSC offers a full suite of practice management services either collectively or on an a la carte basis:

Credentialing & Payor EnrollmentPayor Contracting
Executive Management & Practice LeadershipPhysician Recruitment
Financial Strategy & SupportQuality, Risk & Patient Experience
Human Resources & Employee DevelopmentRCM & Billing Services
Information TechnologyRevenue Integrity
Marketing, Communications & Analytics 

The Strategic Advantage of Hiring Fractional Executives for Your Healthcare Practice

In the rapidly evolving world of healthcare, managing a practice efficiently while staying ahead of industry trends and changes can be a daunting task. Healthcare practices often face the challenge of needing high-level executive leadership without the full-time commitment or expense. This is where the concept of fractional executives comes into play, offering a strategic solution that blends expertise with flexibility.

What are Fractional Executives?

Fractional executives are highly experienced professionals who provide their expertise on a part-time basis. Unlike traditional full-time executives, these professionals may work for multiple organizations, dedicating a fraction of their time to each. This arrangement is particularly beneficial for roles such as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), or Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).

Why Hire a Fractional Executive?

There are many reasons an organization might hire a fractional executive. In some cases, fractional executives can fill an interim need while searching for a full-time hire. For many small- to mid-size practices, hiring a full-time executive may not be financially feasible, or even necessary, so fractional executives can provide an excellent complement to an existing administrative team. 

1. Cost-effectiveness

One of the most significant advantages of hiring a fractional executive is cost effectiveness. A fractional executive provides your practice with experienced leadership, but the cost and time effort are customized to your organization’s budget and needs.

2. Expertise and Experience

Fractional executives bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from working with multiple organizations. Sometimes these executives are focused on a single specialty or have experience with multiple specialties. The diversity of their experience can be invaluable, offering fresh perspectives and innovative solutions that a practice may not have considered. A fractional executive can introduce best practices and strategies that have proven successful elsewhere.

3. Flexibility and Scalability

A fractional executive can provide the necessary leadership during critical growth phases, strategic pivots, or challenging times without the long-term commitment. This flexibility allows practices to scale their executive involvement up or down based on current needs.

4. Objective Insight

An external fractional executive can offer an unbiased, objective perspective on the practice’s operations. This external viewpoint can be crucial for identifying areas of improvement, driving change, and ensuring that decisions are made in the best interest of the organization.

5. Focus on Core Competencies

By delegating executive responsibilities to a fractional hire, physicians and/or healthcare practice administration can focus on their core competencies. This allows medical professionals to concentrate on patient care, knowing that the strategic and operational aspects of the business are in capable hands.

6. Speed and Agility

Fractional executives are typically seasoned professionals who can hit the ground running. Their experience enables them to quickly assess situations, make informed decisions, and implement strategies efficiently. This agility can be crucial in the fast-paced healthcare environment where timely decision-making is often essential.

Fractional Executive Examples

Consider a healthcare practice that wishes to improve the performance of some of its service lines. The practice needs strategic guidance to manage growth but does not need and cannot afford a full-time executive. Hiring a fractional COO or CRO with a proven track record in improving operations and increasing practice revenue can help the practice successfully achieve its objectives. In this example, the fractional executive might be engaged with the practice for a fixed period of time to tackle acute issues, or on an ongoing basis to provide long-term support.

Another example is a small clinic with the objective to enhance its financial health. A fractional CFO can step in to streamline financial operations, implement effective budgeting processes, and identify cost-saving opportunities. Once the clinic’s financial health stabilizes, the fractional CFO can transition out, having provided immense value without the long-term financial commitment.

SMSC provides a comprehensive suite of practice management services that helps build and sustain successful, thriving clinical organizations. We have expert teams that provide fractional executive services as well as support in areas such as physician recruitment, credentialing and other medical staff services, payor contracting, financial strategy, marketing, and more.