There are several ways to work on increasing revenue at a medical practice, from streamlining processes to working with fewer support staff. Any practice can, with some preparation, identify areas where costs could be cut for the good of the organisation’s finances. Diversifying services is a smart way for medical practices to increase their sources of revenue.
Patient collections: Collecting payment from patients is becoming more difficult at many practices. Patients may have high deductibles that leave them with bills they feel are unmanageable, for example. Many practices have begun to ask for co pay or coinsurance payments at the time of service, which can certainly help address some issues in Revenue cycle management.- Monetise checkup calls: Many healthcare providers are spending more time on checkup calls or emails with patients. While this is a nice service for the patient, for the doctor, this is an un-documented and billable process. A great option to consider is replacing some of these patient follow up phone calls with online tele medicine video visits that you’ll get paid for. Most patients will happily pay between $35 – $75 for the chance to meet with their doctor from home. This can be a great revenue earner if you are keeping the majority of this money in your practice, rather than funnelling it through insurance payers.
- Target the Right Patients: Sending general newsletters out to all your patients is one thing, but you should also be emailing specific groups of patients that are more likely to require appointments and make your practice more money. This includes:
- Patients who are due for annual physical exams or preventive care check-ups
- Patients with chronic conditions who are due for follow-up appointments
- High-risk patients, such as seniors, who can benefit from the flu vaccine
- Email Marketing: Saying in contact with your patients year-round can get them thinking about your practice and services even when they don’t think they need them. A newsletter is one inexpensive way to keep in touch with patients and encourage repeat business. You can promote new services and special offers and keep patients informed about health issues that matter to them.
Both services feature professional pre-designed email templates and offer free plans that allow users to send up to 12,000 or 15,000 emails each month, respectively.