Administrative burden and best practice

[Guest guest]

From recent posts and lots of personal experience I suspect we all

struggle with administrative burden - scanning, faxing, claims, forms, etc.

One advantage I have is being a process nut - I've studied and tested in

many practices the concepts of continuous flow, just-in-time, many aspects

of the Toyota production concept and Lean.

It's difficult to put those concepts into words, but I'm trying to do that

in materials I'm writing.

Reading some recent posts it occurred to me that there may be significant

differences in the information technology we use in our offices. Lee

and I have commented to each other that we don't face some of the issues

we've seen on this list serv due to our IT.

I don't yet know how to do this, but I would love to somehow pool our

knowledge of IT use in real practice. There have been lots of posts

regarding local solutions and problem solving, but how might we create a

comparison? Is there some way that we could dissect certain key functions

and create metrics we might use to discover the best available IT solutions

and process?

We might for instance dissect the lab process, consult notes, or any other

administrative task that ties us up.

Thoughts?

Gordon

[Guest guest]

I think we need examples of best practices by which we can benchmark ourselves against.

Lowell Kleinman, MD

5601 Norris Canyon Rd.

Suite 340

San Ramon, CA 94583

(925) - 866-8080

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of L. Gordon Sent: Friday, April 29, 2005 4:29 AMTo: Subject: Administrative burden and best practice

From recent posts and lots of personal experience I suspect we all struggle with administrative burden - scanning, faxing, claims, forms, etc.One advantage I have is being a process nut - I've studied and tested in many practices the concepts of continuous flow, just-in-time, many aspects of the Toyota production concept and Lean.It's difficult to put those concepts into words, but I'm trying to do that in materials I'm writing.Reading some recent posts it occurred to me that there may be significant differences in the information technology we use in our offices. Lee and I have commented to each other that we don't face some of the issues we've seen on this list serv due to our IT.I don't yet know how to do this, but I would love to somehow pool our knowledge of IT use in real practice. There have been lots of posts regarding local solutions and problem solving, but how might we create a comparison? Is there some way that we could dissect certain key functions and create metrics we might use to discover the best available IT solutions and process?We might for instance dissect the lab process, consult notes, or any other administrative task that ties us up.Thoughts?Gordon

[Guest guest]

This is a great idea, but I’m not

sure how applicable some solutions will be for everyone. I think it will be

largely system property/function dependant (eg, those of us with Alteer have

certain functions accessible, but not others, while those with other EMR/PMS

have different capabilities).

A. Eads, M.D.

Pinnacle Family Medicine, PLLC

phone fax

P.O. Box 7275

Woodland Park, CO 80863

Administrative burden and best practice

From recent posts and lots of personal experience I

suspect we all

struggle with administrative burden - scanning,

faxing, claims, forms, etc.

One advantage I have is being a process nut - I've

studied and tested in

many practices the concepts of continuous flow,

just-in-time, many aspects

of the Toyota production concept and Lean.

It's difficult to put those concepts into words,

but I'm trying to do that

in materials I'm writing.

Reading some recent posts it occurred to me that

there may be significant

differences in the information technology we use

in our offices. Lee

and I have commented to each other that we don't

face some of the issues

we've seen on this list serv due to our IT.

I don't yet know how to do this, but I would love

to somehow pool our

knowledge of IT use in real practice.

There have been lots of posts

regarding local solutions and problem solving, but

how might we create a

comparison? Is there some way that we could

dissect certain key functions

and create metrics we might use to discover the

best available IT solutions

and process?

We might for instance dissect the lab process,

consult notes, or any other

administrative task that ties us up.

Thoughts?

Gordon

[Guest guest]

Gordon,

Sounds like a good idea.

After 30+ years of a more conventional

small town practice with from 2-3 employees, your inital idea of solo pracitce,

Gordon, sounded pretty good. So 18 months ago, I went off in the same

town by myself with no employees. I try to keep my days to about 12

patients but it usually turns out to be more like 17+. So the administrative

stuff usually gets done in the evening and weekends; and I get behind and I’m

sure I’ve let a significant amount of money get through the cracks.

I have found a company in Pennsylvania that will do my insurance processing. They use Alteer software

so it’s just a matter of them logging on just as if they were in the next

room in my office. Between Alteer’s messaging system and the telephone,

we communicate very effectively and timely. Since I retain administrative

control of the software, I can limit their access to the data if need be,

simply by removing their password. Additionally, I keep my own mailing

address for all insurances and patient billing. That way, all the

revenue comes directly to me; I just fax a copy of the EOB’s, etc., to

them via Alteer’s messaging system. I once had the difficult experience

of terminating a billing agency; they had all the data on their computers and

the address for payments was their office. I eventually got it all straightened

out but there was a 6 month problem with cash flow that hurt quite a

bit. The way I’m doing it now, I retain all the control and

if I need to discharge them, then I can get someone else up and running in a

fairly short time and I don’t have to go through the tedious,

time-consuming and error-filled process of changing addresses with

payors. I do the initial coding when I complete the Encounter Form; I

expect the billing company to follow-up on claims that are not paid as expected.

if I have coding questions, I message them with questions and they advise very

quickly.

So far (18 months), so good, but it has

used more time than I expected. I under-estimated my time requirement and

got behind – some of “today’s work didn’t get done

today”. Catching up is a lot more time-consuming than “today”.

However, having started a practice 3 previous times, either because of family

necessities or because of changes in partnerships, I guess having too much

business in less than 18 months is sort of good thing. I’m

convinced that you are correct, that various functions and procedures can be

streamlined to substantially better efficiency. One of the issues that I

deal with is that this type of practice is particularly satisfying to patients;

therefore they talk to their friends and I’ve had to become a bit

hard-nosed about limiting and saying NO to new patients. I don’t

participate in any HMO’s and other managed care plans, but I do process

other insurances (I’m amazed at how many insurance companies are in my

data base), I’m not a process nut so I’m kind of intrigued by

your message.

Hm-m-m-m-m – “efficient

processes” – let’s see where this one goes.

Bud Freeman

Kennebunk, Maine

Administrative burden and best practice

From recent posts and lots of personal experience I

suspect we all

struggle with administrative burden - scanning,

faxing, claims, forms, etc.

One advantage I have is being a process nut - I've

studied and tested in

many practices the concepts of continuous flow,

just-in-time, many aspects

of the Toyota production concept and Lean.

It's difficult to put those concepts into words,

but I'm trying to do that

in materials I'm writing.

Reading some recent posts it occurred to me that

there may be significant

differences in the information technology we use

in our offices. Lee

and I have commented to each other that we don't

face some of the issues

we've seen on this list serv due to our IT.

I don't yet know how to do this, but I would love

to somehow pool our

knowledge of IT use in real practice.

There have been lots of posts

regarding local solutions and problem solving, but

how might we create a

comparison? Is there some way that we could

dissect certain key functions

and create metrics we might use to discover the

best available IT solutions

and process?

We might for instance dissect the lab process,

consult notes, or any other

administrative task that ties us up.

Thoughts?

Gordon