Are you tired of trying but not succeeding? Do you dream of someone who can manage the non-clinical side of your medical practice so you can focus on patient care? Then, we are the bearers of good news.
A medical practice management consultant can trigger 360-degree business transformation and take your practice to new heights. Let’s dive into the roles, benefits, and selection criteria of medical practice management consultants.
What is Medical Practice Management?
Medical practice management ensures that a medical practice or facility’s non-clinical aspects, like administration and finance, function effectively. Its primary focus is to achieve operational excellence so that the practice can stay competitive, attain financial success, and continue to deliver quality healthcare.
Healthcare practices that do not invest their time, effort, and money in practice management may see their profits dwindle over time because of the rising costs of healthcare services and equipment, financial mismanagement, and operational inefficiency (e.g., long wait times) that drive patients away.
The Role of Medical Practice Management Consultants
Medical practice management consultants oversee and streamline various procedures and steps that are directly related to a medical facility’s revenue cycle. They are responsible for improving a practice’s operational efficiency and financial performance by handling tasks like provider credentialing, accurate medical coding and billing, human resource management, compliance checks, A/R follow-ups, denial management, timely payment posting, weekly or monthly data analysis and reporting, and even strategic planning and marketing.
The need for a medical practice management consultant is most strongly felt at physician-owned private practices where the administrative workload falls on the shoulders of the physicians who are already occupied rendering healthcare services to their patients. They want someone who can manage the non-clinical workflow so they can focus on patient care.
Unfortunately, hiring, training, and retaining a medical practice manager is not always feasible because of talent shortages, budget constraints, and market competition. That is where outsourcing comes in. Independent solo or group practices can turn to medical practice management consulting firms for all-inclusive or a la carte practice management services.
Medical practice management consultants at these firms either charge by the hour or take a percentage of your net collections for their tailored practice management solutions. The going rates in the industry are between $50 and $150 per hour or 4% to 10% of the gross monthly collections. The fee varies based on the practice’s size and specialty, the consultant’s experience level, the degree of complexity, and the services acquired.
Benefits of Hiring a Medical Practice Management Consultant
Physicians who employ medical practice management consultants can witness up to a 66% increase in their annual income. That translates to an additional $240,000 in earnings for the provider. Besides reduced workload and stress, hiring a medical practice management consultant can unlock the following benefits:
Enhanced Operational Efficiency
The operational efficiency of a healthcare practice can increase up to 15% when medical practice management consultants work as an extension of the team. Their expertise and industry knowledge can help the practice adopt cost-cutting measures without compromising on the quality of services.
They utilize advanced tools and software to automate workflows and implement best practices like regulatory compliance, quality checks, two-way communication, and risk mitigation to enhance efficiency at the medical facility.
Some key services that medical practice management consulting firms offer for improved operational efficiency are:
- Proprietary practice management software that integrates with EHR and EMR
- Patient eligibility verification
- Appointment scheduling
- Pre-authorizations
- Task delegation
- Credentialing
- Audits
- Staff training
- Compliance
Improved Financial Performance
Hiring a medical practice management consultant can uptick a practice’s annual revenue by 10-20%. Apart from budget trimming, these consultants ensure accuracy in the medical billing process to prevent claim delays or denials and formulate effective strategies to optimize revenue in a competitive healthcare landscape.
They use their expertise and leverage payer relationships to manage every step of the practice’s revenue cycle, from start to finish, ensuring improved financial performance.
A medical practice management consulting firm’s services that are specially targeted towards bettering their client’s financial health include:
- Cost control
- Medical coding and billing
- Charge entry
- Claims processing and filing
- Denial management
- A/R follow-up
- Payment posting
- Contract negotiation
- Performance charting
Increased Patient Satisfaction
Another key benefit of seeking a medical practice management consultant’s expertise is that you can improve your patient satisfaction score by up to 30%. Fostering healthy and long-lasting patient-provider relationships is an essential component of practice management.
Medical practice management consultants adopt a patient-centric approach to business processes to ensure patients feel valued and get the best possible medical care without any financial burdens.
Some of the patient-centric services that medical practice management consulting firms are known to offer include:
- Patient information verification (including insurance eligibility and benefits check)
- Patient scheduling
- IT support for remote patient monitoring
- Communicating patient financial responsibility
- Patient collections
- Conflict resolution
- Feedback and reporting
Ensured Business Sustainability
When medical practice management consultants become part of a practice, they ensure that the benefits of their presence are not just felt temporarily but rather permanently. Whether you partner with a medical practice management consulting firm for a year, five, or forever, their mission is to execute strategies and roll out initiatives that ensure long-term business success.
Studies have shown that taking practice management consultants on board helped healthcare practices successfully implement expansion plans by 25%. This is because medical practice management consultants continuously monitor industry trends, conduct audits, and prepare detailed reports to identify areas of improvement. Their timely suggestions can help practices mitigate financial risks, scale the business, and make it sustainable.
You, too, can consider the following practice management services for business growth and sustainability:
- Practice screening and audit
- Revenue cycle management
- Data analysis and reporting
- Strategic planning
- Marketing
- Staff training and education
- Centralized data management
How to Select a Medical Practice Management Consultant?
So, now that you are aware of the benefits of hiring a medical practice management consultant, how will you pick a person or company that best aligns with your business goals?
According to IBISWorld, around 377,062 medical group practice management businesses operate in the USA, and approximately 22,857 solely focus on healthcare consultancy. Hence, finding your perfect fit will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
However, you can follow our guidelines to shortlist the best medical practice management consulting firms for your healthcare facility.
Expertise in Your Medical Specialty
First and foremost, you must confirm if the chosen company offers practice management services for your medical specialty. It is because every medical specialty has its unique needs. Moreover, practice management solutions will vary depending on the size and type of practice.
For example, a small solo practice may require full-stack practice management services, whereas a large hospital may only need assistance with data analytics and strategic planning. Similarly, medical coding and billing for a dental practice will be different from an orthopedic clinic.
Tailored Practice Management Solutions
Second, you must ask the medical practice management consulting firm if they offer tailored solutions to meet your specific needs. There is no point in partnering with a consultant if he or she cannot provide the services you seek.
For example, you may have a capable in-house billing team in place, and your practice may already be operating efficiently. However, you plan on scaling your business, and for that reason, you may need the services of a practice manager. The partnership is futile if the chosen medical practice management consultant cannot help you expand your business.
Certifications and Qualifications
Next, you must look at the certifications and qualifications of your shortlisted consultants. A medical practice manager should at least have a degree in healthcare administration. Similarly, if you are hiring someone specially for medical coding, they should be AAPC-certified professional coders.
Some important skill sets to look for in a medical practice management consultant are:
- Problem-solving
- Decision-making
- Communication
- Conflict management
- Financial management
- Data entry and analysis
- Computer literacy
In the case of selecting a medical practice management consulting firm, you must make sure that the company is HIPAA-compliant and ISO-certified.
Testimonials and Stats
Testimonials and statistics are a great way to gauge the professionalism and reliability of a medical practice management consulting firm. Positive client experiences and numbers like the company’s clean claim rate, collection ratio, AR days, and active client count all paint a picture of how trustworthy a company is and whether or not it stands true to its promises.
Consultation Fee
The last and most crucial aspect to consider when selecting practice management consultants is their service fee. A consultant whose charges are exorbitant and throw off your budget cannot save your practice from a financial meltdown because he himself will be a huge expense.
On the other hand, a firm or an independent medical practice manager whose consultation fee is reasonable can prove to be an asset for your practice. With him onboard, your small investment will lead to significant returns.
Best Medical Practice Management Consulting Firm: MediBill MD
With the best medical practice management consulting firm by your side, you can transform your healthcare facility through streamlined operations, maximized revenue collections, and continuous growth optimization.
If you are interested in outsourcing your practice management, then MediBill MD can be your best bet. You can schedule a free consultation with our practice management experts to see if the offerings can effectively meet the demands of your practice. Moreover, we guarantee the lowest market rates. Our end-to-end practice management services are available at a flat rate of 1% for the first month of service. Even the regular consultation fee is half of what our competitors are charging.
You get experienced, qualified, and dedicated medical practice management consultants who prepare weekly reports and provide ongoing support to boost the financial performance and operational efficiency of your practice, keeping the 3Ps (provider, payer, and patient) happy.
