Welcome back to Never Mind the Trick (NMTT), our medium for getting better results with less effort. For the next several installments, we are going to focus, not on frequently asked questions about DME billing and business, but the frequently asked question:
How does one use AR reports and billing performance data to understand and improve future results?
The overall process is relatively straight-forward:
Rather than write a series of lectures on analytical procedures, a collection that would surely rival War and Peace in word count, we are going to step through the process that we use in our own work. First, a few foundational truths…
It is almost impossible to analyze one’s own work.
Let’s be clear. Analysis must be the initiative and priority of management. Individuals working in the customer service or billing departments (inside or outsourced), third-party payers, referral sources, and patients all contribute to the results. As such, they are all ill-positioned to perform useful analysis because their view is from within; it is jaded and without adequate perspective. Analysis requires objectivity, and the analyst must have a vested interest in the success of the company and no other incentive to assign blame.
If you are disappointed with the analysis you are getting from your billing department, it is likely not a lack of effort but the assignment itself. Put frankly, billing departments, insourced or out, are not well suited for analysis.
The analysis target is critical.
Always, always, always start with reports that are:
Good analytical source material prevents us from digging too deeply too early in the process. By looking at comparative metrics like collection rate, the analyst can identify trends that are both significant enough to matter and subject to the influence of purposeful effort. If something is small or non-recurring, or if change is impractical, good analytical material provides management with the relief of letting it go so finite resources are available to solve significant problems and improve results.
Prioritizing the analysis process at the highest level, assigning it to capable individuals that can exercise objectivity and impartiality, and starting with consistently prepared information are key.
Subscribe to our newsletter to catch the next installment in our process for analyzing billing data, “Always Start Here.”
How does one use AR reports and billing performance data to understand and improve future results?
The overall process is relatively straight-forward:
- Evaluate key performance metrics at a high level.
- Develop questions about the performance metrics that are outside expectations.
- Drill deeper to investigate specific questions.
- Evaluate findings and act upon them.
Rather than write a series of lectures on analytical procedures, a collection that would surely rival War and Peace in word count, we are going to step through the process that we use in our own work. First, a few foundational truths…
It is almost impossible to analyze one’s own work.
Let’s be clear. Analysis must be the initiative and priority of management. Individuals working in the customer service or billing departments (inside or outsourced), third-party payers, referral sources, and patients all contribute to the results. As such, they are all ill-positioned to perform useful analysis because their view is from within; it is jaded and without adequate perspective. Analysis requires objectivity, and the analyst must have a vested interest in the success of the company and no other incentive to assign blame.
If you are disappointed with the analysis you are getting from your billing department, it is likely not a lack of effort but the assignment itself. Put frankly, billing departments, insourced or out, are not well suited for analysis.
The analysis target is critical.
Always, always, always start with reports that are:
- Highly summarized. We are talking about 30,000 ft. macro-level detail.
- Consistently prepared. Understanding the changes and their related causes is what matters most, so consistency is critical.
Good analytical source material prevents us from digging too deeply too early in the process. By looking at comparative metrics like collection rate, the analyst can identify trends that are both significant enough to matter and subject to the influence of purposeful effort. If something is small or non-recurring, or if change is impractical, good analytical material provides management with the relief of letting it go so finite resources are available to solve significant problems and improve results.
Prioritizing the analysis process at the highest level, assigning it to capable individuals that can exercise objectivity and impartiality, and starting with consistently prepared information are key.
Subscribe to our newsletter to catch the next installment in our process for analyzing billing data, “Always Start Here.”
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