Any good plumber will tell you – to stop a leak, you need to find where it’s coming from. Practice Management experts say one of the most common places for a practice to be hemorrhaging money is in unused software or redundancies in IT solutions or management systems.  Have your IT systems evaluated, even if it is by an outside professional, it may save you in the long run. Practices have found that they were paying for duplications in anti-virus software, and features in functions in Practice Management and EMR solutions that they never even use.

 Hardware can also be a culprit, one savvy Medical Office Manager uncovered payments for Maintenance contracts on equipment that wasn’t even being used in the office anymore.  Yes some of these charges can be small, and that is why they often go unseen, and each little drip can lead to a bucketful of lost revenue.

 Any good Office Manager knows to look at the areas where a practice can really lose a lot of money, such as in code errors that result in insurance denials.  But if you really want to earn the respect of your employer, and improve profitability, take the time to look for the small things too.  You may both be pleasantly surprised at the savings that can result.

 Phone companies, IT Providers, and Cable Television outlets are blasting consumers today with ads about saving money through “bundles.”  The same can be said of these providers and other vendors to a medical practice.  Take the time to talk to your billing, practice management, and EMR providers about “bundling” their services if you have not already.  Paying for services and functions “a la carte” is a common place where little fees can add up to big costs over time.

  Other places to look for a medical practice’s hard-earned money going down the drain are in cleaning services, credit card processing, and staff overtime.  Check with other offices in your building to see if you are getting the best deal on janitorial services, you may not be.  Shop rates on credit card processors, they can be very competitive, and check for overtime abuses by hourly employees — hitting the time clock just 15 minutes earlier a day – could cost you 1000’s a year!

Share

One Response to “Practice Management: Saving Money on the Little Things”

 Medical Billing Company says:

2010/07/15 at 9:59 am

I’ve visited many websites and I can definitely say that your site is my favorite. Favorited, I added this on Digg, and I joined the RSS subscription. Thanks!