Enhancing Collections Performance for a Multi-Specialty Medical Group
Improving transparency and accountability to elevate collections performance across 35 practice locations.
An employed multi-specialty medical group with 35 practices struggled to meet time-of-service (TOS) collection targets due to limited data transparency and accountability, with a patient balance collection rate of only 45%. The lack of accurate reporting meant that front-line staff and management were unaware of the full extent of the issue. As a result, TOS collections were not prioritized, and performance lagged across locations. To address this, improving reporting accuracy and creating a platform for staff to share best practices and drive collective improvement was essential.
We collaborated with the medical group’s vendors and front-line staff to enhance data reporting and visibility, developing a new dashboard to provide transparent performance metrics for each practice. A short-term improvement target of 62% for patient balances and 95% for copay collections was established. We facilitated rapid performance gains by implementing improvement committees with selected practice managers and piloting strategies at 11 locations.
Approach
- Step 1Validate Data & Develop KPI Dashboard
- Step 2Pilot New Dashboards & Collections Processes at Targeted Locations
- Step 3Expand Implementation of Workflows, Reporting, and Accountability Metrics
- Step 4Monitor Results & Transition Ownership to Client Resources
We transitioned the project after meeting collection goals (in aggregate) for four consecutive months across all 35 practices. Consistent all-hands meetings were held to educate managers on internal best practices, monitor collections, and ensure accountability. The group achieved a projected annual increase of $700,000 in collections, with patient balance collections improving from 40% to 65% and copay collections from 92% to 95%. The engagement yielded an implementation project ROI of approximately 3:1. Enhanced reporting and data transparency empowered the staff and management to sustain improvements and meet collections goals consistently.
Driving Big Results Through Small Process Changes
- $700Kannual improvement in collections performance
- 40-65%increase in patient balance collections
- 3:1implementation project ROI