Much Ado About Data

Can Shannon move past being overwhelmed by data and commit to bestPT?

As she made her way into work on Monday, Shannon was preparing herself to take the next step in her bestPT journey. She knew that the software was going to help in innumerable ways, from records management, to tracking insurance payments, to helping to get patients reinvested in their own care plans. But with reports come data “a TON of data” and what on earth were she and Teresa going to do with all of those numbers?

“Good morning Teresa,” Shannon said as she entered the office.

“Hello Shannon, how was your weekend?” asked Teresa.

“It was great,” Shannon answered. “Mike and I tried out the new downtown Indian buffet. It’s really good, and I even have leftovers to enjoy for lunch today!”

“Hopefully the kids found something they liked too,” said Teresa. She stopped for a minute, then continued, “So, have you given any thought to moving forward on bestPT?”

Shannon sighed. It was going to be difficult to put this off for any longer. “I know, I know, we shouldn’t wait any longer,” she said. “Before we get started, I’m going to call Tom and ask him a few questions.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” said Teresa.

Shannon placed her lunch in the refrigerator and then went into her office, closing the door. She stared at the phone for a minute and then laughed at herself. Boy, change can really be hard, she thought. She picked up the phone and, within a minute, she was connected with her bestPT coach, Tom.

“How are things going?” Tom asked.

“‘Well, we’re doing fine but,  I have to admit, we understand that this software is going to help us manage the office more professionally and efficiently but we’re having trouble taking that last big step and rolling it out,” Shannon admitted.

“Oh, you’re not alone,” Tom said. “Ask me anything, we’re here to help!”

“I guess we’re overwhelmed by all the data,” said Shannon. “Neither Teresa nor I are number crunchers and the reports can get so complex. How do we figure out how to pull exactly the information we need without drowning ourselves in data we don’t need?”

“One of the wonderful things about the billing stats report is that it will help you to create consistent, repeatable processes for collecting patient information and assessing billing performance,” Tom said. “It might be daunting looking at the possibilities from the outside in, but once you’ve got things set up, it will actually help you to get a handle on your office cash flow and more easily identify where and why things are being held up in the reimbursements pipeline.”

He continued, “Have you ever looked at your revenue stream over a period of a few months and seen a decline, and panicked? With the billing stats report, instead of trying to go patient by patient, week by week, month by month, and guess what the problems are, you can actually run reports with up to 45 different parameters and pinpoint where exactly in the process things are breaking.”

“I don’t see how that’s possible,” protested Shannon.

“Let me put it this way: you can run a 60-day report and get a breakdown of the status of each claim,” said Tom. “If the claim is not at the insurance company, then you’ll be able to figure out if you’ve got an intake problem, or if there are issues with the information you’re sending out with the claim. You can also look at which CPT codes are getting paid or underpaid. With the power of accurate statistics, you can have the right conversations with front desk staff, your office manager and billers.”

“What’s also great is that with the radar chart, you can set parameters for your practice,” Tom continued. “If you get to a point where everything is within the parameters you’ve set, then you will render the billing stats report unnecessary. That’s a terrific thing about bestPT – we help you achieve best practices in your office management so that you can be in control of your practice and focus more on your patients.”

“That’s exactly what we want,” said Shannon. “I don’t know anyone who went into medicine so that they could spend most of their day staring at a computer screen!”

“But do you want to hear the most wonderful thing of all about bestPT?” Tom asked.

“Of course,” said Shannon.

“Whenever you have a question, a concern or simply want to talk through some numbers that don’t seem to make sense, you can call me,” Tom said. “We are committed to being here when you need us.”

“Well, that is the most wonderful thing I’ve heard all day!” laughed Shannon. “I can’t thank you enough for your time today.”

After a few more minutes of small talk, Shannon emerged from her office and walked toward Teresa, who knew just by looking at Shannon that change was afoot.

“That must have been some phone call,” said Teresa.

“It was,” smiled Shannon. “I think we’re ready to begin our bestPT adventure – together!”

Is Shannon ready for launch?

Disclaimer: For HIPAA compliance, all characters appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.