By Roula Jamal, Pharm-D, Oceana Gastroenterology Associates, Corona, CA
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered one of the worst job crises. As we exit the COVID-19 pandemic, the employment picture has changed dramatically. We are facing several challenges, including a major shortage of health care employees, higher wage demand due to inflation and rising concerns relative to the quality and performance of health care employees under current conditions.
Due to the above reasons, a solution has become essential for the GI practices to survive the reimbursement decline, prior authorization requirements and meeting the public reporting requirements (e.g., the CMS Merit-Based Incentive Payment System).
Following are some adjustments and solutions that may be useful for your practice to consider.
Outsourcing
Employee outsourcing and hiring remote employees have proven to be powerful tools for practices to tap into a vast talent pool and enhance their ability to facilitate seamless entry into a new and innovative way of facing the challenges. Outsourcing from other countries can have several benefits and optimize operations.
- Cost savings. Expenses associated with recruitment, employment benefits and office space can be avoided. However, there is an extra cost for training.
- Flexibility and scalability. Practices can easily adjust the number of employees based on a fluctuating workload or need and maintain efficiency.
- Streamlined process. Certain tasks, such as obtaining prior authorization, scheduling procedures and answering incoming phone calls, can be streamlined, enabling the practice to concentrate on more strategic initiatives.
The downside of outsourcing is monitoring the productivity of remote employees, which can be done internally through the office manager and the electronic health record. There is also an extra cost for training.
Texting System and Text-to-Pay
Consider changing employee-patient interaction from phone to text by integrating a fully functional HIPPA-compliant texting system. The advantages of this system are many. Employees can be more productive, less stressed and improve multitasking. Additionally, interactions are automatically documented in patient charts.
Text-to-pay is another useful system to consider as an easy method for patients to pay their balances from co-pays and coinsurance in an easy, automated, convenient method. It saves the costs of sending patients statements by mail, which is costly and ineffective.
Automation
- Scheduling and check-in. Implementing self-scheduling and a remote check-in system can give patients flexibility and improve their satisfaction. Additionally, this will improve patient access and wait time.
- Appointment reminders. Automated appointment reminders help to reduce no-shows and cancellations. The check-in system automatically sends appointment confirmations and reminder messages.
- Appointment scheduling. Online appointment scheduling and self-scheduling not only improve front office efficiency but also provide easy service patients expect. Self-scheduling gives patients the ability to schedule and change appointments when it is convenient for them.
- Filling open slots. Schedule management software automatically fills open slots with waiting patients. Patients on the wait-list receive a text or email.
Artificial Intelligence
Automation is not the same as artificial intelligence (AI). Automation follows pre-programmed rules to process data. AI uses complex algorithms to process and understand that data. Here are some useful AI resources that can be incorporated into the practice:
- AI for prior authorization. This automatically verifies, initiates and retrieves comprehensive authorization details. Further, it can initiate authorizations at twice the speed of manual processes. It is currently expensive. The cost is much higher than a remote employee. I believe our practice will be implementing this in the near future when it becomes cost-effective.
- AI-driven dictation system. An AI-driven dictation system is fabulous and intelligent and will save time for providers. At this point, it is considered expensive. Again, it is a great option for the near future when it becomes cost-effective.
The challenges of staffing are increasing the costs of running an office. Hopefully, employing some of these changes can help offices survive the challenges faced in health care.
Roula Jamal, Pharm-D, started her career as a doctor of pharmacy. Her experience includes research in gastroenterology and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Over the last 12 years, she has been an administrator at Oceana Gastroenterology Associates. Managing over 30 employees, Roula Jamal’s expertise includes contract negotiation, patient access to care and artificial intelligence in medical practice.