DOING BUSINESS
Communication Mistakes Could Prove Costly Revenue cycle teams can influence key stakeholders in meaningful ways BY JHO OUTLAW
Poor communication bet- ween the revenue cycle team and key
ASC
stakeholders, such as physicians, can result in
coding errors, delayed dictation and inaccurate documentation. This, in turn, negatively impacts revenue in an ASC. With improved communication, many of these mistakes can be remedied.
Steps for Improving Communication Revenue cycle teams must use specific, quantifiable requests to alter a physi- cian’s behavior. Just stating that dicta- tion is needed ‘sooner’ is not enough. Rather, the team members should tell their physicians how long it would take them to dictate the required documen- tation for billing versus the desired turnaround time for the center. To drive the point home, a member of the team should provide a blind compari- son to the physician’s peers that details how long it takes the slower physician to submit documentation versus his or her peers. For example, “Dr. Smith, it takes you six days to complete dic- tation. The center’s goal is to have all bills out in three days, which means you are doubling the expected turn- around time. In comparison to your peers, this is where you fall.” Paint a picture using details and quantifiable numbers to help the physician eas- ily understand the impact his or her actions are having on revenue. With the problem and desired out- come clearly articulated, the next step would be to work with the physician to set goals for improving his or her turn- around time. These goals should be bite- size rather than tied to a big immediate change since achievable goals increase the likelihood for success. Goals should
be specific, quantifiable and easily mon- itored. Ideally, a time factor would be involved. For example, cutting the physi- cian’s documentation time down one day each week over a series of three weeks will help him or her achieve the goal of reducing documentation time from six days to the desired three. Firm deadlines work better than vague suggestions such as “soon” or “when you have time.” Consider also what happens when onboarding a new physician. Adding additional physicians should be a care- fully considered decision with the intent being that the new physician will help improve an ASC’s services and bottom line. In some instances, however, a new physician can actually cause a center to run less productively. When this hap-
pens, it is important to identify the cause and clearly communicate all issues to stakeholders. Simply stating that a phy- sician is being a drain on the center’s resources is not enough; it is the job of the revenue cycle team to identify the source of the problem and communi- cate it to key stakeholders. For exam- ple, the team can provide details, such as the implant the physician is using is more expensive than the implants other physicians use, and suggest the changes needed. Often, simple changes that are clearly communicated can make a big difference in increasing revenue. Perhaps the most significant com- munication issue within an ASC is around documentation, more specifi- cally, around what constitutes “good”
The advice and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author’s and do not represent official Ambulatory Surgery Center Association policy or opinion. ASC FOCUS AUGUST 2016 19
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