Decrease Denials at the Front Desk
When asked who is the most critical person in a medical practice, many would say it's the doctor. However, in our opinion, the front office staff rules the day! The front desk is often where the patient experience begins, and it sets the tone and temperament for the entire visit.
This assessment isn't meant to be a slight against doctors – they're obviously essential. Still, don't underestimate how important a role the front desk team plays. In fact, investing in your front office team can pay huge dividends in return.
Here's where this gets exciting...
We've found that between 70-80% of denials can be addressed by your front desk team– assuming you provide the needed resources and training. These improvements are so tangible that you can easily show the impact they have on your business.
“In 60 days, our clients’ front desk teams were able to almost completely eliminate this denial reason. ”
Here’s an example: As part of our ongoing analysis of client denial trends, we found that across the nation, our clients were experiencing denials from their local Medicare carriers, stating that the patient had other coverage. As we researched further, we found that many patients were providing their “Red, White, and Blue” Medicare cards, and neglecting to provide any information about Medicare Advantage or Medicare HMO plans. This was causing claims to be sent to the local Medicare carrier, rather than the correct carrier. We created some workflows and scripts for our clients’ front desks to use, and also trained them on how to easily check Medicare eligibility to confirm this information prior to the visit. In 60 days, our clients’ front desk teams were able to almost completely eliminate this denial reason.
If you need to see improvement on your bottom line or motivate your front office staff, decreasing denials is a great place to start. Set goals with your team, provide them with resources to achieve the goals, and then reward your team's accomplishments. If your front office team is in-it to win-it, you can't help but be successful!
If this post resonates with you, don't hesitate to reach out! Keystone would love to share some of our best resources – including how to fix the top five denial reasons.
For More Advice
Check out our podcast!