Is the hybrid model right for your practice?

DNU MED USAOver the years, an endless stream of medical practitioners have benefited substantially from Med USA’s full range of services, from our cloud-based RCM service and software to our medical revenue cycle management, credentialing, billing and more. For many, the all-hands-on-deck approach of our full Platinum Service is just the right fit. It allows our team to fully integrate into your practice, handling nearly all financial aspects of your day-to-day operations. Not all practices need such a high touch, however. Many find that a “Goldilocks” (not too little, not too much) approach works best for them. We’ll explore this option here.

The four percent model
As a variation on the Platinum Service level of Revenue Cycle Management, we offer an a la carte model for a variety of reasons. Firstly, having been in this space since 1978, we understand practices have people on their staff who have been with them for many years and bring a great deal of institutional knowledge with them. In many cases, revenue cycle solutions do, in fact, serve to replace existing employees, but an a la carte solution allows you to keep the most valuable staff members around while allowing the less productive or knowledgable ones to move on to work better suited to them, benefiting everyone involved.

Meanwhile, our team of professionals works to integrate with your team to develop creative solutions without uprooting your very best team employees. With the Platinum Service, our full-service fee is six percent, but with this hybrid model, your practice is only charged four percent because it utilizes a blend of our team and yours. It’s really a best-of-both-worlds solution for practices of all sizes with employees who still bring value to the table. This solution is equally viable for solo independent practices as well as multi-providers and specialty practices and physicians’ networks within hospitals.

This hybrid model brings the following advantages to practices:

The practice can retain its best employees and those with the most institutional and patient knowledge.
Low-performing employees will be taken out of the mix, allowing the top performers to shine alongside our skilled, knowledgeable team.
Typically, a practice will start to see rapid improvements within 90 to 180 days.
If we don’t believe your practice will benefit from this service, we’ll tell you up front. In fact, if you’re already handling your billing and other financial services without a hitch, we’ll recommend you keep doing what you’re doing.

A history of service
With an average of 34 AR days across all specialties, Med USA boasts a 98 percent first-pass claims rate, a 12.5-second average wait time for phone calls and an 88 percent EHR same-day encounter close rate. This is particularly important as health records migrate to electronic storage methods.

In recent years, we’ve helped a variety of practices reclaim their time to focus on helping patients rather than chasing down bills. In one case, a multi-specialty medical group with five physicians and six nurse practitioners/PAs with two locations had an average of 60 days AR along with lagging cash flow which was impeding the practice’s growth. By providing Med USA’s Platinum RCM service bundled with PM, EHR and BI services, we decreased the practice’s AR days by 40 percent, brought timely claims follow up back into the fold and gave the practice a 30 percent increase in revenue per visit. The client praised Med USA’s “Excellent services for any and all medical billing needs,” adding that we provided “Great training and immediate response to all problems that arise.”

In another instance, an urgent care with 22 physicians, 11 nurse practitioners/PAs and nine locations was in a cash crunch due to late patient bills and a lack of a dedicated billing team. By providing them with our Platinum Service, PM, EHR and BI services, we decreased their AR days by 40 percent, with 94 percent of charts closing on the same day. And, with improvements in provider documentation, we were able to increase the urgent care’s revenue per visit by 25 percent. A hospitalist group we worked with commented that “Med USA has always proven their ability to adapt to our needs and has provided solutions unique to our office.”

About Med USA
Since 1978, Med USA has been a stalwart in the Revenue Cycle Management industry as one of very few privately-owned companies in the United States. Being privately owned means that our practices are not dictated by outside influences such as shareholders. Our philosophy is to understand our client’s specific needs from both a business and clinical perspective and to develop solutions that meet their requirements.

We’re dedicated to providing top-notch customer service to your patients. With more than four decades of combined practice management and industry knowledge, our experience will work for your practice, regardless of size or number of patients. If your practice could benefit from some outside help while still retaining your top team members, contact us to see if the hybrid four percent solution would be right for you.