What may be stress points, and opportunities, for your physician customers
By Laurie Morgan, Capko & Morgan
Practices face renewed pressures and new opportunities as they plan for the fresh year ahead.
Payment is still the main stress point
One of the best things about 2014 was that we finally got to see how a few of the most anticipated aspects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would impact practices. Practice managers and physicians were able to respond to reality, rather than just worrying about what might be coming down the pike.
But the ACA also helped push a challenging trend to new heights in 2014: the shifting of payment responsibility to patients. Practices that hadn’t mastered collecting from patients took a big hit in 2014, and those that don’t adapt in 2015 will continue to struggle. (Can you help? For example, do you sell a device that could be billed directly to patients and their insurance, bypassing the practice billing process?)
Practices are often very skeptical about technology, but those that are open to it will have an edge in solving payment challenges. Many insurance verification and patient responsibility estimation technologies either launched or hit their stride in 2014. In some cases, these solutions require just an upgrade – or even just training – by the practice’s EHR or PMS vendor. Other solutions involve apps or kiosks that require very little modification of a practice’s existing set-up. Help a client get over their fear and successfully adopt some of these tools (e.g., by sharing another client’s success story) and you’ll help that client keep going and growing strong. Or, consider partnering with a tech rep to sponsor an educational webinar or other resource to help your mutual clients.
Interested, and confusion, with new payment models
2014 also saw more buzz about new payment models – especially the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) and other structures that emphasize care coordination and connect payments to clinical measures. More of our clients are considering whether they can become a PCMH – even practices outside of primary care. However, there is a learning curve on both the operations and clinical sides of the practice, as practices learn to work with health plans in a different way and learn to set up new communication channels with other practitioners and organizations.
Have you heard about an important payer establishing PCMH capitation agreements with local practices? Getting into the loop of these opportunities is a mystery to many practices. Passing along information like this to your clients will make you invaluable.
ICD-10 and Meaningful Use
These two government initiatives once again loom large as we start 2015. The last ICD-10 delay has flown by, and the new deadline is less than a year away. We may find it hard to believe ICD-10 will finally happen this year, but preparing is the safest course for practices. Can you coordinate a refresher course for your clients? Does the shift have any impact on your products – and, if so, are you ready to prep clients on what they need to know?
Meaningful Use is also poised to stress more practices in 2015, as the program returns to full-year reporting, and more practices face the tougher challenges of Stage 2. Patient portals still frustrate many practices; even if they can build it, they often have trouble getting patients to come, and they’re often very unprepared for how difficult marketing their portal will be. As a sales professional, you already know how hard it can be to persuade your customers to take action. Even if you can’t offer a magical marketing solution to the challenge, a little encouragement that they’re on the right track – and that an uphill climb is normal – can go a long way.