Physician’s Practice Management Software & Your Practice

A medical practice is a unique business, and therefore needs specific tools to run as efficiently as possible. One of the most important tools for that efficiency is physician practice management software, but what exactly is it? What are the benefits? What are the features? Let’s take a look.

What is practice management software?

Practice management software is designed to manage the daily operations of a medical practice from scheduling to billing. Specifically, most physician practice management applications have the ability to schedule appointments, capture patient demographics, check patient financial responsibility, generate reports, and facilitate billing. The purpose of practice management software is to streamline processes so medical practices can conduct their business more efficiently, to improve patient care an increase revenue.

What are the benefits of practice management software?

There are a number of benefits to be experienced from the use of physician practice management software, the first of which is a streamlining of workflow in all areas of your practice. Above all else, a quality PM system will lead to added efficiency in scheduling, intake, and billing processes, helping everything to run more smoothly.

The next benefit of practice management software is a higher quality of patient care. When your practice is running more efficiently, your staff are able to focus on patient needs as opposed to the daily tasks that used to take up their time. This will naturally lead to better patient care and improved health outcomes.

An improved bottom line is another benefit of physician practice management software. The billing capabilities of a PM system will allow your practice to bill more accurately and efficiently, helping you to see reimbursement more quickly and reducing the number of accounts that get lost in the shuffle.

Finally, you can expect to see improved interaction and engagement with your patients thanks to PM software. Due to the ease with which patients are able to schedule and manage appointments, they’re likely to be more hands-on with their care, which ultimately leads to better health outcomes.

What are the standard features of PM software?

Generally speaking, all practice management software applications will feature scheduling, billing, and registration capabilities. The scheduling function will allow a practice to create a schedule and track patient visits, with most applications allowing for different providers’ schedules to be color-coded and to show information such as appointment times and duration.

The billing function allows practices to create, submit, and track electronic claims for reimbursement. Additionally, patient responsibility can also be managed through these systems.

Finally, registration allows practices to enter patient demographic information, as well as scan drivers licenses and insurance cards into the file, making record keeping more efficient.

What solutions can be added to physicians practice management systems?

While the basic functions of most practice management solutions are extremely effective in improving efficiency for medical practices, there are also a number of add-on services that can take this efficiency to the next level. First, practices can sign up for automated appointment reminders so that emails, texts, or voice calls will automatically reach patients to confirm their upcoming appointments. The patient’s confirmation or need to cancel is then automatically entered into the practice management system to update the schedule so that practice staff can use their time for other tasks.

ePayments are another great add-on with a PM system. Today’s patients are used to being able to pay their bills online. This is why so many patients don’t pay medical bills on time even if they have the funds; writing a check and getting it in the mail takes extra steps that today’s patients simply aren’t accustomed to. When a patient is able to securely pay their bills online, the practice typically sees an increase in received payments.

Similarly, eStatements are another important step in streamlining billing. With eStatements, practices can deliver accurate statements to patients quickly, driving patient payments, and improving the billing experience for everyone.

Finally, digital check-in is a fantastic add-on to utilize practice management software to engage patients. With digital check-in, patients are able to fill in demographic information and sign consent forms electronically with the information going directly into the PM software and even being interfaced to an attached EHR. This reduces data entry for office staff and makes filling in those intake forms much more convenient for patients.

Practice management software is integral to keeping the business side of your medical practice running smoothly and efficiently. This is why MicroMD PM was designed to maximize profitability and help you stay independent. We streamline your front desk processes, enhance your billing capabilities, and offer robust reporting functionality so that you can always stay on top of how your practice is operating. We also offer add-ons to further increase your efficiency from automated appointment reminders, to ePayments and eStatements, and more.

For more information, visit www.micromd.com or call 1-800-624-8832.