Group to help Maryland doctors make more money
January 27th, 2008 by moniesMedChi began the program last year to help physicians who have little or no expertise in business management, and to offer guidance and support to smaller, rural practices that can’t afford practice managers.
Physicians can receive a pamphlet, It’s Your Nickel, Business 101 for Doctors, call the MedChi practice support team, and attend seminars.
By adding consultants, MedChi is following in the steps of Virginia. The fee-for-service resource will be tailored to each physician’s specific needs.
There’s a higher level of issues to be aware of, said T. Michael Preston, executive director of MedChi. No matter how good a doctor is, if he can’t pay the bills, patients can’t avail themselves of his services.
MedChi has more than 7,000 members out of the 10,000 practicing physicians in Maryland. All of the profitability resources, with the exception of the consultant services, are included in the $395 annual dues. The estimated savings for physicians, however, may far exceed the annual dues.
For example, MedChi calculates that a four-doctor pediatric group grossing $1.4 million per year, with an annual growth rate of 5 percent, can save up to $45,400 per physicians by using MedChi’s services.
The approach, titled UKAN, consists of understanding changes in revenue or costs, knowing the profit per patient visit for each payer, analyzing the costs to find savings and saying no to unreasonable payer contracts.
Physicians can’t afford to do unprofitable business, Preston said. We want to make sure physicians understand there’s a contractual relationship with a health plan, and we encourage doctors to say no to health plans when they’re uneconomical.
In addition to turning down uneconomical health plans, MedChi’s UKAN plan includes hiring nurse practitioners, improving collections, ensuring proper coding, dropping short-term disability and using flexible spending programs.
Through the initiative, members can also purchase employee benefits and insurance, discount vaccine products, and have an analysis of their telecommunications systems.
We can’t really focus on the clinical needs they have, Preston said. We try to focus on services and guidance on things that are common to all physicians - compliance and regulatory issues - and business issues.
Author: Debra Siedt
Posted in Uncategorized |