Physician Assistants: Underutilized in Ophthalmology?

Physician assistants (PAs) offer eye care practices an efficient and affordable way to handle a large workload. Last week, we went over the benefits that a PA could bring to your eye care practice. This week, we’ll explore the ins and outs of adding a PA to your eye care practice. Although the number of eye care practices that employ a physician assistant is growing, physician assistants are currently underutilized in ophthalmology compared to other specialties. In fact, based on data from the 2014 Commission of Certified Physician Assistants, there are 101,000 PAs in the U.S., trained and ready to work, yet only about 75 PAs work in ophthalmology. https://eyecareleaders.com/physician-assistants-ophthalmology/

How Physician Assistants Can Benefit Your Eye Care Practice

When you think of a physician assistant, do you envision the person who examines your child when the “real” pediatrician isn’t available? That may be true, but it’s not the whole story. Physician assistants work in all types of medical fields and not just when physicians are unavailable. Physician assistants (PAs) are best viewed as ‘physician extenders’ who ease a physician’s workload, allow a practice to see more patients, improve patient engagement, and more. And if you think ophthalmology is too specialized of a field to benefit from PAs, think again. https://eyecareleaders.com/physician-assistants-benefit-eye-care-practice/

Physician Recruitment at Your Ophthalmic ASC: The Basics

There’s a classic line in the movie “Jaws” when Sheriff Brody says “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Remember that? If you own or operate an independent ophthalmic ASC, you probably know exactly how he felt when he uttered those words. That bigger boat was essential to keeping Brody and his shark hunting trio from being dragged out to sea by their great white menace. Likewise, your center needs to take steps towards “bigger” to avoid being pulled under by the market forces working against independent ASCs. One way to step up and hook the big ones—productive surgeons, more complex cases, and bigger profits—is with a robust physician recruitment strategy. https://eyecareleaders.com/ophthalmic-asc-physician-recruitment/

What You Need to Know Now About Complex Cataract Surgery Claims

It’s been more than a year since cataract surgeons received a comparing their own 66982 data national averages, but complex cataract surgery billing continues to be a hot topic among the compliance experts who spoke at the ASCRS/ASOA annual meeting. According to CMS, 9% of all cataract surgeries performed nationwide are “complex” and billed as 66982, explains presenter Donna McCure, CCS-P, COE, CPMA of Corcoran Consulting Group. Yet McCure and co-presenter Alan Reider have heard about outliers, including one practice where as many as 42% of cataract surgeries were billed as “complex.” https://eyecareleaders.com/what-you-need-to-know-now-about-complex-cataract-surgery-claims/

7 Surprising Ways to Reduce Costly Remakes

Do-overs were great when we were kids, but they’re not so great now that we’re grown up and trying to run a profitable optical shop. Joy Gibb, who presented at Vision Expo West, shared 7 ways to reduce remake percentages and boost profit margin in your optical. Ask your optical manager or your lab for your optical’s remake stats and how they compare to other opticals your lab works with, Gibb recommends. https://eyecareleaders.com/7-surprising-ways-to-reduce-costly-remakes/

Can Contact Lenses Freeze to Your Eyes?

In Salt Lake City, where ManagementPlus is located, winter has been far from what we are accustomed to. After a brief spell of cold and snow around Christmas, temperatures jumped way above normal and have stayed there ever since. But in other parts of the country, things have been quite different. Record snowfall and chilly temperatures have swept across the East Coast and Midwest. https://eyecareleaders.com/can-contact-lenses-freeze-to-your-eyes/

Vision Loss for Elderly People Increases Mortality Risk, Depression

It’s well known among the public that older people sometimes have a hard time seeing and completing daily activities, including everything from personal hygiene to driving and even walking. Now, a series of studies based on the elderly population of a small rural town in Maryland is shedding new light on how visual acuity can affect older people, and even on how vision loss can increase their chances of dying by 16 percent. It can also lead to serious depression. The Salisbury Eye Evaluation (SEE) project was the starting point for all the studies. It looked at people in their retirement years in Salisbury, Maryland. Separate studies looked at slightly different populations, and each study had specific timelines. https://eyecareleaders.com/vision-loss-for-elderly-people-increases-mortality-risk-depression/

MACRA Checklist: 9 Ways Eye Care Providers Can Prepare

CMS has indicated its openness to flexibility and alternate methodologies on many parts of MACRA’s Quality Payment Program (QPP), so the final details are still TBD until the final rule drops (it’s anticipated November 1). But barring any delay in the start date, you could have as little as two months to prepare for the new scoring system. CMS employs public reporting, and physician scores are visible on the Physician Compare website. Consumers will see providers rated on a scale from 0-100, and they’ll also see how providers are related to their peers. As patients’ financial responsibility for their healthcare grows, they’re getting wise to quality and cost. MACRA addresses consumer demand for this information. https://eyecareleaders.com/macra-checklist-9-ways-eye-care-providers-can-prepare/

7 Simple Things Your ASC Should Be Doing to Boost Productivity (But Probably Isn’t)

If you have ownership interest in an ASC, you’re always on the lookout for ways to boost productivity and profits. These ideas come from Donna Giles, RN, BSN, VP Clinical Operations, and Terry Bohlke, CASC, VP Operations, National Surgical Healthcare, who presented at the ASCA Annual Meeting. Some ASCs make the mistake of hiring expensive consultants to do complicated metrics based on national data and not necessarily relevant to your ASC, says Giles. The best productivity metrics compare your ASC’s current performance to past performance. https://eyecareleaders.com/7-simple-things-your-asc-should-be-doing-to-boost-productivity-but-probably-isnt/

What Is the Difference Between RCM and a Medical Billing Clearinghouse?

Billing is often a misunderstood and underappreciated part of operating a medical practice. Some professionals might view billing as a necessary evil, something that’s needed for financial reasons, but complicated, boring, and less important than other office-related tasks. Instead, consider billing processes as stepping stones to greater things. Medical clearinghouses and revenue cycle management (RCM) are billing tools that could help streamline billing and the offices that employ them. To begin our discussion of medical clearinghouses, it might be helpful to explain what they are and what they do. https://eyecareleaders.com/difference-between-rcm-and-medical-billing-clearinghouse/

Important Tips to Protect Your EHR System

By using electronic health record (EHR) and practice management systems, medical practices have all sorts of information available. With a few computer keystrokes or mouse clicks, we could find, use, and share information that helps satisfy our patients’ needs. But other people want access to this information. Their intent isn’t to help your patients, but to hurt them by stealing personal data and using it for harmful purposes. To protect this sensitive medical data and provide EHR security, consider taking a few steps. Going through life with a pessimistic outlook usually isn’t the healthiest perspective, but a little pessimism may be helpful when you’re considering and implementing EHR security measures. https://eyecareleaders.com/ehr-protection-tips/

Improve Your Medical Practice’s RCM with These Tips

Are you wondering how to improve revenue cycle management (RCM)? You’re not alone. Managing revenue, billing, and insurance processing are crucial because your practice requires money to operate, but you might wonder if you have the expertise or time you need to attend to such matters. Doing a few things could help you improve RCM and manage your practice’s finances. Investments could be in hardware. Start by keeping your practice’s computers, tablets, and other electronic devices updated. For staff members who will be accessing your records and systems outside the office, pay for smartphones and other devices they could use exclusively to connect with your office. https://eyecareleaders.com/tips-to-improve-medical-practice-rcm/

Strategic Planning: A Simple 3 Step Plan for Eye Care Providers

Most owners and practice managers aren’t at a loss for ideas to improve the performance of their ophthalmology or optometry practice. Setting goals isn’t usually the problem—but achieving them is. Why? Many eye care practices operate in the “putting out fires” mode. Doctors, managers, and staff are so busy taking care of patients and conducting the day-to-day business of running the practice that they don’t take time for planning. https://eyecareleaders.com/strategic-planning-simple-step-plan-eye-care-providers/

Why Your Optical Dispensary Struggling to Make Profit?

Medical offices treat patients, but they’re also businesses. Just like other businesses, they need revenue to operate and expand. Practices might be wondering how to increase sales in opticians and optical dispensaries if they’re struggling to sell eyeglasses, contact lenses, and related products. While there are factors that could hurt profits, there are also ways to address them. Some profit-related problems and solutions follow. Your patients may have your practice’s optical services at their disposal, but they also have so much more. https://eyecareleaders.com/why-optical-dispensary-struggling-to-make-profit/

How One Eye Care Clinic Turbocharged Its Ophthalmology EHR Investment and Gained 41% ROI

Every day I go out into my garden and harvest a bowl of tomatoes and peppers like this one. The ROI for the $20 and some sweat equity I spent on seedlings earlier this spring is sweet and savory. My grocery bill’s a little lower and my meals tastier. https://eyecareleaders.com/how-one-eye-care-clinic-turbocharged-its-ehr-investment-and-gained-41-percent-roi/

How Can an Ophthalmic EMR Change Ophthalmology Practice Management?

We all know that ophthalmology practice management software has been available for years – everyone has one. But has your ophthalmology practice management strategy evolved with the changes? With so much focus on ophthalmic EMR software, many vendors have let the practice management side fall behind. Your practice management should evolve as the technology does. https://eyecareleaders.com/how-has-ophthalmology-practice-management-changed/

What to look for in a Revenue Cycle Management Company?

With the advanced complexities of billing, more and more physicians are looking for alternative sources to increase billing revenue. With this increase we have also seen an increase of companies offering billing services. This trend has brought on a new set of challenges as new companies may not have the experienced staff required to keep up with the advanced billing challenges.  https://eyecareleaders.com/what-to-look-for-in-a-revenue-cycle-management-company/