Increasing Practice Value and Revenue with Technology

By: Jeremy Bono, Sr. Technology Product Marketing Manager – ABB Optical Group

Patient satisfaction no longer just pertains to whether or not the patient was satisfied with their exam. It is much more of an all-encompassing measurement that pertains to the entire patient experience. From booking the appointment to how they were greeted at the front desk and from the variety of frame choices to how they perceive the overall value for the money and time spent, all these things and more are critical pieces to the achieving the highest ratings from patients. Like it or not, patients are consumers. For many practices it is hard to make that connection. But for those who do, it opens a whole new viewpoint from which to manage their practice. The most successful practice owners operating with this mentality are leveraging technology to exceed patient expectations and maintain high levels of patient retention. The pleasant bi-product of implementing these systems is improved in-office efficiencies and increased revenue.

For the past 6 months, ABB has been conducting various surveys to gain valuable insight into the ECP’s thought processes. Consistently, topics of revenue and efficiencies rank at the top of the most pressing operational issues. Yet, the interest level of activating the very technologies that can ease these concerns rank at the bottom of the list. Lack of time, awareness, uncertainty, risk and cost are all very plausible reasons for the disparity between these thoughts, but they should prohibit the practice from at least considering these technologies. There are numerous solutions to help protect your patient base while appealing to their buying preference and addressing some problematic office workflows, but there is no need to over complicate things.

Simply start by asking – what does your patient base want and need from your practice, so you are their eye care provider for years to come? Is it varied communication? Ease to schedule an appointment or reorder their contact lenses? Maybe they want the option for a virtual visit, or maybe it’s as simple as helping them maximize their insurance benefits.

Did you know that an estimated 20% of your patients have unused benefits? The problem is that if they are not on your schedule the likelihood of them maximizing those benefits, which can amount to tens of thousands of incremental practice revenue each and every month, is extremely low. ABB Verify, powered by Affinity Analytics solves this issue by automatically pulling in-network benefits for all scheduled appointments through intuitive integrations with leading practice management systems. It then sends patient emails and texts, reminding them of services due and of insurance benefits that may be available to cover those services. This proactive, targeted communication drives more patients back into the office for exams or products to help keep your schedule filled. Doesn’t that sound like a value-added patient service?!

Fact of the matter is that proper use of technology can provide your patients what they need to hold your practice in higher regard than any other competitive option. And ultimately, that’s what you want, right? Additionally, this same technology can help bridge any gaps between profitability, process efficiency and patient satisfaction.

If you’re interested in learning how you can exceed your financial goals and patient expectations by making the most of unused benefits and cut the time it takes to pull authorizations in half, please contact us today to schedule a demo on ABB Verify. Your patients will thank you.