When was the last time you analyzed your practice workflow? An inefficient workflow wastes your time, your patients’ time, and can decrease your revenue. If you’re spending more than 45 minutes with each patient, then it might be time to analyze your workflow and optimize it with an optometry software solution.
We’ve found that most of the time the main contributors of an inefficient workflow are reliance on paper, lack of customization, poor communication, and poor claims management practices. Using these four tips, you can improve your workflow efficiency with optometry software.
4 Optometry Software Tips to Boost Your Workflow Efficiency
Eliminate Paper
If you’re running your practice on paper, it’s effecting all areas of your workflow from check in to check out. Collecting paper information throughout a visit is time-consuming and error-prone. By printing out forms, giving patients time to fill out the documents, and making your front office either scan or key the data in, you’re increasing the workload of your front office and decreasing the amount of time your patient has with you.
With an online patient portal, your patients can fill out all of the necessary documents and forms before their appointment to minimize the amount of time spent in the waiting room, and eliminate the need for your staff to print forms and re-enter data.
Other ways your practice can eliminate paper include:
- Putting a computer workstation in every room
- Utilizing online ordering and claim filing
- Implementing a practice management and EHR solution
Customize the Solution
If you’ve moved on from paper in your practice but your workflow is still suffering, it could be from a lack of customization with your software solution. Using an EHR that you can’t customize to your exam practices can result in a lot of clicking, potential errors, and an increase the patient visit time.
Selecting an EHR solution with configurable settings can minimize the amount of time your patient is in your office and can help you record data more effectively. Your EHR solution should allow you to configure settings for things like:
- Exams
- Counseling materials
- Message templates
- Treatment code mappings
- Dilation set up
Increase Communication
Being able to effectively communicate with your patients and staff can simplify and streamline patient hand offs, reduce errors, and decrease inefficiencies in your workflow. By utilizing optometry software, you can effectively communicate with everyone involved in the workflow—including patients.
The right optical EHR and practice management software solution can help you communicate with your team, patients, healthcare providers, and insurance providers by giving you the ability to send and receive documents the instant you need them. This solution should allow you to populate, send, and receive:
- Pre-exam forms
- Preliminary patient information
- Prescriptions
- Insurance claims
- Patient education material
- Referral documents
- Task notifications
Automate Claims Management Practices
Poor claims management practices directly affect your practice revenue and delay your workflow. By using a claims management solution, you can reduce the amount of time your front office spends checking eligibility and filing claims. If your staff is spending less time on the phone dealing with claims, they’ll be free to spend more time moving patients through your office.
When selecting a comprehensive claims management solution, find one that can:
- Generate and submit claims electronically
- Connect with medical and vision payers
- View patient eligibility and authorization
- Check for errors in codes, or insurance information
- Track claim status in real-time
- Manage your ERA
Your office’s workflow could be causing bottlenecks in your ability to see more patients. If you’re spending more than 45 minutes with each patient, it might be time to analyze your workflow and consider optimizing it. Optometry software can improve your workflow efficiency by leveraging customizable settings, eliminating paper, increasing communication, and automating some of the claims management practices.
Is your workflow in need of a tune-up? Download this eBook to learn more tips on improving efficiency.
