3 Areas Practices Need to Focus on in 2018

2018 has come with new opportunities as well as challenges for medical practices. By improving the quality of care and lowering costs to increase patient satisfaction, providers are having a hard time navigating through various requirements. They are finding new ways to thrive in business considering the shift towards value-based care and increased financial responsibility of patients.

In order to address the market pressures and make ends meet, here are three key areas that practices will have to focus on in 2018:

1. It has become necessary for eligible physicians to understand MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorisation Act) and ensure their full participation in 2018. They will have to begin reporting data for the Quality Payment Program and also evaluate their EHR systems for ensuring it’s compliance. If you are also an eligible provider, then you will have to select the right quality performance measures for reviewing as well as reporting historical data. You might need a dedicated MIPS expert or external help to stay updated with the changing regulations and navigate through challenges.

2. According to the industry experts, effective inventory management will take practices a long way in 2018. It’ll help in gaining financial as well as operational control of drug inventory because even a single instance of missing drug units can cost thousands of dollars for practices. As a practice owner, you will have to work towards maintaining optimal inventory levels through an inventory management system. By having full visibility into every medication unit, you will be able to plug potential profit leaks. You will be able to see where cash flow is clogged and make necessary adjustments. Having an easy view of your full inventory will help you make smart decisions based on patient scheduling.

3. Practices will have to focus on improving patient experience in 2018. By having an in-office dispensing program, providers will have to make clinical staff a part of the care team, enabling better patient management. Patient outcomes can improve to a great extent if the patient, as well as prescription, are close to the provider. It will also have a positive impact on the provider measurement under the value-based care model.

In order to remain financially viable and address the above-mentioned opportunities, many practices are choosing to seek help from a partner. Outsourcing of vital tasks is helping them stay on top of the game and provide the highest quality of care to the patients.