With the complexity of revenue cycle management you need a medical practice Champion! The process revisions and trainings can wear on staff who don’t get excited about changes in their workday. Or if your medical practice has finally accepted it needs to get new practice management and electronic medical records technology solutions, you may need a heroic effort to get the team on board. A practice Champion is an invaluable person(s) that never gives up and can motivate staff when the going gets tough.
Engaging staff to learn a new mandate or system can be a challenge. Working with staff who have not bought in and just want to keep things the way they are is not unusual. Everyone has enough chaos in their lives, now a new system to learn? It is critical to get the concept of why a change is being implemented. A practice Champion can be the person who backs up the administrator when gathering input from staff. It is easy to forget yesterdays challenges when face with new ones today. It is easy to forget the chunky system work-arounds when you have done it for years.
Who should be selected as the Champion in your practice? First, it should be someone doing the day to day work, not the administrator. Second, you need a person who has the trust and respect of their co-workers. Third, you need someone that has a track record of listening to management, and implementing policy and training effectively. You do not want a Champion who is a go-it-alone or do-it-their-way type of personality. A Champion needs to be savvy picking up new technology and seeing similarities across tools, especially if you are implementing a new system. Perhaps most importantly, Champions need to be committed to organizational mission and values!
A Champion is a voice that supports the organization at the water cooler. He or she will typically have the following values and skills:
- Realistic
- Collaborative
- Resourceful
- Proactive
- Organized
Having project management skills and experience is also a plus:
- Ability to schedule and hold effective meetings, formal or informal
- Build stronger teams
- Recruit additional champions or “believers”
- Provide input for education and training sessions
- Communicate questions for vendors and consultants
Industry changes like increased scrutiny of ICD-10 coding or new practice management and electronic medical records systems can be a huge benefit for practice performance. It doesn’t need to be a year long process with anxiety 10 out of the 12 months. Reach out to your Champion resources to make the transition easier:
- Getting the right partners and vendors on board is also critical. Outsource Receivables ensures that the vendors selected as partners have the right customer service model, efficient service and ability to adapt to change.
- Is your billing company the partner you need to drive the project forward to completion? ORI has a team of project management experts
- Identify training needs early on. Choose appropriate training and ensure adequate time is in the schedule.
- What are your budget resources for a transition? If the practice is not realistic about what the investment will be and potential impacts on cash flow, it can be a recipe for failure.
- Get existing processes written down so they are easy to share and communicate with vendors.
- Calculate direct and indirect costs such as lost productivity from the learning curve and training sessions.
Outsource Receivables, Inc. has been partnering with practice administrators and their Champions to improve medical billing processes. We work collaboratively to implement ORI’s highest standards, technology focus and responsive culture across revenue cycle management processes. Contact us today to learn more and set up your initial consultation.