There is always room to improve your mental health practice. As we head into the second half of 2023, consider these possible priorities to finish the year off strong.
Increase Provider & Staff Productivity with the Right Tools
Consider the importance of creating efficient workflows for your practice with the right behavioral health practice management software. This software should include a field-tested scheduling tool to efficiently schedule and manage appointments. A strong scheduling tool is adaptable for small or large practices, easy for staff to use, and can integrate with a patient portal where patients can select their preferred appointment slot. The scheduler should connect with patient communications tools that call, text, and/or email patients to remind them to schedule or show up for upcoming appointments. This helps you see more patients with less time lost to no-shows, clunky software, and scheduling mishaps.
Prospective patient management is also a key part of your practice. You only get one chance to make a good first impression, and the right software can help with this. Look for inquiry forms that help your prospects become established patients at your practice as smoothly as possible. These should include collecting clinical and insurance information, automated provider to patient matching, and actionable reporting for staff to monitor the process. This helps to improve your practice’s efficiency and increase patient volume.
Billing is another important area to focus on for improvements in efficiency and revenue. The right software will help you collect and process all the necessary information, collect co-pays, submit and follow up with claims, connect with medical billing clearinghouses, and provide superbills to the patients who need them. This helps patients get the full benefits available to them and avoid unwelcome billing surprises. A good billing solution will also lead to increased cashflow.
Another great place to look is reimbursement rates. In 2023, value-based care (VBC) has become a hot topic. If you can show that the care your practice provides improves patient outcomes, payors may be willing to pay more per appointment. The right software can help collect the needed data and generate reports that your practice can use to negotiate higher reimbursement rates. Learn more In our VBC whitepaper.
Provide Quality Care with the Right Clinical Care Features
You may be able to see more patients in less time without feeling rushed. Did you know that it is possible for patients to provide clinical history, sign consent forms, and complete behavioral health assessments through an online patient portal – before their appointments? You can accomplish this with the right intake and assessment automation tools. And a good EHR will help save you time by pre-populating this data into your clinical notes.
Clinical documentation features are also a key part of improving your workflow as a behavioral health practitioner. Your EHR should make it easy to integrate data you have already collected into your documentation for the current visit. You can also gain efficiencies by ensuring the right CPT codes are consistently in place and decrease risk by separating therapy notes in a protected, confidential area.
Improve Your Mental Health Practice: Increase Patient Retention with Better Patient Engagement
Each patient’s experience is important. In 2023, many patients need flexibility. It’s important to offer telehealth options with secure virtual appointments, virtual group or family appointments, and engaging features, such as chat and whiteboarding. These functions should be integrated into your patient portal, with HIPAA-compliant security maintained throughout the software suite. Focusing on the patient experience – and the right tools to support it – will help improve your mental health practice.
Stay Updated with Industry & Market Trends
Whatever the size of your practice, keeping up with behavioral health trends in 2023 and beyond is crucial. Stay on top of patient expectations, regulatory changes, and innovations in healthcare tech. These could mean the difference between succeeding and lagging behind.
