Drive Practice Efficiency with a Data-Centered Approach FAQ

Numbers are essential to running a practice, whether you know it or not. During our most recent webinar, our panel guided viewers through the process of creating a practice culture that’s willing to incorporate analytics into their work and help providers understand how data can and should be a tool for improvement.

You know what else is essential? Words. Specifically, the words viewers used to pose their questions to our panelists. As always, we're taking the questions we didn’t get to during our webinar and answering them here.       

How do you manage employees wanting to compare to each other for one-upmanship, for lack of a better term? 

Competition isn’t always the worst thing in any business, so long as it’s kept in check.  It’s probably impossible to get the competitive instinct entirely out of some folks, especially among a group like therapists, who are made up of plenty of former athletes and/or current weekend warriors. That said, if it crosses the line to a point where their competitiveness is creating issues among your staff, it’s time to have a conversation with that clinician. While it might go against what you’re aiming for with data, you could also opt to keep individual metrics private and only discuss those with clinicians individually.     

What are some small wins or milestones that can help reinforce a culture of data-informed practice?

As was discussed during the webinar, one way to build and reinforce a data-informed culture is to set goals along the way towards where you want to go. Implementing metrics starts with collecting that data; establishing a benchmark for collecting 90% of your target data, as one example that Stephen Hunter mentioned during the webinar, and then celebrating as individuals or the team as a whole reach that mark encourages progress. Similarly, creating shorter targets towards larger KPI benchmarks gives you the chance to celebrate small wins along the way. 

What’s the best way to involve front office staff in data collection without overwhelming them?

Simplicity is the key — and fortunately, technology can facilitate that simplicity. As the Intermountain Health team noted during the webinar, their own process for outcomes data involves the front desk handing patients a tablet to provide their outcome and pain score themselves. And if you’re using the right technology and tools at your front desk, all of the data related to scheduling, arrivals, rescheduling, and anything else you’d want to know is captured automatically and provided to you in a handy dashboard.  

What specific types of metrics have been most successful in supporting better reimbursement negotiations with payers?

When it comes to negotiating with payers, outcomes are key. To put it bluntly, insurance companies want to spend as little as possible to help patients recover — so if you can demonstrate that you’re producing great outcomes, that’s going to make a strong case to payers. You also want to have patient satisfaction data on hand to show that, in addition to those outcomes, patients are satisfied with the care they’re receiving as well. You also want to know what your cost per visit is relative to your profit per visit in order to help you determine how much of a pay increase you deserve.   

If you missed the webinar live, you can watch the recording.