Case Study: Medical Billing Challenges in Starting a New Paediatric Practice

Challenge: Medical billing challenges in starting a new paediatric practice.

This Paediatrician practiced for many years in the public sector, but recently made the decision to move to the private sector. Inherent in such a move, regardless of the sphere, are the difficulties of starting up a new business from scratch, but these are all the more challenging in the highly complex and competitive world of private healthcare.

Solution: The Synchramed Practice Management Solution for Paediatricians

In order to maximize the practice’s market profile, we assisted the doctor in signing up with all the medical aids and opting in to their respective network agreements. Having partnered with private practices for more than a decade, we could provide effective assistance with the running of the practice, and staff management and instruction. Our specialist consultants regularly visit the practice to provide follow-up counsel and training, thereby both upskilling the staff and ensuring that they are empowered to use our service offering and software to their full potential.

Results: A Stable Foundation for Great Financial Performance in a Paediatric Practice

After the first month of our partnership, the turnover was just over R230k. Subsequently the benefits of signing up with the network agreements have taken effect and at the time of writing the practice has an average turnover approaching R500k, and the signs are that this will soon be exceeded. The practice’s net collectable book is less than R250k, and debt outstanding in 90+ days is less than R50k. The average collection percentage is 99.1%.

The doctor receives monthly reports that track a large spectrum of medical practice management key performance indicators:

• Revenue
• Payments
• Value of outstanding accounts
• Number of visits
• Average rand value per visit

These reports give the doctor the full picture on the practice’s financial position. Many of the reports can also be drawn day-to-day, giving the doctor all the information necessary to monitor how well the Synchramed medical billing and collections team are keeping tabs on outstanding monies.