Managing the Microdetails

With touch-of-a-button business analysis, doctor finds she can make corrections easily

      If she wanted to, Lorie Lippiatt, OD, could read an assessment of how well her Salem, Ohio, practice is performing every 15 minutes. That is how often her business analytics software updates the real-time information on productivity. While she doesn’t use it that often, she says she does use it at least daily – and much more intensively than she has in the past. Dr. Lippiatt is a familiar face as she is a consultant for OfficeMate and has been instrumental in the development of ExamWriter, the company’s electronic medical record software. She installed the system in 1990, and added ExamWriter seven years ago. Last year, she added a new tool, The EDGE analytics software from Gateway Professional Network. “It’s a business tool that lets me filter our reports and dig through the data on a much deeper level,” she says. “It provides insight into the microdetails of the practice. For example, I can see what frames are selling within which insurance plan, by the day of the week or by the optician.”

      By filtering the data in a variety of ways, Dr. Lippiatt can develop some assumptions about workflow, too. For example, in her two-doctor office, she can see that she produces a substantially larger percentage of medical revenue than her associate does. “You can see the strengths and weaknesses of each doctor. If I know we have a certain percentage of glaucoma patients and Dr. A is generating a larger amount than Dr. B, we can assume some testing isn’t being done.” Since it is one of her goals this year to increase medical revenue, being able to look at these numbers of a daily, weekly and monthly basis helps her assess the progress. “These are reports that I could have done before, but it would involve more analysis and time,” she says.

      Instead, the data is presented as pie charts or bar graphs, and she can customize it to compare month-to-month or compare it to the previous year’s data. Many of today’s practice management software programs contain some of this information – but the result is often a megareport, as Dr. Lippiatt calls it. “Most doctors are so busy managing a practice and seeing a patient, that even when they get such a report, they don’t know what to do with it. The EDGE teaches you how to look at the data in a more meaningful way and ask questions as to why the result is what it is,” she says.

      She can see, for example, which combination of doctor, technician and optician results in the higher per-patient revenue. That allows her to review what works with that combination – and how it can be transferred to other combinations. She can see which days and hours are most productive, which can help her make informed decisions about staffing.

      The system filters data through any defined parameter, so she can locate and plug gaps in revenue much more quickly. “In a regular report, you might learn that your capture rate with an insurance program is six out of 10 patients. But with The EDGE, I can look at each optician’s reports. If one optician is selling only three out of 10 patients a frame, I know where the hole is,” she says. She can pair that optician with one with a higher capture rate and quickly have that first optician mimic the presentation. Had she stopped after determining that a 60 percent capture rate wasn’t bad, she wouldn’t have identified if one person was bringing down the average.

      Another impact of the early reports was that the practice determined that a higher-than-average number of patients in one insurance plan were not purchasing their frames from the practice. “Maybe they felt that our prices are too high, or they don’t want to pay out of pocket. By adding some lower-priced frames, we can encourage these people to at least browse our dispensary,” she says. Before, these patients felt there was nothing for them within their managed care allowance, so they didn’t look at all. By adding some value frames, the patients will look, allowing opticians to explain that they can also leverage their managed care allowances toward higher-quality frames. The simple addition of a few value frames provided opportunities for a discussion that wasn’t taking place before.

      There is such a thing as too much data, and Dr. Lippiatt is not looking to micromanage her practice. Her business manager has the application running live on her desktop, so she can review numbers daily. But Dr. Lippiatt looks at the data weekly or monthly. “I look for the trending data,” she says. “It’s exciting. In 20 years of practice, this is information to which I’ve never had access before.”
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Press Release
10.19.08

Rave reviews have focused the industry spotlight on Gateway Provider Network’s (GPN) first regional business management conference for Independent Optometrists in Atlanta on October 19, 2008. GPN’s first-of-its-kind event is being described as “a legitimate milestone” and ushered in a new era in business management solutions.

GPN premiered two revolutionary product/service suites representing their innovative new tactical approach to optical business management and practice value maximization.
 
Center-stage was GPN’s ingenious, proprietary web-based business management technology and analysis suite, which provides interactive tools to monitor, gauge and improve the health of a practice. This technology is a comprehensive set of financial and statistical calculations enabling laser-accurate identification of practices strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. As a result, GPN has refined the science of practice success into a repeatable formula: once relevant indicators are identified, recommendations are provided in the form of interactive Tools, Information, Products and Support (TIPS). The resources are brilliantly intuitive and the results are nothing short of extraordinary. They have, in fact, enabled GPN to rescue struggling, independent practices and returned them to profitability.

Also featured, was the “Total Dispensary Workout.”  GPN is passionate about the power of hands-on, customization for its clients and sends a business manager to the practice to create, direct and implement a three-stage, on-site business transformation. Amazingly, GPN business managers roll up their sleeves and actually implement what needs to get done.

Those in attendance directly benefited from invaluable lectures on the secrets of selling branded product, competing with big box retailers, expanding their dispensary, maximizing profit with managed care plans, and branding their practice from the inside out. Much sought after and nationally acclaimed speakers Edward Beiner (Edward Beiner, Purveyors of Fine Eyewear) and Michael Della Pesca (Quantum Optical) contributed to the powerhouse event as did luminous testimonials from numerous, leading optometrists and private practice managers.

Said; Jay Binkowitz, President of GPN, “The economics of the dispensary have dramatically changed; we provide hope and empowerment. We’re committed to giving our clients back their dream. Managed care has eroded profits and industry consolidation has created a frightening shift in optical services away from independents. We provide independents with unmatched supportive infrastructure and customized attention. Our online and on-site services establish the dispensary as a vibrant, ever-expanding revenue source for practice profits.”