Posted by Janna Vienca Cañezal
Running a busy ophthalmology practice is a tough job. Between planning surgeries and coordinating post-operative care with other facilities, attending to the administrative and financial aspects of your practice can sometimes be overlooked. As the demand for eye care continues to grow due to an aging population, ophthalmology practices must be prepared to meet this demand while ensuring every aspect of their business is supported. An ophthalmology practice management software can help you manage all areas of your business, optimize your practice, and deliver better patient care.
What is a Practice Management Software?
A practice management software is a type of healthcare software that helps practices run their day-to-day operations. It allows practices to automate administrative tasks, reduce time spent on manual processes, get paid faster, and support their business’ growth. It can be a stand-alone software or integrated with a practice’s EHR. The most common functions of practice management software include scheduling appointments, capturing patient demographics, processing billing claims, and generating office reports.
Read More: What's the Difference Between an EHR and EMR?
Ophthalmology Practice Management Software Features To Look For
Ophthalmology has unique practice management needs compared to other specialties. From co-managing patients to split billing and handling two sets of diagnosis codes, your practice management software should support your practice’s unique workflow. Choosing the right software is crucial if you want your practice to reach its full potential. Here are some ophthalmology practice management features that should be at the top of your list.
1. Co-Management Workflow Tools
Ophthalmologists co-manage patient care with other eye care providers, and a good platform should address this kind of workflow. A practice management software with a split billing feature can help you get appropriately paid for the work you do and makes professional, facility, and anesthesia billing easy and hassle-free. Choose a software that has other co-management workflow tools, too, like a robust referral system and an integrated faxing solution for coordinating care with other facilities.
Read More: 9 Must-Have Ophthalmology EHR Features for Your Practice
2. Practice Analytics
As the popular business adage goes, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” This mentality rings true for your practice as well. An ophthalmology practice management software provides actionable insights and helps you make well-informed business decisions. Just like you diagnose and monitor a patient’s condition, a good practice management software enables you to understand what’s going on in your practice and what you can do to make it better.
3. Specialized Appointment Scheduler
Ophthalmologists often do multiple procedures on one eye in a single visit. Patients also go through various diagnostic tests in a single visit. Procedure time varies from one provider to another. When scheduling surgeries, the surgery coordinator must take into account pre-op and arrival times. An efficient practice management system should be flexible enough to accommodate all of these complexities for a streamlined appointment booking workflow.
An automated appointment reminder connected with the scheduler reduces patient no-shows and increases your revenue. Online appointment booking solutions integrated with your practice management software, like the Appointment Booking System, reduce your staff’s administrative burden and offer convenient scheduling options for your patients.
4. Automated Lens Inventory Management
Since ophthalmology practices provide lenses after treatment, it makes sense to have an inventory management system included in your practice management platform. Maintaining a precise lens inventory is vital so that you can keep track of your supply and bill for lenses accurately. An automated lens inventory system helps your staff save time from manual processes, enables you to streamline workflows, and helps you gain an additional revenue stream.
5. Self Check-In Capabilities
The front desk is a bustling center of activity with various tasks, including checking in and checking out patients. A poor check-in workflow can cause long patient wait times and neglect of other front desk responsibilities like appointment scheduling and patient calls. One way to reduce front desk traffic and free up your staff for more important tasks is by allowing patients to check in themselves. Self-check-in apps like IMS OnArrival allow patients to sign consent forms, verify demographics, and use AI for registering new patients.
6. Comprehensive Medical Billing System
Fast payment turnaround time is a priority for any business, and an ophthalmology practice is no different. Using practice management software with a comprehensive billing system helps providers get paid faster.
Billing is every staff member's responsibility. It starts with the front desk verifying a patient's insurance eligibility, then the ophthalmologist entering the correct ICD-10 code, and finally, the billing staff processing the claim. A good practice management software should not only help you process clean claims but should also help you coordinate the billing activities of your front desk, provider, and billing staff.
Adding an integrated payment processing solution to your practice management platform simplifies patient payments, reduces collection calls, and ensures you get paid anytime.
Read More: 5 Easy Ophthalmology Billing Tips to Get Paid Faster
7. Lead Management Tools
Nurturing leads can help your practice grow and thrive. A lead management tool in your practice management system enables you to track where your patients are coming from, automates tasks needed to convert leads, and provides insights into the effectiveness of your campaigns.
An Ophthalmology Platform Built for Your Success
On top of providing the best possible care, practices deal with many administrative, financial, and regulatory tasks every day. When there are so many things to get done in a day, it’s extremely helpful to manage everything in one place.
OphthalmologyEHR, Meditab’s software solution for eye care practices, is an all-in-one practice management, EHR, and office management platform. Working hand-in-hand with ophthalmologists, Meditab developed specialty-specific features like co-management workflow tools, digital surgical planning sheets, lens inventory management, and more to accommodate the intricacies of running an ophthalmology practice.
An all-in-one software allows you to manage and grow your practice and patients in one place without the hassles of maintaining multiple software systems. Everything you need, from booking appointments to billing claims, is on a single platform. Improve your patient’s quality of life and let OphthalmologyEHR do the rest.
