New Practice Academy takes on staffing strain and revenue cycle leaks

Staffing shortages and shrinking reimbursement are squeezing medical practices from both sides, and each gets an hour of attention Aug. 6 when the Practice Academy opens its new Practice Management track.

The virtual conference runs from 1 to 3 p.m. EDT Thursday, Aug. 6, and registration is open. Backed by Physicians Practice, the track is built for physicians and practice administrators and leans toward tactics that can be put to work immediately rather than long-range theory.

Building capacity without adding headcount

Justin Lam, CEO of Cool Blue VA, opens at 1 p.m. with “Leading Through Change: Building a Practice That Holds Steady When Staffing, Reimbursement, and Technology Won’t.” His premise is that practices absorbing more administrative work with the staff they already have end up burning out the people they can least afford to lose.

Lam is a diplomate in anti-aging medicine, board certified by the American Board of Anti-Aging Health Practitioners, and oversees day-to-day operations at Cool Blue VA, which places medical virtual assistants with health care providers. The session covers what a credentialed medical virtual assistant is, which front-office, revenue cycle and clinical support tasks can be delegated without a clinical license, what a virtual assistant costs against a local hire, and the results practices have reported in claim recovery, call capture and accounts receivable.

Closing the gaps in the revenue cycle

Kem Tolliver, president and CEO of Medical Revenue Cycle Specialists, follows at 2 p.m. with “Future-Proofing Your Practice: Revenue Cycle Strategies Every Medical Practice Needs to Thrive.” Tolliver has more than 25 years in health care leadership and consults for physician practices, federally qualified health centers, local and state public health organizations and health systems.

Her hour targets revenue leakage on the front end and the back end: tighter intake and documentation, denial prevention, and practical uses of artificial intelligence and automation inside the revenue cycle. Attendees are meant to leave with an action plan for financial performance and operational efficiency, not a list of trends.

Both sessions run one hour. Registration for the Aug. 6 track is open on the Practice Academy site.

Register for the Practice Academy Practice Management track.