Gastroenterology Coding Alert

Every medical practice has patients who stop coming in, even though they may have conditions that should be reassessed regularly. One way to bring in additional revenue is to bring those patients back to your practice. After all, experts say it costs more than quadruple the amount to attract a new patient than it does to keep an existing one. Reactivation is like harvesting from your own orchard, rather than finding land, planting seeds, and waiting years for the trees to grow.

Check these tips to determine how you can add a patient reactivation strategy that will save you time and money.

1. Run System Queries. Most specialties have established patients who should be seen regularly to monitor chronic conditions or reduce the risk of a disease going undetected. For example, a reactivation strategy for a gastroenterology practice might query the EHR for patients 50 years or older or those who are at risk for colorectal cancer to make sure they are up to date on medically necessary colonoscopies. Or, a query may examine diagnosis codes for celiac disease, IBS, or other chronic conditions and then cross check the medical record to make sure the disease is being managed properly and that the patient has made the necessary follow-up appointments.

2. Create a List. Compile a list of patients with specific diagnosis codes that have not been seen lately and do not have an upcoming appointment. Then contact those patients and explain that they were diagnosed with an issue that requires regular monitoring by a doctor and to please get in touch with your office (and be sure to document that you made contact). In some cases, you may find out that a patient is continuing care with another practice. If that’s the case, you can note it in your system and move on. It also sends patients the message that you care about their health, first and foremost, even if they don’t plan on returning to your practice.

3. Send Notices to Patients Approaching Medicare Age. The rise in high-deductible health plans (HDHP) can open up opportunities for you to engage with dormant patients and get high revenue returns. Some patients in their early 60s delay important (but not urgent) services because they haven’t met their deductibles and will have to pay out of pocket. When they become Medicare-eligible, cost is typically no longer as much of a factor. Your reactivation strategy should include running a monthly report on your EHR that identifies all patients who are three months younger than 65 (when they’ll become eligible for Medicare). Reactivate these patients, and you’ll enjoy high returns on that patient pool.

4. No Time? Consider Outsourcing. In today’s practices, overburdened staff members may not have the time to deploy a consistent reactivation strategy. If you choose to outsource your patient reactivation strategy, your staff members will be free to focus more on face-to-face communication with the patients in your office, and to attend to higher-level patient engagement tasks.

You’ll find a variety of third-party services on the market today that will assist you with planning and executing a reactivation strategy. If you’re looking for one:

• Seek a service that employs real, live people, not one that makes robo-calls.
• Look for a call center specific to your medical specialty.
• Pay attention to how you’ll be charged. For instance, some vendors only bill you if and when the reactivated patient shows up for the appointment.
• Verify communication. Any third-party service should be sending you reports of who was called and what the results were. They should let you know if a patient has switched practices, moved, or confirmed that they won’t be returning to your practice.