Why is financial health important for healthcare business?
Although we entered the healthcare profession because we care about our clients and want to deliver solutions to meet their needs, the financial health of our practices is just as important. Good financial health indicates strong performance of healthcare clinics and enables practitioners and clinicians to continue working with clients to treat diagnoses and help them live a happy and healthy life.
Financial health can be difficult to manage and isn’t always fun to think about. However, with the right resources, and good medical billing processes, you can properly harness your funds in a way that benefits both your healthcare team and clients. The healthcare industry is a billion-dollar one, estimated to make over $500 billion USD a year, demonstrating there is immense financial value in the discipline. While you may not be making quite this much (we would think!), having good optometry billing management systems will allow you to maximize profits, and create a streamlined process to work towards better clinical treatment.
5 things to know about your optometry business financials
For effective financial health management, you need to understand the 5 most important financial statement representations. Each one presents its own valuable insights, and to properly comprehend the state of your finances, you need to consolidate data from across statements.
- Income statement - Perhaps the most important, this statement shows income and outcomes over a set period. Sometimes known as a profit and loss statement, the income statement takes into account revenue, losses, and expenses, so you can evaluate whether you’re making sufficient profit. Mastering how they work will enable you to keep an eye on what exactly constitutes your income, and how it could be improved.
- Cash flow statement - This report shows where your money is coming from and where it’s going to go, and that way, you can assess what available resources you have at a particular time. It is vital to show how you could source cash if needed, however, it doesn’t consider raw materials or credited items (purchases you haven’t yet paid for).
- Balance sheet - This statement reports your practice’s assets, liabilities, and equity, and provides a snapshot of your financial information for the present period. This means that you can see the current value of your optometry practice, and can paint a picture as to whether you’re meeting your financial goals and aims.
- Note to financial statements - As an IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) requirement, having financial statement notes provides you with greater context concerning the information in your other sheets and statements. For example, any assets identified in the balance sheet are more explicitly stated in financial notes, to prevent misunderstanding and misconstruing of information. Financial notes are a great clarifier that ensures you’re compliant, and that anyone can understand your information.
- Statement of change in equity - This outlines any changes made concerning your practice’s retained earnings, accumulated reserves, and shared capital. It is a good summary of all the transactions relating to your equity over a specific period.
5 Effective tips to streamline your optometric business financials
Because you’re running a business, there are many other aspects to consider besides your highly developed skills in optometry. To effectively run your healthcare business in a financially viable way, and to effectively manage medical billing for optometrists, we have collated some important tips to incorporate:
- What’s your value? - You need to consider what is setting you apart from other optometrists, as your patients need to be able to easily pick out the advantages of going to your practice. The standard of care can differ between practices, both corporate and private, and so you need to ensure that what you offer is of the highest quality. For example, this may include personal touches to consultations, supplying high-quality frames, having in-depth vision checks, as well as providing specialized care. Going the extra mile is a huge step in the right direction, and if this means refreshing your current value system - that’s okay!
- Work with your patients - When selecting eye health professionals, people are looking for reliable customer support and service to ensure that any concerns they have will be answered. Strengthening relationships between you and your patient allows for genuine connection, and complementing this with health plans tailored to specific patient needs will strongly boost traffic. 70% of people who like their optometrist will show up regardless of the price, indicating that good relationships are very important!
- Technology is your friend - Not all technology has to be expensive or difficult to use, and selecting the right systems will greatly elevate the quality of your practice. For example, having digitized systems will allow patients to be able to book and schedule appointments online, which is highly convenient. This significantly reduces no-shows by up to 55%, and with automated reminders, you can ensure you’re making the most of your time. Health records and clinical notes can also be stored online, which is highly cost-effective for your practice.
- Use digital marketing - You may be surprised to know that marketing is still a huge aspect in healthcare businesses, as you need to employ high engagement with patients (and potential ones!) to sustain a financially healthy practice. Putting informative material on your social media platforms and websites can build trust in the care you provide, and with search engine optimization techniques you can appear more in Google searches.
- Educate! - Learning doesn’t stop with you - you need to inform customers of reasons why they should come to you for eye consultations. This means informing patients about the importance of eye health and diseases to increase preventative care, and this way, customers can recognize the signs that require necessary treatment.
- Medical billing - An effective way to streamline your finances is to harness high-quality medical billing services. While many healthcare businesses, such as Carepatron, provide services for you to do so, learning how to correctly code and bill for equipment used means you’re only paying for the necessities. You can be legally compliant, whilst also ensuring accountability for your practice.
Take-home message
Optometry billing and finances can feel overwhelming, but with the right resources, it doesn’t have to be. Ensuring that your finances are in check, as well as in good health, means you can provide a higher quality of support to your patients and optometrist team.
Healthcare businesses, such as Carepatron, offer premium software that is designed specifically for any healthcare professional. From just one place, you can effectively manage patient data, medical records, as well as use an optimized appointment booking schedule, in addition to having a space for online payments and all your client notes. It’s also HIPAA compliant, and highly secure with encryption, making it a win-win for all.
Regardless of the software you choose, we hope you’ve grown in your understanding concerning the importance of financial health when it comes to your optometry practice.
Try Carepatron today and witness your Optometry team being more productive like never before!
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