ACOM Chiropractic Consulting Service Helps Iowa Doctor Upgrade Collections, Manage Growth, Maintain Flexible Office Schedule

MASON CITY, Iowa, December 20, 2007 – Under the guidance of the ACOM Chiropractic Consulting Group, Mason City Chiropractor Scott Nelson has reengineered his practice to better satisfy his requirements for personal flexibility while at the same time assure excellence of patient care, expedited workflow and improved practice revenue.

A 2000 graduate of the Northwestern College of Chiropractic, Bloomington, Minnesota, Dr. Nelson is the sole chiropractor at Mason City Chiropractic. For personal reasons, he keeps a flex-schedule, supported by an insurance clerk, two clinical assistants, two massage therapists and a reflexologist, with the office maintaining normal office hours. In addition to adjustments the clinic offers an extensive range of therapeutic modalities.

In 2005, on the recommendation of the Advantage Chiropractic Network, a doctor-owned nonprofit affiliate of the Iowa Chiropractic Society, Dr. Scott Nelson modernized his five-year-old practice with the purchase of the RAPID EMR chiropractic notes and reporting solution developed and marketed by ACOM Solutions Healthcare Business Division. The new software enabled him to record patient notes automatically to a sophisticated electronic database and to produce reports directly from the electronic patient files.

Two years later, in mid-2007, Dr. Nelson took a long look at his practice and came away convinced that even with the technology (1) he was still not being reimbursed appropriately for all of his services, (2) his office management processes, which had evolved over time, were inefficient and were negatively impacting the growth-oriented practice, and (3) he was not going to be able to improve the situation on his own.

“I felt that we needed to increase the average number of visits per patient to assure that we collect fully for our services whether through insurance or cash payments, maximize productivity by streamlining necessary processes, and eliminating those that were no longer necessary,” he said. “The ACOM Chiropractic Consulting Group came highly recommended and we engaged them for a two-day on-site visit in August, with a period of follow-up counsel.”

ACOM’s consultant analyzed their current chiropractic coding policies and identified procedures that were being overlooked or which were being represented improperly, resulting in underbilling. He performed a walkthrough of the practice’s office procedures, spotlighting duplications of effort, functions that were unnecessary and areas where staff were unclear on who was responsible for what.

“The first day was a ‘live-fire’ exercise with normal patient flow,” Dr. Nelson said. “The second was remedial, with training in proper coding and documentation and the development of recommendations for improved office processes and patient flow. Over the following month we implemented all of the recommendations.”

Immediate results, among others, included:
-Increased income per patient visit
-Improved coding practices, quickly yielding better, faster insurance reimbursements
-Better cash flow through prepaid cash treatment series and upfront co-payments
-More efficient office operations, with assignments clearly defined

“The reengineering of the practice is clearly paying dividends,” Dr. Nelson said.

About ACOM’s Chiropractic Consulting Group

The ACOM Chiropractic Consulting Group, a professional services unit of ACOM Solutions, Inc., offers a suite of consulting programs for educating, equipping and empowering healthcare providers for success. Group consultants diagnose practice problems and provide options for improving chiropractic office operations and addressing the critical coding and document issues that are unique to the profession. The Consulting Group’s two-fold mission is to enable doctors to make more money ethically by collecting fully for all services performed while protecting themselves against audits, payback demands and possible legal actions.

For information on ACOM’s Chiropractic Consulting Services:

-Call: 866-286-5315, ext. 503
-eMail: consulting@acom.com
-Visit: http://www.acomconsulting.com

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