Many anesthesiologists today strive to hold onto their independence. They want to make their own decisions on important financial issues, and they prefer to leave the daily demands of running a lucrative practice to qualified practice management partners.

This independence allows anesthesiologists to focus their energy on what they do well, practicing medicine and delivering quality patient care at a reasonable cost. Both of which come easily when physicians don’t have to worry about the non-medical burdens of running private practices. 

Finding the Right Anesthesia Practice Management Partner

Many physicians look for anesthesia practice management services for administrative support and for handling business operations.

Before selecting an anesthesia management services provider, physicians must first assess their needs and perform some due diligence to discover if their potential partner has the appropriate expertise and offers the necessary services.

Anesthesiologists should consider the following to help make an informed and strategic decision about their anesthesia management services.

• Does the anesthesia management services partner guarantee better revenue? Expert practice management providers should guarantee their services will increase revenue. To prove their worth, they should also provide sufficient client references to back up their promises.
• What are their billing practices? VERY IMPORTANT! Efficient anesthesia management service partners should have experienced and knowledgeable billing teams that are up to date on the most recent medical billing changes and have the tools they need to complete proper reconciliation.
• How do they manage claims? Your partner’s billing services should treat all claims the same – and ensure complete payment is delivered from every payor every time.
• Does the partner offer personalized customer service? Call-center customer service is not the way to go here. Choose a partner who will have people available who understand how anesthesiology practices work and who are familiar with resolving and range of problems quickly should they arise.
• Do they provide reports? Professional anesthesia management services should provide you with real-time reporting. This allows you to understand exactly how your practice is doing. For example, dynamic reporting can map your income growth projections or even show you a breakdown of your payor mix.

Value-Added Services

A good anesthesia management services provider will go beyond standard billing and practice management services. You must also consider how the provider differentiates themselves from others by offering value-added services.

Contract Negotiation: Your new partner can support you during insurance, hospital, and stipend contract negotiations. Working with your practice management partner allows you to come to the table with in-depth data to leverage your bargaining position and make sure all contracts meet your fiscal needs.

Powerful data and analytics turn contract negotiations into a win-win for anesthesiologists.

Compliance and Quality Reporting: Your partner should help you understand and maneuver through complicated government billing codes and help you with quality reporting so you can make informed decisions about your program participation options.

Understanding complex government billing regulations is critical to ensuring you aren’t faced with any reporting fines or penalties.

Accounting Services: Practice management should include billing and accounting services so you have a full view of your financial situation during tax season or when paying staff.

No more headaches when calculating taxes, finances, or payroll deductions.

Bookkeeping and Bill Paying: Your anesthesia management services should handle the boring stuff while you focus on patients. This includes keeping records of everything from expensive purchases to smaller bills—this value-added service ensures your corporate partners, staff, and vendors get paid on time.

Spend more time practicing medicine by letting anesthesia management services handle finances and settle bills.

Efficient Scheduling and Analysis: Excellent practice management service providers consider facility needs, your seniority, and other policy requirements when producing optimized schedules.

Efficiency scheduling analysis ensures you meet your coverage requirements without wasting time sitting in the OR.

Credentialing Support: Credentialing involves tons of paperwork, meeting deadlines, and paying fees. Professional anesthesia management services handle these administrative hassles by dealing with state and federal agencies to keep you in good standing.

Anesthesia management services should handle your credentials.