Key steps to boost your preventive care
Here are some key tips to help you improve your preventive services:
1. Identify your target population.
Use your billing system to identify patient populations at risk, suggests Beverly A. Collins, MD, MBA, MS, of the Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care in Easton, MD.
"It’s much easier if you can whittle it down to identify patient populations at risk rather than going through chart by chart," she adds.
2. Set up a system to make preventive care a routine offering of services so the physician doesn’t have to remember it.
Flow charts, reminder stickers, and computer-generated reminder cards are among Collins’ suggestions.
3. Shift the responsibility for preventive care from the physician to office personnel, who can handle the referrals and reminders.
4. Make sure that patients have their lab work done before they come in for a visit so the physician will have the results in hand.
Otherwise, the patient will see the doctor, who will order the test, and then play telephone tag to give the patient the results.
"It’s much more effective if you have the test results when you see the patient, rather than trying to educate them over the phone," she says.
5. Take a multidisciplinary approach to diabetes management.
For instance, you might set up a dedicated diabetes day where the ophthalmologist, podiatrist, health nurse, and physician are all in one place.
6. Partner with local disease-oriented support and advocacy groups to provide patient education.
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