5 Cost Saving Spirometry Tips
Tips to help you cut costs and improve your spirometry testing efficiency
Given the current health insurance marketplace, some patients are putting off necessary care and as a consequence many health care providers have seen a decline in patient visits. Now more than ever it’s important to manage your costs, boost your efficiencies, and optimize services that help your practice as well as your patients.
Everyday we assist health care providers in delivering the most cost effective and efficient spirometry testing possible for their environment. Assuming that you are already performing spirometry in your practice, here are a few tips to help you cut costs and improve your spirometry testing efficiency.
If you do not currently have a spirometry system and are considering one for your practice, see 10 Tips for Buying a Spirometer. This guide will help assure that you purchase the most practical spirometer for your needs.
1 Select a spirometry “champion” amongst your staff to provide consistently reliable spirometry testing in your office. Your staff needs to know that you are counting on them to provide you with quality test results. If they need additional product training, have them contact the product manufacturer and/or view our website for Product Demonstration Videos.
2 Get good spirometry results the first time. Obtaining reliable spirometry results the first time is dependent on the patients understanding of the test and enthusiastic coaching by your staff. Make sure you get the best test results possible from the patient, so time isn’t wasted retesting. For help with this, see 10 Steps to Good Results.
3 Make sure you are testing all patients with an indication for a spirometry test. Many offices with spirometers often fail to test those patients who should be tested. For more information, see our convenient Spirometry Indications Checklist.
4 Understand the basics of spirometry interpretation for a quick and accurate diagnosis, disease classification, and therapy recommendation. We can save your valuable time and help take the guesswork out of this with our Easy Interpretation Guide.
5 Get your spirometry coding and billing right. We have yet to see an insurer who doesn’t reimburse for spirometry. If payment is an issue, the cause is likely coding errors. We know medical coding is cumbersome at best, but we are always surprised at the number of practices that bill for spirometry incorrectly or simply neglect to bill for the related ancillary services they provide. We help make this easier with our Spirometry Reimbursement Guide.