Apex Dermatology increases patient volume and revenue capture with ModMed

Background

Apex Dermatology focuses on growth, consistently adding new providers and locations during nearly 15 years in business. For more than 10 of those years, the group used the same EHR—until growth slowed. Providers couldn’t take on more patients without sacrificing care and revenue capture was inconsistent. ModMed’s all-in-one platform solved these challenges by streamlining visit documentation, connecting care with billing processes and providing better opportunities for patient engagement. Project manager Jessica Biello shares their journey.

Increased patient volume met revenue goals

We had used our previous system for more than a decade, so change was intimidating, but we had business goals we were struggling to meet. Each of our providers saw between 30 and 35 patients daily, and they resisted seeing more—they knew rushing would reduce patient satisfaction.

Our billing was suffering, too. Providers would take five to seven days to finalize their notes which lengthened our payment cycles. Information would often come to the billing team in uneven waves, creating additional bottlenecks. Our billers were constantly frustrated, and our providers didn’t have the bandwidth to even consider the impacts. The two teams were so disconnected.

I knew our EHR was holding us back. I had used ModMed at another practice before I joined Apex and I remembered how efficient we had been. When I surfaced the idea of switching, we talked a lot about how ModMed could help us reach our goals. We couldn’t grow without more patients, so we needed an EHR that would empower us to increase patient volume.

Ultimately, my instinct to switch EHRs was correct. With ModMed, Apex Dermatology’s provider capacity increased from 30 to 35 patients per day to 38 to 40 patients per day. Across the entire practice, that’s 225 to 360 additional patients per day versus volumes prior to ModMed.

Super user training made implementation easy

Once we made the decision to implement ModMed, we were eager to get started. As the practice’s EHR manager, it was my role to move us through implementation to our go-live date, at which point we’d all use ModMed daily.

ModMed’s super user program made the experience easier for everyone. A select group of us traveled to ModMed headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida, to train internal champions who could support training alongside ModMed facilitators. It was great having our own experts from our own team that soon in the transition. It helped with training and our initial adoption phase.

During practice-wide training, we rented a large facility where everyone could gather while ModMed led the sessions. Everyone received access to ModMedU, too, for role-based video training they can access any time from anywhere.

When we went live, we reduced our patient schedules by approximately half for one day. By the end of the week, we were back at full capacity across all of our locations. Our training time is down, too, from approximately two months to one for medical assistants and from one month to two to three weeks for front office staff.

ModMed Protocols restored the focus to patients

One of the biggest game-changers for Apex Dermatology has been the use of Protocols. These standardized workflows allow our providers to move through visits quickly while still retaining control over medical decision-making. Providers can restore their focus on patients because the documentation is so streamlined.

We also like that we can track our Protocol use internally and benchmark it against other dermatologists using ModMed. I can see clearly how Protocols create efficiency that relates to patient volumes, especially because benchmark data lets me set goals that support our practice’s growth. Since implementation, we’ve increased our Protocol usage by 57% internally.

Higher patient engagement built greater efficiency

The benefits of ModMed extend directly to our patients. The tech is so easy to use that we’ve seen an increase in patient engagement with our Patient Portal and app, APPatient. Patients can handle their own scheduling and check-in, make payments, and see personal health information. Within a year of implementing ModMed, Patient Portal use increased 31% while APPatient use jumped 37.5%.

I see patient engagement as an indicator of patient satisfaction, but it also compounds operational benefits. With our prior system, medical records staff could handle about 40 patients each daily. With ModMed, they can handle up to 80 patients daily. This allowed us to reallocate staff at our busiest offices.

ModMed improved revenue capture

Patients and providers engage with our revenue processes more effectively now, too. Revenue capture was one of our originating pain points, and ModMed allowed our providers to handle coding and MIPS reporting easier and faster. On the patient side, ModMed Pay encouraged payment by offering more control over the process, including multiple ways to pay.

There was a domino effect from implementing an all-in-one solution. Streamlined documentation during visits allowed providers to improve time to finalize notes from five to seven days down to one to two days. This accelerated billing cycles and offered the billing team predictability that supported productivity.

ModMed Pay’s multiple payment options drove a 39% year-over-year increase in our collections. While we communicate closely with patients, we also found that high Patient Portal and APPatient use meant some patients naturally discovered and used payment features on their own.

Growth through technology

We’re a growth-focused practice, and ModMed has helped us improve our practice operations so that we can hit our growth goals. I love how an all-in-one solution lets me connect data and strategy, making it obvious how much we’ve improved our processes after implementation.

With higher patient volumes, better patient engagement, and increased revenue capture, ModMed has done more than automate our existing operations. It transformed what’s possible for us as a large practice, creating a foundation for achieving our ambitions while caring for our patients.

To learn more about the products Jessica Biello discussed, please request a demo at modmed.com/dermatology or call 561.235.7501

The statements and conclusions contained herein reflect the opinions of Jessica Biello and not those of ModMed. ModMed makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy of any such information. Results may vary depending on medical practice size, product usage and other variables.