Shenandoah Dermatology & Aesthetics Scales Up and Improves Operations With ModMed Dermatology

Find out how an all-in-one software solution solved many issues after a single-provider dermatology practice expanded to eight sites 

BACKGROUND

Shenandoah Dermatology & Aesthetics, in Staunton, Virginia, offers a variety of services, such as skin cancer treatment, Botox, skin rash treatment, acne treatment, laser hair removal and more. The practice experienced extraordinary growth by expanding from one dermatologist to eight providers across eight locations.

Although elated with their success, group members faced some growing pains due to the inability of their practice management software to grow and scale with them. They wanted to improve patient and staff communication, track their revenue cycle more closely and optimize practice performance.

Already happy with their use of EMA^® EHR, Practice Manager Danielle Orren researched to see what other options were available from ModMed^®. Shenandoah Dermatology ultimately opted to add Practice Management and revenue cycle management solutions, known as ModMed BOOST, along with ModMed Pay and Patient Engagement tools. Danielle discusses the benefits of having an all-in-one dermatology suite of solutions.

INTUITIVE AND INTEGRATED

I’ve worked with many EHR systems in the past. The first thing I discovered when we started using EMA was how user friendly it is, because it’s designed for dermatology and it reduced charting times. This, in turn, makes it easy to train new staff on the system. 

Our rapid growth revealed some inefficiencies in our operations. Having everything integrated makes my job as a practice manager, along with the physicians, clinical staff and front desk, so much more streamlined, efficient and easy. It enables the front and back staff to communicate with each other from opposite ends of the building. It provides an overall picture of the patient’s experience from check-in to checkout. 

ModMed offers so many options to automate processes, which reduces the number of steps that we need to take to complete a task. Also, we’ve gained knowledge about our practice that we didn’t even know we were missing, including our financials. 

A BOOST TO THE BOTTOM LINE

ModMed BOOST has been an incredible resource for our practice. Their team stepped in and helped us better understand, and track, the practice’s financial performance. We’ve been able to run reports that we did not know existed, such as what specific claims and codes are being rejected, which helps us determine how we can fix that on the clinical end. 

We meet with the ModMed BOOST team monthly to review our current financial state and discuss what they’re working on. It’s a fabulous benefit to have their team of billing specialists working behind the scenes to solve any billing challenges that may arise.

The industry standard for days sales outstanding (DSO) is 30 days. Our DSO is currently around 27 days, which shows that the BOOST team is resolving denials and collecting money on claims quickly. Also, 60% of our AR is new, further proving that they are closing out claims before they even begin aging.

Knowledge is power. When you know what’s going on in your practice financially, you can make better decisions clinically. This allows us to run a large medical practice while maximizing efficiencies and resources.

MINIMIZING PAYMENT MISTAKES

Before we switched to ModMed Pay, we collected payments using a third-party system. Our front desk team manually entered the transactions, which resulted in errors and missed payments. 

We see a high volume of patients daily and ModMed Pay has helped reduce steps in collecting payments while minimizing errors and staff workload. Patients also appreciate the multiple payment options available to them. They can pay their copay using ModMed Kiosk during check-in and have the option to save their preferred payment card. 

PATIENT SATISFACTION GROWING, TOO 

We utilize Patient Self-Scheduling, which makes it so easy for patients to search availability and schedule appointments without having to call our office. Our call center handles calls for all eight locations, and this feature reduces the number of calls they receive. We have the ability to specify the types of appointments available and how long each should be scheduled for each provider. It’s very customizable, which we appreciate. 

We see 30 to 35 patients a day per provider, and the use of Patient Reminders has helped reduce our no-show rate significantly. The automated messages are more effective, and it’s less work for our staff.

RELIABLE SUPPORT 

We have 80 to 100 staff members, so questions arise daily. It’s nice to have ModMed Communities to connect with other practices in the area who use ModMed, along with ModMed’s support team. It is super easy to create a ticket, or call, and they always provide us with an answer quickly. Reliable support is important when you have multiple things on your priority list. 

ModMed Dermatology makes our lives easier and improves the experience for our patients. The biggest benefit is that ModMed listens to their clients. If there’s an issue that we’re experiencing, or we have a product suggestion, they actually listen and make helpful improvements. That’s something that I’ve never experienced with other companies before.

The statements and conclusions contained herein reflect the opinions of Danielle Orren 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.

©2023 Modernizing Medicine, Inc.

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