More money, less time, better service delivery – for practice managers up and down the country this has to be the ultimate goal.

While achieving more with less – and getting rewarded for it – is nothing more than a pipe dream when it comes to most services provided by practices, there is one area worth closer consideration – child immunisations. According to Christina Cleworth, Group Business Manager at Portsdown Group Practice in Portsmouth, by following a number of simple steps and working smarter, practices can quickly and easily increase income, save staff time and improve protection of children through their lives.

Christina reckons that her practice has historically missed out thousands of pounds due to  data not being entered correctly on the clinical system and  not being aware of the financial implications . While this figure reflects the large practice size – it has 44,000 patients on its list – it highlights the importance of getting admin right.

Of course, it’s not just about the income. By putting in place measures to ensure revenue is maximised, you also end up delivering better services to more people, ensuring more immunisations are successfully completed.

Simple steps

Childhood immunisations are an important part of any practice’s activities, so how can you ensure you’re delivering the best possible services and maximising revenue for the practice? What are the simple – but often overlooked – steps Christina refers to?

Based on her experience and successful drive to ensure her practice no longer misses out on child imms revenue, Christina suggests data entry is the first place to start. For example, practice managers need to ensure that clinical system software is both set-up and understood by everyone using it – and that the correct procedures are always followed. Regular uploads to Open Exeter are also recommended – for a number of reasons – as is the use of spreadsheets with conditional formatting.

Indeed, Open Exeter is a key tool to ensuring revenue is maximised. Too many practices, Christina says, are unaware that the GP/GMS box must be correctly altered on the clinical system and the appropriate box ticked on Open Exeter. In cases where a practice’s child imms performance is increasing, but income isn’t, it’s often the lack of “box ticking” that’s to blame. This must therefore be checked on a regular basis, which can be done quickly and easily by selecting a filter box in Open Exeter. It’s a small job that could reap large rewards.

Christina adds that processes can also be streamlined by going digital, and questions why so many practices use a nurse to complete admin tasks such as completing paperwork for Child Health organisations. “Practices must streamline work, especially on something like this which is unfunded,” she says.

Maximising income from child imms, while better utilising resources, is easily achievable by following some straightforward admin procedures. Surely it’s an area you can’t afford to ignore?

Find out more…

Christina has worked with Practice Index to produce an in-depth guide to child imms, which is available to all Practice Index PLUS members. Building on the above, which gives a flavour of the advice detailed in the guide, More money, less time, better service: A Practice Manager’s Guide to Child Immunisations is a not-to-be-missed tool for any practice manager.

PLUS subscribers can click here to read the guide.

To find out more about PLUS click here.

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