Practice Manager seems like a weighty title to carry at times. Have you ever felt like that about the job title that you carrying?
Maybe me saying that is something you wouldn’t have expected me to ask, but you know, I feel comfortable being 100% transparent with you. And, this role is hard, and sometimes I worry that I am not doing as much or as well as I think the job deserves. I take this job very seriously and want to do my best for you and for the practice.
Let’s talk about my role, your role, and how we work together.
As the Practice Manager for Honeybee, I am the first line of communication you will experience when you reach out to Honeybee. I answer phones, emails, inquiries, and various other roles.
Even though technology and I can have a love-hate relationship, I recognize we both need the other if we are going to make it in the 21st Century. We have a phenomenal platform that we use called Simple Practice. This platform allows us to store, record information, and send forms. It also is how we submit bills- to you and to the insurance companies we work with.
Insurance billing and claim advocacy is a big part of my job at Honeybee. You know, the pesky denied claim insurance does not want to cover or just calling to confirm your benefit information, I spend a lot of my day to day on the phone with insurance providers.
It’s standard practice at Honeybee to wait until a claim is paid to collect copay amounts as so many factors are changing as we navigate this pandemic. Once the claim has processed through the insurance companies database, we reach out to the client about any remaining balance that may be due (from a copay or deductible).
I’ll ask, “May we apply the payment to the card on file and would you like to enroll in autopay?” This feature allows each client to “click it and forget it” allowing all future payments to be automatically be processed when proceeding claims require payment.
Not everyone chooses this feature. We get it; not everyone has the money in the account just lying around waiting to cover copayments, deductibles, and co-insurance for their therapy.
That’s one of the things I love about Honeybee, though. We work with our clients, breaking barriers so that goals and personal journeys can be easily accomplished.
Recently, I notice that when I reach out to collect payment, this one part of my job can ruffle some feathers or make clients cringe.
We love that we can follow up personally with all of our client. Please hear me when I say this, though, “OUR CLINICIANS SHOULD BE PAID.”
This is A MUST! THEY ARE VALUABLE! I mean if they weren’t valuable, you would not be coming back to see them, right?
I am advocating for this to the insurance companies as much as I am saying this to someone who has a balance.
How we roll together is by taking into consideration that services must be compensated. It is our goal to work with you to make a plan for how to make sure you are able to meet your part of this goal. To this end, we offer payment plans, sliding scale, and reduced fee services through our interns. We want to see you get your needs met, and I want to work alongside you to develop a plan that works for you and honors the worth and work of our providers.
Honeybee aims to provide a safe place to process, and I desires to be a part of that safety by communicating proactively, clearly, and openly with each and every client we serve.
That said, as the practice manager for Honeybee I want to say, “Thank you“ for allowing me to serve you. Thank you, Rachel, for believing in me and allowing me to serve your clients within the practice.
We are forever grateful for the many clients that have joined us and allowed us to be a part of their journey since 2018. We look forward to continuing to serve you long into the future, and I look forward to being a part of that process!
Just know that if ever I am calling you to talk about finances, my goal is to be an ally and a collaborator. My job is to find the balance between advocating for you and advocating for the practice. Like I said, it’s a weighty title to carry- but, it’s one I do with pride.
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