The cash flow benefits of continuity of care part 3

ByJohn B. Pinto

Picking up where we left off last time regarding recall and continuity of care, let’s check in on how your practice is doing in this critical area.

Take this simple test in your practice (assuming you are still using paper charts). Pull 20 charts at random, per doctor, of patients last seen 2 to 3 years ago (but not in the last year.) Then fill out a chart that looks like this, with one line for each patient:

Patient Account Number	Age	Month & Year of Last Visit	Primary Diagnosis	Third Party Payer	Doctor’s Return to Clinic Order	Is there an appointment for this patient? Note month and year)	Is there a recall for this patient? Note month and year)
654321	69	11/2013	Cataracts	Medicare	12 months	Yes 11/2014	N/A

Is there a recall notice posted in the system? An appointment? If you’re an average practice, 10% or more of these patients will have been lost to follow up. Going forward, establish agreed return-to-clinic intervals, audit to assure these are posted in the system and follow up with missing patients.

Is your practice a sieve or a bucket? The difference, over a career, can represent millions of dollars economically. More importantly, a tight recall system, over the course of a single physician’s life’s work, could mean the difference between clear sight and blindness for scores of your patients.