Check financial statements to enhance revenue

Q: I know in this era of healthcare reform that we need to be prepared to receive less reimbursement for the services we provide. What can we do to bolster ourselves for this inevitable loss of revenue?

Financial statements are important tools in managing a practice but are effective only when prepared and used appropriately. Review your statements for more than the variance to budget and profitability, examining such factors as insurance premiums, miscellaneous spending, physician expenses, and contracts. Compare actual results with prior years and with similar practices to get an accurate view of financial performance and trending.

Regardless of your practice setting, aggressive financial management is critical during these challenging economic times. When used appropriately, financial statements and ratios can be valuable in diagnosing your practice's current financial condition while helping you enhance revenue and control costs.

Answers to readers' questions were provided by Thomas J. Ferkovic, RPh, MS, managing director, SS&G Healthcare Services LLC, Akron, Ohio. Send your practice management questions to medec@advanstar.com

Also engage at http://www.twitter.com/MedEconomics and http://www.facebook.com/MedicalEconomics