One of the most obvious ways to go about increasing your practice’s revenue with lab tests is to make sure your patients get their labs done! You won’t get paid for labs that were never completed. It may seem inconceivable, but it happens, especially with less-frequent tests such as annuals, or with patients you don’t see very often.
This is why patient engagement is so important. It is extremely important that your office follow through to make sure patients are taking their tests and don’t just show up at their next appointment one year later, with no measure of their important health numbers.
An EMR such as Power2Practice can help you with this kind of tracking, as lab test results sync-in from partner laboratories. You can call up any patient, check his/her results, and even send a secure message prompting him/her to go for his testing if it appears he/she is behind in doing so.
Offer Cash Prices for Labs
Because lab test prices are subject to more stringent guidelines than supplements, the biggest and best way for you to increase revenue for your practice is to offer cash prices for labs. This is perfectly within medical and legal boundaries, and may result in benefits for both you and your patients.
How it works: Patients who have insurance plans may have extremely high deductibles, where they are required to pay high costs for lab work. Make sure they understand that they are not required to pay those prices. Often, patients can pay you directly, at the prices you set, and you generate an entire revenue stream based on having cash prices for labs.
How is it win-win? The cash prices you charge patients are significantly lower than if they were billed for the lab work through their insurance companies, but you’re still making a margin for yourself. Let’s look at an example:
- The lab charges patients $30 > Your arranged cost with the lab is $5 > You charge the patient $15
- The patient saves half (or $15 in this case). You make a $10 profit, or margin, for your practice!
Additional Benefits for Your Patients
Depending on your EMR, you can generate Superbills for patients. These bills are marked with the proper procedure and diagnosis codes that insurance companies look for, which means patients can submit them to work against their deductibles, or for potential reimbursement.
Keep in mind: Unlike supplement pricing, where there is some gray area, lab test prices aren’t as flux. You must charge every patient the same lab test cost (there is no frequent testers clubs or bulk discounts for the patients).
Carefully consider your own markups and margins.
What’s your sacrificial point? What’s your comfort level in dropping costs below lab price? You want to be able to offer the patient an enticing discount, but not at the “cost” (pun intended) of practice financial stability. In the previous example, you make $10 on every test. If you charged patients $10 for the test, you would make $5 on each and patients would save $20. Is $5 enough? –too little? That’s a decision only you can make.
Power2Practice Can Save You Up To 80% On Lab Tests
Through a no-cost alignment with Quest Labs, we can help you and your patients save on many types of tests.
For example, the regular lab cost on a general health panel may be quoted at $233, but the wholesale group offers it at just $16. This means that you may be able to offer even bigger discounts to your patients, while still recouping revenue for yourself, as well.
Call (800) 590-7459 for a no cost or obligation lab test savings analysis. Just tell us which tests you run and how many per month, and we’ll show you the savings!
