Dresden Medical Management Group

Running a medical practice today is tougher than ever. Regulations change, staff are in short supply, patients expect better experiences, and finances are tight. The good news is that smart technology can make these challenges easier to manage. This piece highlights five common pain points in medical practices and shows how practical digital tools can help, whether you’re a solo clinician, a growing specialty group, or a large health system.  High No-Show Rates No shows disrupt schedules and waste time. The simple fix is to use reminders that reach patients where they are: text, email, and/or automated calls which allows them to confirm, cancel, or reschedule quickly. A practical approach is to send reminders at key times: 72 hours before, 24 hours before, and on the day of the visit, including who the appointment is with, what type it is, the time, and the location. Another thing I am seeing more and more is the No Show Fee.  To deter missed appointments and protect your pra...

Whether you’re new in practice or you’ve been at this for years, one of the most important financial foundations you’ll set up is your fee schedule. Understanding how charges, allowable fees, and self-pay rates interact and knowing how to set them appropriately, can protect your revenue, reduce confusion for patients, and keep your billing process running smoothly. First, let’s clarify the core terms. Your charge schedule is the amount you initially bill to an insurance company for a service. This is the “charge” you publish in your system as the standard price for each CPT code. The allowable fee schedule, on the other hand, is what the insurance payer actually agrees to pay you for those services. Payers use this schedule to determine your reimbursement, and it often differs from your charged amount. Then there’s the self-pay (or cash-pay) fee schedule, which is what you charge patients who aren’t using insurance. Self-pay rates are typically a percentage of Medicare or of your stand...

In our recent posts we’ve touched on Old Patient AR. Today we’re focused on how to reduce it, with five practical tips designed to get those balances paid faster. If you’re new to medical billing, a quick refresher: accounts receivable is the money your practice is supposed to receive. Insurance AR comes from your fee schedule and contractual adjustments after services are billed. Patient AR is the portion actually owed by patients. Defining what counts as “old” AR Old AR typically means balances that are 60, 90, 120, or 180 days old and have had at least three statements sent. It can also apply to newer practices with a lot of new AR. The key is to identify what qualifies as old in your office so you can plan your next steps. One: Tackle the Overdue Balances First - outreach and chart flags Start by looking at each patient’s age and the amount they owe, ranking from oldest to newest or highest to lowest. For active patients, add a chart flag so you’re prompted to collect at the next v...

Today, I am sharing the top things that we have seen that make healthcare practices succeed. As we all know, it does get very challenging to run a healthcare practice today. You have to have the right people, you have to have the right processes, and you have to have the right focus to be able to grow and meet the needs of both your staff, your patients, as well as yourself in order to be successful. Knowing these may help relieve some stress, grow revenue, and help your practice continue to give you that fulfillment that you want.  It is so important that practice owners have a focus around what they want from the practice? What are the priorities of the practice? Is it stabilization? Is it growth? Owners should outline their focus, write it down and share that vision with your staff.  If you are the practice owner, you should have a clear vision and a list of priorities you want. This may take some time to create, if you haven’t already. It’s a matter of just sitting down an...

You may not realize it, but up to 30% of denials in private practices come from one single mistake: eligibility errors. This doesn’t take long for the majority of your patients, but it’s costing practices tens of thousands of dollars every year. In many offices, this falls to the front desk, but we’re looking at it through a billing lens. The better you are at managing your front desk and helping them understand how to optimize eligibility, the healthier your revenue will be. This is one of the easiest and quickest ways to protect your bottom line. Billing starts the moment a patient schedules an appointment. In this piece, we’ll cover simple fixes and practical options you can implement this week. Reason One: Eligibility isn’t Being Worked Correctly or Efficiently You’d be surprised how many practices skip eligibility checks or run them only once a year. Insurance landscapes change constantly—people change jobs, carriers switch, plans reset. If you’re not checking eligibility for ever...

When you run a medical practice, billing can be one of the most time-consuming and complex tasks on your plate. Outsourcing to a reputable medical billing service like Dresden Medical Management Group can deliver meaningful benefits for your practice. Time and resource savings Outsourcing your medical billing frees up your staff to focus on what matters most—patient care and day-to-day administrative duties. By entrusting billing to experts, you can reduce errors and improve accuracy, which often translates into faster payments and higher revenue. Expertise you can rely on Professional medical billing services bring up-to-date knowledge of industry regulations and coding changes. Keeping pace with these updates can be challenging for in-house staff. With a dedicated billing partner, you’re more likely to bill correctly and efficiently, supporting a healthier revenue cycle. Cost savings Partnering with Dresden Medical Management Group can lower overhead costs tied to hiring and training...

A few weeks ago, we discussed myths around transitioning a Billing Team. Today, let’s tackle what many view as the scariest hurdle: switching billing teams.  This decision is significant. In conversations with practices, those fears are consistently front and center. Yet, in our experience, about 70% of our transitions not only protect revenue but also boost collections—often by as much as 35% within the first 90 days. There is some truth behind the myths. With the right plan, the right partner, and the right communication tools, you can navigate a transition confidently. We have both the tools and the approach to ensure everyone understands: if the practice doesn’t succeed, we don’t succeed. Protecting revenue is essential for a practice’s confidence and clarity when making a change. Talking through these myths openly is a crucial step when considering a billing-team transition. Myth One: Our revenue will decrease if we switch. This is the number-one fear—and it’s understandable. ...