For many challenges in healthcare, solutions can seem elusive. Stakeholders may not be aware of all their options and it may not be obvious which one is the best. Healthcare consultants provide evidence-based remedial guidance that can help healthcare organizations improve their operations, reduce costs, and attract new patients.
However, healthcare consulting is not a straightforward process. It requires deep knowledge of healthcare systems, processes, and regulations, and the ability to analyze complex data. Practice cases, case studies, and market sizing are three essential tools that healthcare consultants use to create action steps. The following case studies are examples of how our medical practice consultants charter a course toward solutions that deliver quantifiable results.
Case Study #1: Successful EHR Migration at 3 New Locations for Primary Care Practice
A primary care provider with multiple locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio operates under a subscription-based model. Patients pay one monthly fee and come in as frequently as needed without office copays, deductibles, coinsurance, formularies, or other restrictions on care, allowing providers to focus on delivering high-quality care.
The Problem
As a multi-location practice, this provider’s biggest challenge was to ensure the successful integration and migration of a new EHR to three existing practices. Mistakes made during an EHR migration often have unintended consequences. Pain points included:
- Staff resistance to transitioning from their current Epic EHR platform to eClinicalWorks (eCW)
- The need for temporary workflows during EHR migration for its internal lab company
- Concerns about glitches during and after the go-live
Our Solutions
The key to success for this EHR migration was to ensure that the staff felt confident using the new eClinicalWorks EHR platform. To ensure the success of this initiative, we deployed a customized strategy that included:
- Go-live support, including education around improving workflows and eCW V12 enhancements
- Remote support following the go-live
- Temporary workflows and device configuration
Positive Outcomes
The practice successfully migrated EHRs at three new practice locations with help from Medical Advantage Consultants who:
- Promoted EHR buy-in during migration
- Provided workflow tips and device configuration
- Offered go-live and post-go live remote support
Case Study #2: A Dental Practice Climbs to Top Rank on Local Search
A single-provider Pennsylvania dental practice provides cosmetic, sedation, periodontics, gum therapy, restorative, preventive, and oral cancer screening services for patients of all ages, including pediatrics.
The practice is also passionate about giving back to the community. As a local establishment, being active in the community is integral in differentiating this practice from competitors.
The Situation
Originally, this practice partnered with Medical Advantage’s Practice Marketing Solution, iHealthSpot, to develop a compelling dental practice website. Years later, the practice needed to prioritize growth, and again enlisted marketing services to help achieve its ambitious goals including:
- Higher search ranking than its biggest competitor for the market
- A complete website redesign to highlight new aspects of the practice
- Raising awareness of their community outreach and philanthropy
- Implementing SEO and brand strategy to boost revenue
Our Solutions
The web design team created a design that matched the practice’s brand image, including custom wireframing and copywriting. To help the practice become more competitive, our digital healthcare marketing experts:
- Optimized the entire site, page-by-page, with localized keywords to bring the practice to page one of search results
- Created pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns and Facebook Ads to help improve search visibility
- Crafted an entire page devoted to how the practice gives back to the community
- Provided content marketing and professional copywriting services
Positive Outcomes
With Medical Advantage’s Practice Marketing Solution, iHealthSpot, this single-provider Pennsylvania dental practice achieved a significant competitive advantage and propelled its growth. Quantifiable results include:
- #1 page ranking for multiple high value keywords, including “best dentist near me”
- 75% increase in website traffic
- 50 new appointment requests on average from PPC, Facebook Ads and SEO
- $80,000 raised for charity with a dedicated philanthropy page
Case Study #3: A Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Quality Improvement Project
This FQHC serves over 4,500 members of the uninsured, underinsured, and underserved population in Ohio. Its specialties include pediatrics, adult medicine, family medicine, obstetrics, geriatrics, behavioral health, and dentistry.
The practice participates in quality programs including Medicaid Meaningful Use (MU), HRSA Uniform Data Service (UDS), Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH), Commercial Insurance (HEDIS) and several additional private grants with other specific quality metrics.
The Problem
FQHCs are held to extremely high standards, so meeting quality targets is a must. Consultants found that the practice was well below the metrics thresholds for 48% of their measures and barely above thresholds in another 11%. The causes of the problems included:
- Incorrect mapping of quality measure data and missing Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) codes in the database
- Missing processes related to quality measure reporting in workflows
- Misunderstanding of how the quality measures connect between programs
- Non-compliance in patient population
Our Solutions
Applying our wealth of experience working with publicly funded care organizations like FQHCs, we resolved the individual factors that contributed to overall organizational performance.
- Mapping quality measure data, updating LOINC codes on labs and imaging, and building/moving structured data for mapping corrections.
- Staff training in all quality measures, quality team reporting, and workflow change documentation.
- Establishing messenger and patient portal reminders for services due, establishing policy for tracking orders and referrals, training staff on different methods of patient follow up, and training staff on how to discuss services, such as immunization, cancer screenings, etc.
Positive Outcomes
Year-over-year quality improvements by percentage of eligible patients screened helped this FQHC maintain care standards such as:
- 53% increase in cervical cancer screenings
- 59% Improvement in nutrition and physical activity for children
- 84% improvement in closing the referral loop
- 67% increase in BMI screening and counseling
Case Study #4: OB/GYN Achieves Success with Fresh Branding & Website Optimization
This hospital-affiliated OB/GYN practice has three providers serving five locations. After 13 years of success, the practice sought to attract new patients and counter competition by increasing local market awareness.
The Problem
The practice’s lack of an online presence impacted their ability to reach patients successfully. They struggled with consistent branding and search engine optimization (SEO) as well as social media and patient engagement. Pain points for this practice included:
- Limited engagement with new patients
- Difficulty booking appointments each month
- Little to no brand recognition to help them stand out among the competition
- Lack of patient awareness unaware of the practice’s multiple locations
Our Solutions
In today’s consumer-driven healthcare world, digital marketing is an indispensable component for financial stability. Medical Advantage’s Practice Marketing Solution, iHealthSpot, worked with the practice to address these concerns and develop a plan to enhance their online presence and improve brand awareness, including:
- Freshened up branding with a complete logo redesign
- Enhanced patient engagement with a new custom website with SEO and user-friendly features
- Created original blog content to increase appearance in Google search results
- Nurtured connection with the local market though social media strategy and maintenance
- Fortified local search visibility through Google listings management
Key Takeaways
After Medical Advantage implemented a plan to enhance online presence and improve brand awareness, the OB/GYN practice achieved the following:
- 78 new appointment request per month
- 25+ keywords ranking on page one of Google search
- 50% increase in new patient appointments
Case Study #5: A Gastroenterology Group Experiences Rapid Expansion and Growth
An innovative Florida-based gastroenterology group is backed by private equity and boasts an impressive 200 practices across the U.S. The organization continues to rapidly expand while providing complete care for the digestive system.
The Problems
This rapidly expanding healthcare group needed to find a dependable EHR consulting partner that could keep up with their evolving business needs and support their ambitious growth strategy. After discovering the current software company was not meeting expectations, they sought out EHR consultants to support current and newly acquired practices. They specifically needed support to overcome the following challenges:
- EHR implementation
- Consistent EHR training across practices
Our Solutions
After successfully delivering onsite support during a go-live, our relationship with the organization grew into an exclusive partnership. Based on our consulting case process, we developed tailored solutions focused on standardization that included:
- Pre-implementation preparation
- Go-live project management and onsite implementation support
- End-user training for eClinicalWorks
- Customized reporting
Positive Outcomes
Medical Advantage consultants implemented personalized EHR support and helped the group achieve its goals by:
- Assisting 50+ practices for go-live support
- Providing 5+ years of support and expanded EHR consulting services
- Developing standard EHR processes from pre-implementation to training
Summary: Healthcare Consulting Case Studies as Examples of Actionable Solutions
Healthcare consulting is essential in today’s fast-paced healthcare industry. Case studies show what is possible for real-world challenges, so healthcare organizations can be inspired to act. By sharing the necessary insights and strategies, consultants help organizations determine market share, acquire new patients, and achieve organizational excellence. Through market research and strategic planning, healthcare consultants can help practices improve patient care, increase profitability, and succeed in an ever-changing healthcare landscape.
Achieve Your Practice Goals with Medical Advantage Practice Consultants
Medical Advantage offers healthcare consulting solutions that give medical practice operations a competitive edge. Our catalog of practice cases demonstrates our consultants’ expertise and proven record of success. Contact us to learn more about how our tailored approach to practice transformation can help optimize your organization.
