Q&A with Brightree's Haddad, Pannu

ATLANTA - Pandemic or no pandemic, work from home is here to stay, which makes tracking productivity even more vital for providers to manage operations. HME News recently spoke to Medtrade East speakers, Jas Pannu, vice president of product management at Brightree, and Fadi Haddad, director of data and analytics at the company, about why productivity tracking matters and what to consider going forward.  

HME News: What's the role of analytics and KPIs in tracking productivity? 

Jas Pannu: The main role of data and analytics is to provide actionable insights to providers. We need to make sure they have the ability to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs. When we talk about productivity, it’s about becoming more efficient - doing more with the resources you have on staff versus looking to hire more people or bring in more technologies. Using analytics to track KPIs, such as aging AR, outstanding sales orders, or denials, is a surefire way to stay on top of operations, and improve the referral to revenue lifecycle.  

HME: How might we approach tracking in the future? 

Fadi Haddad: You’re going to have this hybrid model where you’re going to have some of your staff remote, while some are going to be back in the office and you’re going to need to track both. From a future standpoint, it’s really using the data and the analytics based on your productivity tracking to develop more refined workflows that are going to help you become more efficient. That's where I see things changing. 

HME: What should providers look out for when developing those analytics and KPIs? 

Haddad: Knowing and understanding the most important KPIs to your business. There’s a lot of external factors that come into play when talking about productivity. In the beginning of the year, your productivity might be lower; you’re coming out of that holiday funk, if you will. Also, your insurance deductibles and everything have reset. A lot of your documentation, you’re going to have to go back and recollect, so your tasks could be taking longer. So, it’s having that understanding of these external factors, as well as your internal factors, so that you’re tracking the right KPIs throughout the year.