Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals | Bruce Greenstein, Secretary

Practice Management Consulting Unit

The Bureau of Primary Care and Rural Health's Practice Management Consulting Unit (PMC Unit) provides consulting services to help communities improve the health status of Louisiana residents in rural and underserved areas. Program consultants work proactively to build and sustain the capacity of community health systems to provide integrated, efficient and effective health care services.  

 

Services of the Practice Management Consulting UnitThe services of the Practice Management Consultation Unit (PMC UNIT) provide management consulting and training that is often unavailable or unaffordable to physicians, clinics and hospitals in rural and medically underserved areas. Primary health care providers have access to clincial and financial operations assessments followed by recommendations for improvements by the Unit's practice management consultants. The mission of the PMC Unit is to provide these services in an effort to increase the financial viability of local health care practices and sustain quality health care services in communities, thereby improving the health care of Louisiana citizens living in underserved and rural areas.

Clients of the PMC Unit include:

•  Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs)
• Rural health clinics (RHCs);
• Rural physician practices;
• Small rural hospitals (SRHs);
• Critical access hospitals (CAHs);
• School-based health centers (SBHCs); and
• Other entities offering primary health care services.

Financial

• Billing;
• Charge capture and coding;
• Collections and accounts receivable;
• Fee schedule development;
• Financial reporting and accounting;  
• Managed care contracts; and
• Profitability.

Information Management

• Automation opportunities;
• Electronic transactions;
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) compliance;
• Information systems needs analysis;
• Privacy; and
• Security.

Staff Management

• Optimal staffing;
• Personnel policies;
• Skill requirements;
• Training and development;
• Business planning;
• Customer relations and patient satisfaction;
• Public relations and community outreach; and
• Strategic planning.

Business and Clinical Operations

• Governance;
• Licensure, credentialing, and certification;
• Medical record compliance and review;
• Patient care systems;
• Patient communications;
• Patient education;
• Quality assessment and process improvement;
• Risk management;
• Scheduling and patient flow; and
• Planning and marketing.

We Can Help You Answer The Following Questions

• Should our clinic add a nurse practitioner to the medical staff?
• How can we see more patients without extending clinic hours?
• How can we collect more on the claims we file?
• Should we consider converting to a rural health clinic or a federally qualified health center?
• Which diagnostic and treatment services would increase our clinic's income?
• What computer system would best meet our needs?
• Could staffing changes improve our clinic's efficiency?
• Would opening a second clinic location be beneficial?

 

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For more information, contact:

Susie Hutchinson, CAPPM

Program Manager
Bureau of Primary Care and Rural Health
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals' Office of Public Health
Physical Address:  628 North 4th Street, 8th Floor, Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Mailing Address:    P.O. Box 3118, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-3118
Phone: (225) 342-9513
Fax:       (225) 342-5839