Ted Lasso's Playbook for Physicians: Scoring Financial Health and Patient Care with Positivity!

I’m a huge fan of the Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso. It has many parallels to what we are facing in healthcare these days. The show centers on the trials and tribulations of a Premier League soccer team in England and what it takes to create a unified successful team. Not everything goes as expected and there are many twists and turns, but in the end perseverance and staying true to your values ultimately overcomes all and you achieve your ultimate goal.  

While the show is fiction, what’s fact is that not everything is going well for us Physicians. It’s becoming harder to properly practice medicine and to get paid for our work these days (which then can make it a pretty vicious cycle).  Latter is a daunting and at times, a miserable task. Government and commercial payers have targeted physicians as a way to reduce healthcare costs. Payer hassles / roadblocks and government oversight can become a drain and make you question your desire to remain a physician. None of us get into medicine to fight to get paid for the privilege of caring for the sick and saving lives. How many of you have thought about quitting?

After all you have gone through to get where you are now, my request is to NOT give up. But just like in Ted Lasso, you need a strategy to practice without fear of financial failure and to keep the focus on patient care.

My key components of a winning strategy are: 1) an educated capable team, 2) internal checks, 3) a compliance plan, and 4) excellent practice management software with front-end charge capture.

1. Just like in team sports, the best defense is a strong offense. In addition to your back-office staff, physicians should be an integral part of your defense. Ensure physicians and staff are well trained and up to date in current coding rules and medical policies. Documentation and coding practices are just as important as the care rendered.  You deserve to be paid appropriately for your service, but that requires excellent documentation and coding and constant monitoring by your team.  
2. Most practices use an EHR to best document care, but it’s important to avoid some pitfalls. 

• Use auto-coding functionality cautiously. Turn it off or allow for overrides so the physician can appropriately code. 
• Many physicians overutilize “copy/paste” to improve efficiency. Unfortunately, much of what is copied is redundant or unrelated to the condition on the date of service. This is easily identified through the use of software algorithms during routine regulatory or commercial billing audits resulting in formal external audits that are time consuming and expensive. So when copying a note, make sure to revise it to reflect the current patient condition. 
• Another common problem is the overuse of common E/M and CPT codes that are significantly misaligned with your peer group. Since there are thousands of physicians in the same specialty submitting claims for similar services, each specialty determines a profile for those services that the regulators monitor.  When your coding practice falls outside the norms of your specialty, an alert is triggered resulting in a formal external audit.

3. Deploy a compliance plan and program to show regulators you are serious about following the rules. Ted Lasso frequently focused on the importance of being authentic and honest, “it is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”  Your compliance plan should outline a set of guidelines and best practices that ensure you and your team are following all relevant regulations and laws. A reliable compliance plan is your get out of jail free card. The plan will ensure everyone knows the expectations and can recognize potential issues especially in the case of misconduct.
4. An excellent practice management software system improves efficiency and productivity.  Among its many benefits, the system integrates the EHR with billing and claims management which requires strong coding by physicians with oversight by back-office staff. Use of charge capture software at the point of service improves the billing process significantly. Physicians like the instant gratification of promptly documenting services rendered and your compliance and AR are greatly improved. Communication and collaboration will improve as the system gets embraced by the team.  

Every person in our society deserves to be valued and paid for their services and contributions. Physicians are no exceptions. It does not need to be so frustrating and painful, whereby it becomes harder to practice medicine. By acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills, embracing the available tools, and working as a team, you will be able to improve the financial health of your practice, while you focus on patient health. Quoting Ted Lasso, “I believe in hope. I believe in Believe.”