Any skilled nursing facility could have the brightest doctors on staff, the most attentive nurses and the newest building in town—and still fail miserably. For an operation to succeed long-term, it must run smoothly and efficiently in every aspect of the business, from the moment a resident or patient is introduced to the facility, to the necessary follow-ups that occur after discharge. In a skilled nursing facility, a business office manager plays a key role in every stage of the patient lifecycle. Although this administrative position operates very much “behind the scenes” and is not typically considered a revenue-generating role, leadership would be gravely mistaken to underestimate their influence on the bottom line.
A business office manager in a skilled nursing facility wears many hats, and should therefore be competent in a variety of skills including administrative/customer service, accounting, compliance, and multitasking so much more. Below we break down these four broad skills that are essential for a healthcare business office manager:
Essential Skills for a Skilled Nursing Facility Business Office Manager
Customer Service
Many skilled nursing business office managers are responsible for managing the phone lines and assisting everyone who comes through the door—and it is those interactions that set the tone for the entire facility. Any unpleasant experience can cause residents and/or their family members to be dissatisfied, which could easily result in losing their business. Excellent customer service should always be a priority, but this is especially true for front line leadership positions such as the business office manager. Understanding the needs of the resident and effective communication are imperative.
Accounting
Billing and collection are complex tasks that require knowledge of your systems, insurance payer contracts, regulatory guidelines, billing codes, denial trends and more. In facilities where the primary skilled nursing business office manager is responsible for billing, they must work to ensure charges, claims and statements are accurate, or reimbursement will be delayed or forfeited. They must pursue and correct denials in a timely manner, or significant revenue will be lost. Business office managers may also oversee resident trust funds, which is highly regulated and should be properly handled with safeguards to protect against theft and fraud.
Compliance
Ongoing changes in healthcare laws and regulation means that providers need someone focused on policies, procedures, auditing and monitoring. Providers are constantly faced with new risks, and any kind of misconduct can result in fines or penalties. Skilled nursing business office managers are an important party of the interdisciplinary team, and need to employ training and best practices to minimize risks.
Multitasking
With so many responsibilities to balance, a skilled nursing business office manager must learn to adapt to the demands and priorities for the day. In one moment, they may be assisting a resident with their Medicaid eligibility paperwork, and the next addressing a complaint or preparing an insurance claim. Interruptions throughout their day should be expected, yet they must remain organized, flexible and focused on efficiency.
As if recruiting candidates for this office-based administrative position was not challenging enough, a business office manager must also have knowledge of the skilled nursing industry, insurance payers and government regulations—all of which must be learned in time. This combination of skill and industry experience is unique, which is why so many providers continually struggle to hire and retain the right talent.
Luckily, there is a solution.
Enhancing Outcomes with Richter
A skilled nursing business office manager plays an integral role in an organization’s ability to thrive financially. When they are inexperienced or feel unsupported, the effects will be felt companywide. As the industry’s leading skilled nursing and long-term care consultants, Richter can deliver customized solutions to help you achieve your goals. Whether you are in the market for a new business office manager or seek to further educate your staff, our team of professionals are here to assist.
We can prepare attractive job descriptions to help you recruit the right talent
We offer thorough and flexible training programs that can be customized for new talent or annual competency initiatives
Our team can evaluate your current organizational responsibilities and make suggestions for distributing the workload
We can help incorporate new technology to increase efficiency
As a liaison and extension of your team, you can lean on us for support on-demand
We can help improve company culture and increase employee retention
