For speech therapy practices, contract details matter. Contracts with your therapists. Contracts with the school systems you serve.
But do these details really matter?
At first glance, meticulously negotiating each minor detail might appear as a route to heightened profits. But what's the hidden cost?
Consider this: Implementing varied mileage rates for therapists traveling to different schools seems like a smart move, doesn't it? In reality, it's cumbersome. The effort spent in calculating these diverse rates consumes more staff hours and more resources. The actual savings? Negligible.
On the surface, it might seem that paying therapists varied rates based on the insurance payer of the session better aligns your income and expenses. Surely, a single average rate would be too perilous, right?
The real risk lies in the lost productivity, opportunity costs, and other detrimental impacts arising from this complexity.
The unseen threats to your profitability include:
Every hour spent on managing and invoicing these contracts is an hour not invested in growth. So, why not opt for simplicity? A uniform rate for all services—straightforward and requiring minimal administrative effort.
A transparent, uncomplicated structure trumps a complex one. Even if it means occasionally forgoing a few cents, the overall benefits will surpass the minor losses.
While you might have an amazing Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system that is built to handle such complexity (like Ambiki), it will still introduce hidden overhead on your business.
Bottom line? Success doesn't hinge on the minutiae. It thrives on simplicity. In contracts, less is often more.