In this episode

Rob Ellis, CFO of Carolina Asthma and Allergy, discusses the importance of patient access in a competitive healthcare market. He shares how his organization has leveraged technology—such as automated scheduling, digital engagement tools, and online reputation management—to improve patient acquisition, reduce no-show rates, and optimize operations. Rob also highlights the challenges of staying independent amid dominant health systems, the role of data in strategic decision-making, and the importance of continuously evolving to meet patient and staff needs.

“Put yourself in the patient’s shoes and look at the obstacles for getting in the door. Technology’s evolving and changing. The market is constantly changing. Complacency will get you run over.”

– Rob Ellis

 

Key takeaways

Simple patient access is a must in a competitive market.

With large health systems nearby, Ellis emphasized the importance of patient access to maintain revenue, create a distinctive patient experience, and stay independent and competitive. “There’s now many more ways you have to reach people, everything is online,” he pointed out. He describes how leveraging digital engagement tools, online reputation management, and data-driven scheduling can help your organization stay independent and competitive in a market dominated by large health systems.

“With patients trying to get through on the telephone, we found that you can never hire enough people. And especially in asthma and allergy season in the Carolinas, it was difficult for patients to get through,” said Ellis. “We began measuring no-shows, cancellations, reschedule rates. Because if you can’t get patients in the door, that’s problem one.” “Looking at the business cycle, if you can’t get customers in the door, business is going to fail,” said Ellis. “So in healthcare, that means you’ve got to be able to get patients in the door. No matter how good your physicians are, if patients can’t get an appointment, they will go somewhere else. And we all live in a fast-paced culture, where if we can’t get through to someone in five minutes, I’m looking elsewhere.”

Technology can provide a leg up on staffing challenges.

Ellis pointed out the challenges of recruiting and maintaining clinicians and staff, and emphasized that technology can help.

“We’re competing, not just for patients, but for staff, with the larger hospital systems,” he said. Technology and patient self-service are part of how his organization competes for staff, said Ellis, with physicians seeing fuller schedules and administrative staff having fewer repetitive tasks.

He also notes that the ability for technology to take on repetitive tasks for staff can help justify it in an organization’s budget.
”IT is always a large line item,” he noted. “But I can explain, ‘Because of that system, I don’t have to account for [staff expenditures to complete those tasks.]” From the CFO perspective, he said, “It’s good to have the metrics to say, here’s what here’s what’s been done lately, and here’s here’s how things are going.”

Adaptability is key.

Ellis’ advice for fellow CFOs is to “constantly be looking ahead.” He stressed the importance of putting yourself in the patient’s shoes, tracking key metrics, and embracing innovation to meet changing demands.

“Technology’s evolving and changing. The market is constantly changing. Complacency will get you run over,” said Ellis.