Learn practical ways to increase medical practice revenue by streamlining operations, improving reimbursement, and elevating patient experience — all while keeping workflows efficient.

Independent medical practices are less focused on raw growth and more on scaling operations and maintaining profitability amid staffing constraints, evolving patient expectations, and competition with larger health systems.

That pressure is intensifying as operational costs climb across the United States healthcare sector. CMS now projects national health expenditures to have grown 8.2% in 2024 and to increase 7.1% in 2025, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). As a result, healthcare spending has outpaced the broader economy and now represents a larger share of the GDP.

At the same time, reimbursement pressure continues. CMS finalized a 2.83% decrease to the 2025 Medicare Physician Payment Schedule conversion factor versus 2024, adding headwinds for practices already operating on thin margins.

Given these disparities, how can practices prepare to navigate the next cycle? In this guide, you'll learn practical ways to stay on top of financial performance, optimize day-to-day operations, and elevate patient experience — all while protecting cash flow. 

We'll show you how to tie KPIs to revenue cycle management, use revenue analytics to safeguard medical practice revenue, review pricing and payer contracts, and track emerging revenue streams alongside core services.

Use digital tools to gain a clear understanding of your financial position and improve practice efficiency. As national health spending growth remains elevated into 2025, these pressures make disciplined tracking even more important.

Financial performance management is essential. It empowers medical practices to make informed decisions on the growth of their business based on real-time data. Data offers insights into how to approach various financial questions, like whether or not to hire more staff or expand into a larger office space. It also allows for cost reconciliation, or the process of checking that the money you're spending matches a realistic budget for your practice.  

Practices can start by getting an accurate sense of the overall financial well-being of their practice, which involves evaluating various aspects of the business, including revenue, expenses, profitability, cash flow, and financial stability. Businesses can then use key performance indicator (KPI) software to track progress. Some commonly used KPIs for medical practices are:

Continually monitoring KPIs and billing trends allows for proactive revenue management. Regularly reviewing these metrics can help identify potential issues before they become significant problems, such as increases in claim denials or adjustments.

This early detection system can lead to quicker resolutions, protecting your practice's cash flow. Roll these KPIs up to your revenue cycle management dashboard to spot bottlenecks that suppress medical practice revenue, and consider using revenue analytics to visualize trends and AR workflows.

One of the most significant and impactful ways to improve medical billing is through data analytics. Comprehensive data analytics can reveal patterns and trends in your billing operations that may not be immediately apparent. 

For example, if certain insurance providers consistently delay payments or reject claims, your practice could prioritize negotiations with these companies or even consider whether it's advantageous to continue working with them.

With the right data analytics software, you can pull multiple data types with ease, such as:

What's more, key revenue indicators like claim reactions, denial rates, and net collection rates can inform staff training and education on how to avoid commonly committed billing errors.

Private healthcare practices are no different from other businesses in that they need consistent cash flow to cover all their costs and survive. By being well prepared with a financial crisis management plan, practices will be more likely to ride out unexpected events and downturns without disruption to their operations. 

Control costs by reviewing vendor contracts, right-sizing staffing to demand, and shifting repetitive work to automation. Track unit costs per patient visit and renegotiate high-variance lines to stabilize cash flow. 

Improve cash flow by applying these 6 strategies:

Taking these steps will not only increase your practice's financial security but also prepare you for any future disruptions. Track emerging revenue streams (e.g., telehealth visits, remote monitoring) alongside your core KPIs to strengthen visibility into medical practice revenue over time.

A combination of process and technology can help you submit clean claims sooner while getting you paid faster and strengthening revenue cycle management.

Electronic claims submission improves accuracy and processing speed. Claims are transmitted instantly, and you get real-time visibility into their status, enabling proactive follow-up and resolution. The 2024 CAQH Index reports that moving to fully electronic transactions reduces time and administrative costs across claim workflows.

With this in mind, practices should invest in practice management systems or medical billing software that support electronic claim submission. This way, claim scrubbers catch medical coding errors before they reach the payer, reducing claim denials. 

Your clearinghouse will do the same. With these two checkpoints, you'll submit more clean claims. The benefits of electronic claims submission are numerous, including:

In addition, digitizing the claims submission process leads to better resource allocation. Staff no longer have to spend time on manual data entry or addressing errors stemming from manual entry, freeing them up to focus on revenue-generating activities.

Payers may deny payment for any number of reasons, but the most common denial relates to insurance eligibility. The patient's insurance might have lapsed, or the patient might have switched policies without informing the practice. 

Eligibility checks can reduce claim denial and manage patient payment responsibility. Here's what you can do to avoid financial pain and losing time to claim resubmissions:

This legwork means you can bill the correct insurance company for the services provided and prevent billing errors, increasing your practice's margins.

Also, insurance verification helps identify patient responsibilities, such as deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance amounts. Communicating these financial obligations to patients upfront makes sure that they aren't caught off guard, and that you can expect timelier reimbursement.

The process of submitting claims and getting paid has always been fraught with errors. To combat this, most payers now accept, with some mandating, electronic submission. The majority of practices have had some form of billing software as well. 

Despite these steps, they still struggle with timely filing and getting paid promptly. While some of the problem lies with payers, here's how you can still get paid faster:

Same-day submission shortens the revenue cycle management loop and lowers the volume of denied claims.

Automation lightens the administrative burden on front-office teams. By embracing automation or outsourcing to billing companies, healthcare practices can achieve shorter revenue cycle times and optimized operational efficiency.

CMS's Office of the Actuary projects that from 2023 to 2032, average annual growth in national health expenditures (5.6%) will outpace GDP growth (4.3%), raising health spending from 17.3% of GDP in 2022 to 19.7% in 2032. The projections incorporate Inflation Reduction Act effects, including the Medicare Part D redesign and negotiations on certain high-cost drugs.

In order to stay profitable, many providers are turning to robotic process automation (RPA) to reduce repetitive billing work that pulls staff away from patients and achieve:

Offer modern online payment options with transparent pricing to lower patient friction. Industry data also show that moving to fully electronic transactions reduces administrative time and cost across claim workflows. 

In order to be efficient with billing processes, you should:

All these improvements work together so practices can improve accuracy, reduce costs, and free up staff for more fulfilling tasks, while increasing revenue.

Medical billing can be complicated, overwhelming, and time-consuming, particularly if you're a small office that is struggling to hire and fund a dedicated biller. There's so much to know when it comes to coding, insurance, and collections, and it keeps changing.

A medical billing company can best guarantee accurate billing processes and stay on top of trends in patient collections. Accuracy is critical, with over 50% of rejected or denied claims not reworked, leading to substantial revenue loss. Plus, these companies provide an array of services such as claims submissions, follow-up, appeals, and more. 

Many are leveraging medical billing automation. These are patient collections that are made more efficient with technological advances, from pre-programmed messaging to electronic payment options. 

As the knowledge experts, medical billing companies have systems and workflows in place to optimize revenue collection and don't require you to train staff. The benefits of outsourcing medical billing are numerous, including:

Hiring experienced personnel can help you navigate the complexity of coding standards and provide the best care for your patients. Considering how important billing is to the financial health of your practice, paying a monthly fee instead of in-house billing hassles may be the right choice for your practice. 

Clean claims translate to increased net collections, which means more money for your medical practice. To augment clean claim rates, it is essential to undertake a systematic, strategic approach that involves careful identification of problem areas, developing solutions, and maintaining diligence in billing processes.

To improve clean claim rates in medical billing, providers should start by identifying the one or two claims categories that result in either the largest number of rejections or the largest dollar amount to their bottom line. 

Tighten medical coding with periodic audits, specialty-specific tip sheets, and EHR prompts for documentation completeness. Better coding reduces claim denials and speeds reimbursement, which protects your bottom line.

Once identified, delve into the root causes of these rejections. Establishing policies and procedures to curtail these rejections can significantly reduce their recurrence. Repeat this process and focus on a different problematic category each time. Remember, this requires a concerted team effort. Motivate your staff by setting "no-rejection" targets.

More generally, practices should be sure to:

Implementing these steps allows providers to improve their First Pass Acceptance Rate (FPAR), prevent front-end rejections, reduce follow-up efforts, and eliminate labor-intensive filing of denials. 

Tech upgrades can help you save time and improve patient experience while optimizing operations as you grow.

Now, more than ever, healthcare practices need technology to drive efficiency and do more with less. Though national data suggests staffing shortages lessened late last year, workers are still leaving their positions at rates that far exceed those in the previous decade, according to Fitch Ratings. 

An integrated EHR software and practice management suite can automate front- and back-office workflows and support new revenue streams like telehealth.

Automation in healthcare can help medical practices streamline tasks, deliver better patient experiences, and remain profitable with:

Automation does more than help optimize your practice. It also creates convenience for current and future patients and fosters patient loyalty, increasing your bottom line.

When evaluating practice management software, consider those that are scalable, secure, and integrate with other systems you currently use. The more information you gather beforehand, the more likely your choice will align with your practice's business needs and goals.

A healthcare tech stack is an entire suite of applications that connect together in one platform. It lets both you and your patients handle routine interactions digitally while improving your practice workflows, from appointment booking to managing your online presence, all in one place. The benefits of a single platform include:

Consolidating to a platform has many benefits, including improving interoperability, flexibility, scalability, data-driven insights, and data security. It is also cost-effective. Rather than maintaining several one-off tools, practices can rely on a unified tech stack for their practice management needs.

Patient experience is an objective measure that represents a patient's perception of care across multiple touchpoints. Find out if you measure up. 

An effective patient experience survey encompasses everything from the ease of booking an appointment to the quality of care a patient receives, to follow-up care, and payment. 

Seventy-five percent of patients say online reviews are "very or extremely important" when considering a practitioner. A short, post-visit questionnaire, a patient experience survey, is an often overlooked way to improve patient care and generate reviews for your practice's website. 

Send patients a short, electronic survey within a few hours after their visit to capture patient feedback while it is still fresh. The survey should ask questions that address the various touchpoints across each patient's journey. Be sure to ask about:

Gaining an understanding of your patients' experience of your practice is a key step in moving towards patient-centered care. 

Benchmarking is an effective way for medical practices to evaluate their performance and pinpoint what they're good at and where they need improvement. In turn, they can improve the quality of care they deliver to patients. To set benchmarks and measure patient satisfaction, practices can use existing professional surveys, such as: 

The CAHPS (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey is a standardized patient survey developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to measure patients' experiences and satisfaction with healthcare services. It provides valuable feedback directly from patients and covers topics such as the communication skills of providers and the ease of access to healthcare services. 

Press Ganey is another well-known patient satisfaction survey, widely used by medical practices to gather feedback from patients. It includes questions to measure different aspects of the patient experience, such as communication with providers, staff responsiveness, wait times, facility cleanliness, and overall satisfaction. 

Net promoter score (NPS) is a market research metric that allows businesses to obtain feedback from customers about their experience with their products or services. A healthcare NPS measures patient satisfaction by asking how likely they are to recommend your medical practice. 

Alternatively, practices can also assess what data they have available by using their EHRs, practice management systems, or billing software. From there, they can select a few key performance indicators to focus on. This allows you to determine underperforming areas and make changes for better overall financial health.

Effective patient education improves outcomes and empowers individuals to become active participants in their own care. It also supports primary care by improving communication and adherence across visits.

Patient education influences patient behavior, and it can be a powerful tool to change knowledge or attitudes toward health. In 2024, more than three in four individuals nationwide reported being offered online access to their medical records by their healthcare provider or insurer. The share of individuals who were offered and accessed their online medical record or patient portal has more than doubled over the past decade, rising from 25% in 2014 to 65% in 2024.

What does optimal patient education look like? It involves recognizing patients' readiness to learn, building a trusting relationship, creating opportunities to ask questions and receive feedback, and confirming understanding. 

Use visit summaries and reminders to reinforce follow-up in primary care, preventive care, and the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit. This improves adherence and patient care. Recent federal reporting also notes continued growth in portal and health app use, which can help patients stay informed between visits.

Many patients leave encounters with unanswered questions, which makes clear, consistent materials valuable. Digital tools can help you scale education without adding burden.

Digital patient education lets patients revisit accurate information as often as needed, which increases the likelihood of comprehension and supports ongoing engagement.

Give patients the same efficiencies they encounter in the rest of their on-demand lives, including digital interactions, self-service, and simple communication.

Patients want the control and ability to use technology to manage their own healthcare. The first step in improving their experience is offering digital tools at every touchpoint. Prioritize self-service check-in, transparent payment options, and easy rescheduling to reduce missed appointments and last-minute cancellations, which lightens the front desk load.

Recent patient experience data show that online scheduling influences provider choice for most consumers. In one 2025 analysis, 80% said online scheduling affects their decision, including 81% of adults ages 45-60 and 85% of adults ages 30-44.

Apply the following digital conveniences to your workflow:

With the rise of healthcare consumerism and the shift to patient-centered care, there is a clear demand for modernization. Practices that meet demand are poised to exceed patient expectations and foster patient loyalty while saving staff time and reducing administrative costs.

Cultivate lifelong relationships with new and existing patients by applying convenience and connection at every point in the patient journey.  

Most of today's patients are digitally savvy and turn to the web when it's time to find a new healthcare practice, and reviews are an essential part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. Close to half of patients use online reviews on platforms like Healthgrades, WebMD, Zocdoc, and Tebra CareConnect when considering a practitioner. 

Your online presence is the new front door for new patients. Keep profiles consistent, collect online reviews, and make booking one click away across your website, Google Business Profile, and social channels. Strong visibility expands your patient base and drives referrals.

By making it routine to collect patient feedback, practices can get 5-star reviews and amplify their online presence. Here's how: 

Getting a handle on your online reputation management is a must for attracting new patients. People put a lot of stock in online reviews — giving current patients a voice can attract new patients, keep existing patients coming back, and boost your practice's profit margins.

Consider AI-powered review tools to manage your online reputation. Tebra’s AI Review Replies helps you generate ready-to-use, sentiment-based responses that you can quickly review and post. Since Tebra uses advanced, sentiment-driven automation, responses to patient reviews can be more personalized. 

Taking time to connect with new patients is important. It's in those initial meetings that you establish a relationship, build trust, and improve patient retention. Yet, 33% of doctors spend just 17-24 minutes with each patient. 

Providers are losing time to administration, such as charting and other paperwork. And chances are, their teams are overworked too, so doctors feel compelled to pitch in. To free up your team's schedule, practices should automate routine tasks and prepare in advance for each visit. Follow these steps to spend more time with new patients: 

The lifetime value and relationship with every new patient are paramount, and thinking otherwise might mean short-changing opportunities for ongoing revenue. Offer your patients a kind, personal touch and work on listening empathetically. 

Sixty-seven percent of patients state that having a doctor who is a good listener is their top priority. Ultimately, this means that loyal patients can be your best advocates, generating additional business.

For physician practices, communication is at the core of retention. How and when you reach out to patients, and what you say, matters. To inform your patient retention strategy, here are five tactics to implement:

A satisfied patient is almost always a loyal patient. That means they are more likely to book regular visits for necessary care and follow-up. Build long-term relationships with new and established patients by offering convenience and ease and by listening to their insights.

Take advantage of online appointment scheduling and other modern conveniences to lighten the workload on staff and give patients simple, intuitive experiences that improve their access to care.  

Optimized appointment scheduling shortens wait times, reduces no-shows, and boosts practice revenue. Offer 24/7 self-serve booking, same-day slots, and easy rescheduling to capture demand and prevent missed appointments. 

Access and ease of doing business now drive provider choice. In a 2024 consumer study summarized by the AHA, about one in five people switched providers in the past year, nearly 90% said it was because the organization was hard to do business with, and 70% cited access factors when choosing a new provider, including quick appointments and usable digital tools.

Availability matters in your scheduling template. McKinsey reports that online platforms see 45% of appointments booked 24-72 hours in advance, which means near-term openings help you capture demand. Keep calls to action near your scheduler and use consistent "Book now" language across your website and profiles.

When a practice adds secure online appointment scheduling to its website and online profiles, potential patients who are already looking for healthcare information will be clicks away from scheduling the appointment they need. Offering online patient scheduling gives you an edge on the competition, but get the most from it by maximizing your reach.

Make it simple to get an appointment and to be seen once patients arrive. Evidence shows open-access scheduling and telemedicine can improve access.

In a 2024 systematic review of open-access scheduling, 62.5% of studies showed a significant decrease in no-shows, and one family medicine site cut monthly no-shows from 3.33% to 1.89% while reducing waits from 13.7 to 3.6 days. 

Below are 3 ways to improve patient wait time: 

Working towards minimizing wait times will demonstrate your commitment to improving patient experience and will help you retain patients in the long run.

Private healthcare practices must address employee retention to meet patients' needs and keep their business running productively, and automation plays a critical role. A global healthcare worker shortage of at least 10 million is expected by 2030, which will continue to pressure staffing and access.

An exceptional staff is one of the most valued assets you can have. Across the sector, staff are still difficult to replace. Automating workflow in practice management tools helps staffing stretch further in independent physician practices.

The COVID-19 era elevated stress across the workforce, and burnout remains a risk. In a national analysis, annual burnout rates actually started to climb from 30.9% in 2020 to 39.8% in 2022, and fell to 35.4% in 2023. 

When it comes to healthcare worker burnout, prevention is often better than the cure. Actively listen to your staff and consider their suggestions. Be proactive about pain points in your office and take steps to address them.

If you notice a colleague struggling, be prepared to respond. Substance abuse in medical professionals is not uncommon, so if you notice staff members struggling, it's important to be knowledgeable of warning signs to look out for and share support resources when needed.

From check-in to check-out, private practices juggle a heavy load of daily administrative work. The front desk team manages phones, arrivals, and back-office handoffs.

Many practices look to practice management automation to streamline operations, reduce burnout, and retain valued staff. Manual, repetitive tasks such as phone-based scheduling consume time. In recent surveys, 67% of patients prefer online booking, which supports shifting more access to self-service tools. Here are the top 5 tasks to office tasks to automate:

Using simple technological tools, providers and their staff can manage their significant workload with greater ease, control, and success, and focus on providing patient-centered care.

Financially resilient private practices focus on access, clean claims, and patient experience. Start by tracking a small set of KPIs, tightening coding, and offering self-serve scheduling and digital check-in.

Then automate repetitive work, keep near-term appointment slots open, and use visit summaries and reminders to close the loop on follow-up. These steps protect cash flow, increase practice revenue, and free your team to spend more time on patient care.

If you want practical next steps, explore our guides and checklists for healthcare providers and clinics, or learn how Tebra's EHR and practice management tools bring scheduling, billing, and patient communications into one place.