Tasks your nurse could be doing to boost practice productivity

Registered nurses (RNs) are often limited in ambulatory settings to triage and performing tasks that lack clear workflows. But James Jerzak, MD, has installed a system in his practice that expands the roles of care team RNs, allowing the practice to serve more patients and increase revenue.

The RNs are empowered to perform the following tasks:

• Schedule and perform blood pressure follow-ups, Medicare annual wellness visits (AWVs), and other low-level patient visits.

• Provide in-depth patient education to help patients better manage their chronic conditions.

• Reach out to Medicare patients who are eligible for chronic care management (CCM) and transitional care management (TCM) services.

• Provide valuable leadership to the rest of the care team, facilitating care team meetings, helping develop plans for improving quality measures, and discussing high-risk patients with the team.

Jerzak’s practice determined that one RN for every 3,000 patients with at least four to six billable patient visits a day was sustainable. The RNs received several weeks of training before taking on the enhanced role, including instruction in team-based care and motivational interviewing to improve face-to-face time with patients, as well as specific training in performing blood pressure visits, diabetes education, and CCM and TCM workflows.

Read the full FPM article: “Using Empowered CMAs and Nursing Staff to Improve Team-Based Care.”