Client stories / South County Orthopedic Specialists
SCOS uses Phreesia to alleviate front-office bottlenecks
South County Orthopedic Specialists has served southern California for 50+ years. The organization partners with Phreesia to streamline registration, insurance verification, payments and more.
25 providers
3 locations
Aprima
Southern California
90,000+
sheets of paper eliminated with Phreesia’s intake tools
4.9x higher
collections rate when patients check themselves in
1,500 hours
of staff time saved with self-service intake, the equivalent of $33K
4.5x lower
no-show rate when patients complete pre-visit registration
88%
of patients are satisfied with their experience using Phreesia
* Aug. 1, 2022 – July 31, 2023
The problem
South County Orthopedic Specialists (SCOS) delivers full-service, comprehensive orthopedic care to patients of all ages. But after joining forces with three other orthopedic groups to form a larger partnership called OrthoWest, SCOS got much busier—and inefficiencies started piling up.
When patients arrived for an appointment, they had to complete pre-visit paperwork before seeing their provider, which exacerbated bottlenecks in the waiting room. Front-office staff spent countless hours scanning forms and verifying insurance eligibility, leaving them with less time to interact with patients.
The solution
With Phreesia’s intake platform, SCOS patients can complete pre-visit registration from their own device before their visit, or via an in-office tablet when they arrive. Those forms automatically interface with Aprima, the organization’s PM/EHR system, so administrative staff don’t have to manually scan them in.
Phreesia also automatically verifies patients’ eligibility and benefits, determines their copay during check-in and offers several discreet ways for them to pay, enabling SCOS to collect more at the time of service.
The Phreesia difference
Letting patients complete pre-visit forms on their own device has saved SCOS 1,500 hours of staff time over the past year alone. Phreesia also syncs with 1,000+ payers to automatically verify patients’ eligibility and benefits—and prompts patients to pay during check-in.
Efficiency and productivity have improved significantly since SCOS implemented Phreesia. The organization has reduced workflow strain, minimized paperwork and saved time, even during a difficult hiring environment.
“Finding quality staff members is challenging right now,” says Dawn O’Connor, Practice Manager. “Phreesia may not reduce our staffing needs, but it allows us to repurpose people for more complex tasks. That’s a huge benefit.”
Phreesia has helped tremendously with our front-desk bottlenecks. It has made things easier for our staff and patients, and it has made our processes much more efficient.”
– Dawn O’Connor, Practice Manager, South County Orthopedic Specialists