Paula D, LPN · pauladlpn.com Back to the practices page
For physicians and practices

What does training cost, and what does going without it cost?

Add up what your practice already carries each year in unpaid months, rework, repayment requests and slow starts for new staff. Set that against the cost of the live three-session team training in remote patient monitoring (RPM) and chronic care management (CCM) that Paula D, LPN teaches with Elena Yakubov, and see what your own numbers add up to. Every number is yours. The calculator doesn't know your practice and doesn't assume training will change anything. What you type stays in your browser.

Built for practices that already run RPM or CCM, or whose staff already do the work.

About this calculator, its estimates and its math

These results are your own assumptions added up. They are not a prediction or promise, and training does not guarantee any result.

This is a general educational tool. It is not billing, coding, legal, accounting, tax or compliance advice, and it does not replace your billing team, compliance program or advisors.

It does simple arithmetic on the numbers you type. We don't check those numbers, and we don't supply any figures for payment, denials or costs. The percentages in the range table are examples of arithmetic, not predictions. Every estimate, including the share you expect training to remove, is yours and may be wrong. Anything you leave out is counted as zero.

The results show what your own assumptions add up to. They are not predictions, forecasts or guarantees of savings, payment, revenue, profit, audit or review outcomes, or return on investment. Training does not guarantee any result. Real results depend on your payers, patients, staff, records and many things this tool can't see. Payment is not profit, and your costs of delivering services are not included. Results are rounded and simplified, so they can differ from your actual figures.

Medicare, Medicaid and commercial rules and payment change, and vary by state, payer and contract. Check current CMS guidance and ask your billing, compliance and legal advisors before you make decisions. Any decision you make is yours.

1. What the training costs you

We don't list the enrollment cost here, because it can change. Open the cohort page (Vesna Medical Staffing, owned by Paula's business partner) for the current cost, then type it in below.

$
Three live 2-hour sessions, about 6 hours. Change it if your plan differs.
hours
Wages plus what you add for benefits. Leave blank to count enrollment only.
$/ hr
2. What you carry each year without it

Costs your practice has now, from your own records and best estimates. Add only what applies and leave the rest blank. A line with two or three boxes counts only when every box has a number. Count each event once: a denied month and the rework it caused are the same event, so enter it in one place. If you aren't sure of something, leave it out. If you are starting a program and have none of these costs yet, this calculator will not show a result.

Months that go unpaid

One patient for one month counts as one. For example, consent, device readings, minutes of care or documentation was missing. If a lower amount was still paid, count only the difference. Paid and later taken back? Use repayment requests below. If you can't tell, leave it blank.
What the full service would have paid, minus what you were paid or could still bill. Remote monitoring is counted per 30 days and CCM per calendar month. Use your payer contracts, or for Medicare the CMS fee schedule (link below). Payment varies by payer, location and year, so we don't suggest a number.
$

Rework

Fixing documentation or resubmitting claims.
hrs
$/ hr

Repayment requests

Zero is a fine answer. Enter a yearly average you would plan for, not a worst case. One large request can dominate the total.
The repayment plus outside help. Leave out staff time you counted under rework.
$

New staff without prior training

Don't count the new person's own slower first weeks.
hrs
$/ hr
For example, a vendor you pay to fix errors.
$
3. What you expect to change Your estimate
Your own judgment, from 0 to 100. We can't know it, and training does not guarantee any result. If only some of your staff attend, count only the costs those staff handle. Staff who leave take what they learned with them. Not sure? Leave it blank and use the table and the break-even line.
%

How to read this

  • Yearly cost without training is only what you entered. It leaves out anything you didn't think of, and it treats every item as real money.
  • What you expect training to remove is your estimate. Some of these costs come from payers, patients or systems that training can't change. The table shows the range so you can judge which end feels realistic for your practice.
  • Payback assumes the yearly difference starts right away, holds, and that the same staff stay. If trained staff leave, you may need to pay for training again. It counts payment you wouldn't have lost, not profit, and leaves out your costs of delivering the service, such as care-manager time, devices and platform fees. Time you pay staff for rework or training is a saving only if those hours really go down or you avoid a hire.
  • Training builds knowledge and habits. It does not guarantee payment or a clean review, and it does not replace your compliance program, your billing team or legal advice.

Need a payment figure for line 2? Search the CMS Physician Fee Schedule.

Ready to look at the cohort?

See the dates, the full outline and enrollment on the cohort page.

See the cohort page

Enrollment is through Vesna Medical Staffing, owned by Elena Yakubov, Paula's business partner. Paula teaches this training with Elena and benefits from this partnership. The button tells Vesna you came from this calculator. See the disclosure.

Questions? Email info@pauladlpn.com.