When Mary Charbonneau, OD, and her husband, Charles Charbonneau, OD, opened Dr. C. Vision Care in Pensacola, Florida, in 2021, they were stepping into their first private practice after years of working in corporate and military-affiliated optometry. “We’ve been growing a lot and learning a lot,” said Dr. Mary Charbonneau. “This is our first time owning a practice, and the business side of it has been a new experience.”
Managing billing was one of their biggest hurdles early on. As a small private practice without dedicated in-house billing staff, they struggled to keep up with payer requirements and navigate insurance claims.
In March 2022, they paired their electronic health records (EHR) system with Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) services by HELIX, which streamlined operations and gave them more insight into this area of the business.
“We’ve been receiving great monthly reports from HELIX’s RCM,” says Dr. Charbonneau. “These reports provide us with a clear snapshot of what’s been processed, which insurance companies are approving claims, and where we’re seeing denials. It’s been incredibly helpful for managing our aging accounts and tying up loose ends as we close out the year.”
TRANSPARENT AND EFFICIENT SERVICE
She is particularly pleased with the support she gets from the RCM team. “They follow up with us a few times a week,” said Dr. Charbonneau. “We use a ShareFile system where appeals and other updates are uploaded, so we can always go back and see the status. It’s reassuring to know they’re on top of payer changes. When I get an email about a new requirement, I can forward it to our RCM contact and often hear that they’re already handling it.”
Before adopting HELIX’s RCM services, billing felt overwhelming. A part-time remote staff member lacked sufficient training, leaving the doctors scrambling to stay organized and unsure whether their billing was being managed properly and quickly. “There was so much mail to open and process, and it was hard to keep up with coding questions or insurance requirements,” she said. “Now, we spend much less time on billing. Everything is more organized and consistent.”
DRIVING SMARTER DECISIONS
RCM services have also streamlined the practice’s revenue flow. “We’re getting paid faster and more reliably,” says Dr. Charbonneau. “Our front desk staff is trained to collect patients’ vision and medical insurance details on the phone and check eligibility ahead of appointments, which has made a big difference on the front end.”
The monthly reports from RCM have helped the doctors make strategic business decisions. For example, by reviewing the reimbursements and the hassle factors of the vision plans, they made the decision to drop two plans in 2025. “Even when we submitted everything correctly, we still faced denials or delays with those plans,” she explains. “The feedback from RCM helped us realize it wasn’t worth the struggle. We wouldn’t have had the time or resources to do that level of analysis ourselves.”
GROWING WITH CONFIDENCE
As the doctors look to the future, the support from RCM has given them the confidence to plan for growth. They are more than halfway through the five-year lease on their space. They’re looking around at options for a larger location to accommodate their expanding patient base.
“We’ve been able to focus more on patient care and less on billing headaches,” says Dr. Charbonneau. “That consistency and predictability mean we can be more confident about the decisions we’re making for the practice.”
In addition to primary care, Dr. C. Vision Care offers specialty services such as contact lenses, dry eye management, low vision care, and Avulux migraine filter lenses. They have been able to expand their services and focus on the patients coming into the office while remaining confident that their outsourced administrative tasks are properly managed. “We’ve had so much support from the community, and HELIX’s RCM has been an integral part of our team,” said Dr. Charbonneau. “They’ve educated us and made it easier to succeed as first-time practice owners.”
Want to learn more about HELIX’s RCM service? Schedule some time to talk with the team.
