Run by people who have run practices.
EverFern Solutions manages the business side of medicine for independent physician practices: revenue cycle, credentialing, payer contracting, finance, HR and operations. Led by a former practice CEO and COO, our team runs your practice the way an owner would.
Specialists in ophthalmology and retina. Serving practices nationwide from Tacoma, Washington.
Need the business side handled?
Billing, credentialing, accounting and HR managed by a dedicated team, so your physicians can focus on patients.
Practice operations support →Facing a big decision?
A payer change, an acquisition, a new management company. Get senior guidance before you move.
Advisory →Not sure where you stand?
Collections lag, costs creep, and turnover starts hitting your best employees. Most practices don't see it until it's expensive. We find the gaps and fix them.
Assessment & advisory →Everything behind the exam room,
managed by one team.
Use any service on its own, or combine them into full practice management with a single point of contact.
Revenue Cycle Management
Every claim worked, every dollar tracked, with reporting you can trust.
- Prior authorizations
- Claims submission and payment posting
- Accounts receivable follow-up and denial management
- Billing assessments and fee schedule analysis
Credentialing & Enrollment
Providers enrolled, renewed and billing on schedule.
- Commercial payer enrollment
- Medicare and Medicaid enrollment
- Re-credentialing and license tracking
- CAQH maintenance
Payer Contracting
Led by an executive with accountable care and payer-model experience. We help you get paid what your care is worth.
- Contract review and renegotiation
- Reimbursement benchmarking
- Value-based payment models
- Out-of-network transition strategy
Finance & Accounting
Clean books and clear monthly numbers for owners.
- Bookkeeping and accounts payable
- Monthly P&L and owner reporting
- Budgets and pro formas
- Profitability by provider and location
Human Resources
Recruiting, onboarding and people practices that keep good staff.
- Staff recruiting and onboarding
- Handbooks, policies and job descriptions
- Employment law compliance
- Performance, retention and culture
IT & Systems
Managed by EverFern with our technology partner, Reliable Design.
- Infrastructure, security and support
- EHR and practice management transitions
- Vendor selection and oversight
- HIPAA security alignment
Leadership & Strategic Advisory
Practice management keeps the business running. Leadership decides where it goes. Our founder, a former practice CEO and COO with a PhD in Leadership Studies, advises physician owners, develops the leaders who run their practices, and has led turnarounds in ophthalmology, radiation oncology, urgent care and long-term care.
Learn more →- Full practice assessment with a SWOT-style action plan
- Physician-owner and executive advising
- Leadership development and mentoring
- Building strong, well-trained teams
- Turnaround and financial recovery
- Acquisitions and management company transitions
Provider recruitment and marketing are coordinated through our network of specialist partners, so you keep one point of contact.
Three ways to partner with us.
Choose the level of support that fits your practice today. Every engagement is led by an EverFern executive.
Advisory
Counsel from people who have run practices. See the whole picture, decide with confidence, and lead the change.
- Full practice assessment with a clear action plan
- Physician-owner and executive advising
- Leadership development and mentoring
- Payer, acquisition and management company decisions
Practice Operations Support
We take on the functions that drain your staff and margins, one at a time or bundled, with monthly reporting.
- Revenue cycle and accounts receivable follow-up
- Credentialing and enrollment
- Accounting, bill pay and reporting
- HR administration and compliance
Full Practice Management
EverFern runs the business side of your practice end to end, with one executive accountable for results.
- Every operations function, integrated
- Payer contracting and fee strategy
- Operations, staffing and vendors
- Monthly owner reporting and planning
A clear plan from day one.
Before we start, you'll know what happens, when, and how you'll measure it.
Assess
A full look at the practice: management practices, workflow and efficiency, staffing and culture, finances, payer contracts and systems. You get a SWOT-style summary and baseline measures.
Transition
We take over agreed functions and fix the most urgent revenue leaks first. If you change systems, we move your team through it smoothly. Many clients keep the systems they have.
Optimize
Workflows are standardized, denials trend down, and reporting is running on a fixed schedule.
Report
A monthly owner report and review meeting, with clear accountability for every number.
How we run the business side of your practice.
Owners hand us their revenue, their staff and their data. Here's how we protect all three.
We work in your systems
No forced migrations. Our team works inside the practice management, EHR and revenue cycle platforms you already use.
You see every number
A monthly owner report and review meeting, in plain language.
- Collections, accounts receivable aging and days to collect
- Denial rates and root causes
- Payer mix and reimbursement trends
- Staffing, costs and action items
One executive accountable for your results
Every client has a named EverFern executive who owns the results, supported by a team that knows your practice.
- A named executive lead for your practice
- Documented workflows for your account
- Specialist partners when you need added capacity
Your data stays protected
EverFern is HIPAA compliant, and we sign a Business Associate Agreement before we touch any patient data.
- Business Associate Agreement with every client
- Role-based, least-privilege system access
- Secure, encrypted communication
- Access removed promptly when work ends
Our deepest specialty: eye care.
Our founder served as CEO of a multi-specialty ophthalmology practice and ambulatory surgery center, and currently advises a multi-site retina practice. We understand the economics that general billing companies miss.
Retina drug economics
High-cost injectable drugs are often a retina practice's largest expense and its largest revenue line. We manage both sides, from acquisition cost and inventory to authorizations, billing and collections, so every dose is paid for and margin isn't lost between purchase and payment.
Prior authorizations and drug coverage rules
Payer rules for injectables change constantly, including requirements to try a lower-cost drug first. We keep authorizations current and stop preventable denials before they happen.
Surgery center and premium services
Surgery center operations, surgical scheduling and patient-pay options such as premium lenses, with clear financial policies and accurate collections.
Management company transitions
Changing billing or management companies is high risk for an eye practice. We plan and run the transition so cash keeps moving.
Find out what your practice is leaving on the table.
Start with a conversation. If there's a fit, we'll follow with a complimentary practice assessment.
Schedule a Conversation- A conversation about how your practice runs and where it hurts.
- A look at the data: AR aging, collections, and your fee schedule against payer contracts.
- A clear readout of what we found, what it's worth, and what we'd do first.
Who we serve.
Practice management for physician practices, plus turnaround and advisory work across healthcare.
Ophthalmology, Retina & Surgery Centers
Our deepest specialty, from general ophthalmology and subspecialty groups to surgery centers.
Radiation Oncology
Multi-site radiation oncology operations, from centralized HR and compliance to financial performance.
Multi-Specialty & Multi-Site Groups
Consistent operations, reporting and accountability across locations that grew faster than their infrastructure.
Long-Term Care
Where our leadership was built: decades of skilled nursing turnarounds, deficiency-free state surveys and culture recovery, including a national Baldrige quality award.
Also experienced in urgent care, occupational medicine and value-based care organizations.
Senior people you'll actually work with.
When you call EverFern, you reach the people doing the work.
Buffy Howard, PhD
Buffy has spent 25 years leading healthcare organizations through growth, crisis and change. She has served as CEO of a multi-specialty ophthalmology practice and surgery center, COO of a five-clinic radiation oncology practice, Regional Vice President of a multi-state urgent care and workers' compensation platform, and Vice President of Innovative Payer Models at an accountable care organization. Her career began in long-term care, where she spent fifteen years turning around struggling facilities and earned a national Baldrige quality award. She also owned and operated a licensed adult family home. Buffy holds a PhD in Leadership Studies and an MBA, teaches health care policy in St. Martin's University's MBA program, and served as a governor-appointed chapter governor of the Washington Health Care Association.
Monica Tek
Monica leads operations and revenue cycle for EverFern clients. Her background spans ophthalmology, dental, specialty medical practices, durable medical equipment, complex rehab technology and long-term care. She brings hands-on expertise in billing and revenue cycle, payer contracting, credentialing, accounts receivable recovery and denial management, plus a background in graphic design. She has worked alongside Buffy in three organizations: a multi-site ophthalmology practice and surgery center, a multi-state urgent care and workers' compensation platform, and a multi-site long-term care organization.
Tom Nelson
Tom leads finance and accounting for EverFern clients. He oversees finance, billing and administration for a multi-location ophthalmology practice and surgery center, where he worked alongside Buffy. Before that, he spent eleven years in group dental practice financial management and fifteen years in commercial lending for national and local banks. He has also taught finance as a visiting university professor.
We've done this before. Together.
Our leaders have worked side by side across ophthalmology, urgent care and long-term care. These are examples from those roles. Every practice is different, so we set your targets together after the assessment.
Results achieved by EverFern leaders in prior executive roles. Organizations not named.
"Buffy took a struggling region and drastically improved the quality and financial outcomes, taking a region that was ranked last to first within the first year."
"I have watched her walk into difficult and complex situations and create a positive, functional environment where the team performed and delivered results. It is a rare skill."
"Our team consistently surpassed every goal set before us, including achieving the best health inspection survey in one of the highest cited regions in Washington State."
Let's talk about your practice.
Tell us a little about your practice. A senior member of our team will respond within one business day.
