Today we’d like to introduce you to Derick Perkins.
Hi Derick, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The journey of Derick Perkins started with the love and encouragement of a supportive family. I was the first person in my family to receive a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and later a Master’s Degree in Business/Healthcare Administration. I was born in Memphis TN but moved to Houston in the early 90s and started working in the healthcare field. I met my wife in graduate school, and we married a few years later.
My first real job was with a Big 5 Consultant firm. I started traveling across the country as a Revenue Cycle Expert assisting large and small health systems with financial turnarounds. I spent more than 14 years traveling every Monday through Thursday, and in some cases Friday, every week. It was a wonderful experience because it increased my overall knowledge and increased my external network of friends/colleagues; however, being on the road so much caused me to miss many activities involving my two amazing children.
Life is full of changes and never was this truer than in 2011 when I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I was blessed that the tumor had not metastasized and with a laparoscopic procedure, it was removed without any chemotherapy/radiation. Because of this event, I had a laser focus on making a difference in business and more importantly in giving back to others. I became active again with my fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, and assisted with our annual Mental Health Symposium for people of color. I started speaking on the importance of colon screening at an earlier age (early 40s) for African American men. It can truly be the difference between life and death.
As I started to focus on my legacy, I decided to leave my VP position at one of the largest health systems in Houston. Like many people, I was told at an early age to get a good job and keep your benefits and pretty much play it safe. However, I could no longer stay stagnant, and I wanted more for my life, including controlling my own destiny. It was in the middle of the COVID pandemic in 2020 that I co-founded the Metis Healthcare Advisors with the vision of providing world class consulting services for all medical groups including rural and smaller practices. I noticed in the past, larger firms would charge clients enormous hourly rates and in some cases with junior level staff without guaranteed results. Along with my business partner, we went out on faith, and we partnered with medical practices to increase their net revenue and in many cases kept the doors open in underserved communities. We created a Performance Driven Culture Model by making the workplace collaborative and receiving feedback from all staff adding value to our patients. Our motto is “Leaders at all Levels.” We attribute our success to strategic partners and customizing our solutions for each client regardless of their size.
My message to everyone is never quit and realize we only have one life to live so do not live in fear. In many cases, your own worst enemy is your mind because it will naturally keep you safe and you will never reach your true potential. Do not allow anyone to put you in a box or limit you with their labels.
Success in business can be contributed to connections/networking and providing outstanding service. Finally, remember to treat everyone with respect and hopefully it will not take a cancer scare to get you motivated to live a laser focused life.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Anything worth having will require some losses and my story is no different. In 2011, the cancer diagnosis was life altering because for the first time I was faced with my own mortality. A couple of years later, I lost my biggest fan and the lady who instilled my core principles, my mother. The cancer diagnosis forced me to take better care of my body, which now includes consistent exercising and having a better diet (diet is still a struggle being a young man from the South). I give credit to my wife and dad for helping me to stay more focused on my goals after my mom passed. My wife of more than 20 years knew when to allow me to grieve and more importantly she kept me alive by helping me realize I could continue to make my mother proud because she is still a part of my journey.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Metis Healthcare Advisors is backed by a group of experienced revenue cycle management leaders with more than 20 years in the business of healthcare. Metis is focused on improving the way physician groups and health organizations operate. We collaborate with the existing management team to improve workflows, analytical reporting, and clinical documentation which ultimately leads to increased net revenue and improved patient outcomes. Everything starts with the Business Health Check which provides a comprehensive analysis of operations, but also reviews vulnerabilities for cyber-attacks. It is critical for practices of all sizes to protect patients’ privacy/information especially with staff working remotely and patient information being accessed on so many mobile devices. We understand margins are tight for healthcare entities, so we can extract pertinent data from client systems with minimal disruption to staff.
We are different from other Revenue Cycle firms because we do not charge an enormous hourly rate and just hope for positive outcomes. Metis offers an affordable subscription model which allows our clients access to consultant services, analytical reporting, online training, cyber-security protection, vendor management and increased revenue. Our clients are excited about our Profit-Sharing Model which is a contingency arrangement that is risk free and profits are shared over current base lines. We do not have a cookie cutter approach and regardless of the practice size, we will customize your Business Treatment Plan. Finally, we provide transitional management and staffing services to avoid any cash flow delays associated with losing key staff.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
The COVID pandemic has taught us that the healthcare system is very resilient. We were amazed at how quickly many communities successfully implemented telehealth services. For many years, telehealth could never gain traction, but it has now allowed many primary care offices to keep their doors open. However, the opportunity for many clients was going back to the basics of revenue cycle operations. Because volumes had declined, we were able to work with clients to improve work queues, better leverage their electronic health records and Practice Management Systems, as well as liquidate cash from lower dollar claims that were left untouched for months. The pandemic also increased the communication between clinical providers and the billing teams because payer policies and government regulations were changing almost daily.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://metisadvisorsus.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetisRevCycle
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derick-d-perkins-01909611