The Hidden “Roast Problem” in Outpatient Care

One day a woman was making dinner when her husband asked, “Why do you cut the roast in half and bake it in two pans?”

She answered, “I don’t know. My mom always did it that way.”

That led to her mom, who said the same thing.

Finally she asked her grandmother, who replied, “Sweetheart, I only had pans that small.”

Three generations followed a system with no reason behind it. Nobody stopped to ask “why.”

Outpatient healthcare is full of moments just like this.

Not because people don’t care or aren’t trying.

But because habits form inside fast-moving environments, and those habits turn into “the way we do things around here.”

This post looks at how outdated processes quietly create new problems, how they drain clarity and revenue over time, and why asking the right questions brings the real story forward faster than any new software or disruptive overhaul.

The Roast Problem in Outpatient Reimbursement Workflows

Every clinic, urgent care, and hospital-based outpatient department carries inherited habits.

They usually start for understandable reasons:

• A workflow that made sense when volumes were lower

• A workaround created during a crunch

• A documentation shortcut meant to save a minute

• A handoff pattern that worked with a team from years ago

Over time, these habits stack-up and settle.

The roast keeps getting cut in half even though the pans have all changed.

The drift starts small, but it grows quietly. Leaders begin to feel it even before they can name it:

• Operations have been status quo for too long

• Denials stay stubbornly high

• Acuity capture drifts off course

• Staff are working hard but still feel behind

• Revenue feels unpredictable

None of this comes from lack of effort.

It comes when pace takes over and clarity falls out of focus.

Asking “Why” Without Blowing Up the Day

The fix is not a giant operational overhaul or a shiny new platform.

It is a clearer lens.

The real work begins with one simple question:

“Why do we do it this way?”

At Cigal, we start by reading the written story.

We look at the data, the workflows, the documentation, and the small habits that shape the reimbursement outcome.

Patterns reveal themselves:

• Processes built around limitations that no longer exist

• Workarounds that simply became the standard

• Documentation habits that made sense at one time

When the truth becomes visible, the next step is rarely complicated. It is usually practical, incremental, and relieving for the whole team.

You do not need bigger pans. You need a clear lens that reflects what is happening today, not five years ago.

What Happens When You Understand the Why

When leaders see the real story, two powerful things happen.

Money stops slipping away.

Small habits have large ripple effects.

Alignment between care, documentation, and billing stops the quiet leakage that no one saw coming.

Documentation and financial data finally match the care that was provided.

Rework eases. Backlogs ease. Bottom lines improve.

Teams are rarely missing effort.

They are missing alignment between the care they give, the way it is recorded, and how the revenue follows behind it.

Most outpatient groups already have the talent, the tools, and the will. They just need their documentation and financial story to reflect the world they work in now.

Outpatient healthcare will always move fast.

But the pace is not the problem.

Habits hidden underneath it are.

• History is not a strategy

• Workarounds are not workflows

• And no one should be cutting the roast in half simply because someone before them did

Cigal exists to help outpatient leaders see where old habits are creating new problems. When you finally understand the real “why” behind the reimbursement outcomes, progress becomes both possible and sustainable.

If you are ready to take a fresh look at your operational baseline and restore alignment to your outpatient system, visit cigalconcepts.com