How would you rate your organization’s revenue cycle management (RCM)? In many ways, RCM is critical to a medical practice’s financial success. It’s important to keep in mind that the revenue cycle has changed dramatically over time. Patients’ payment habits, for example, have changed as technology has advanced. Here are some of the most common revenue cycle management mistakes made today if you want to ensure your company can reach its full financial potential.
You’re not effectively communicating billing information to your patients
If you’re only mailing them statements, it’s never a good idea to assume that they’ll pay. You should also contact your patients over the phone to remind them if you want to increase the chances of them paying you on time. Patients frequently require additional reminders or explanations of their financial obligations. When it comes to billing, you should communicate with your patients in at least two different ways to avoid any potential misunderstanding.
Denied Claims Aren’t Followed Up On
Many practices make the error of failing to follow up on denied claims. They should not be overlooked because they represent potential revenue opportunities. Although it may not always be possible to follow up on every denied claim, you don’t want to miss out on any potential revenue. If you don’t have the resources, you might want to hire a revenue cycle management provider to follow up on your denied claims if your practice is small.
You don’t offer your patients a variety of payment options.
Convenience should always be a top priority if you want to improve the patient experience at your medical facility. You run the risk of your company appearing outdated if you don’t keep up with technological developments. The vast majority of people today appear to prefer making a payment online using their smartphone to calling or pulling out their chequebook. However, many practices only accept traditional forms of payment, which are unappealing to younger generations.
3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Practice’s Revenue Cycle
The healthcare industry is always changing. As a result, practices are frequently required to improve their processes and revenue cycle in response to industry changes. Making these changes has significant benefits, as processes become more efficient and your practice’s risk of error decreases. Making these small changes to your internal processes can help you identify potential issues with your current operations and save you time when it comes to organizing your practice’s needs, in addition to improving your revenue cycle. While these steps may appear to be time-consuming, they can help you improve your practice’s revenue cycle in three simple steps.
Patients Should Be Informed About Medical Billing
One of the most effective ways to improve your practice’s revenue cycle is to educate patients about their medical billing. You can almost eliminate the risk of errors caused by a lack of communication by communicating openly with your patients about their medical billing. This aspect of your revenue cycle will be able to run more efficiently for your practice as your patients become more informed about their medical billing, outstanding payments, and additional billing requirements. You may be able to more easily identify issues with your current billing practices as a result of this step, allowing you to resolve them for the coming year.
Increase the number of employees on your team
You are streamlining specific responsibilities to individuals who can complete their designated tasks efficiently by investing in additional staff members for your practice. The investment of additional staff members, like the step of communicating with patients about their medical billing, gives you peace of mind in knowing that you’re reducing the risk of inconsistencies in your revenue cycle.
Make use of medical billing software that is available online
Online medical billing software is a great way to keep your revenue cycle running smoothly throughout the year. While paper and traditional record-keeping methods can provide additional information, online medical billing allows you to stay organized and quickly access data for your practice. Your practice will be able to keep track of its data more efficiently as you transition to online medical billing tools, leaving less room for inconsistencies or human error in the process.
How Can You Maximize Your Revenue Cycle?
Today, effective revenue cycle management is critical for healthcare organizations. It’s required for accepting various forms of payment, processing claims, and generating revenue. All too often, practices lose money because they do not take a proactive approach. There are a number of steps that businesses can take to make the most of their revenue cycles. Continue reading to learn how practices can improve their payment collection rates.
Take into account the overhead costs
Each medical practice has a set of fixed costs. It is critical to recognize that certain aspects of the organization are nearly impossible to eliminate. Downsizing staff may appear to be a logical move, but it could also result in higher infrastructure costs. The return on investment is what matters at the end of the day. Allow the numbers to speak for themselves and determine which moves will generate the most revenue for your company. You’ll be able to adjust accordingly from there.
Concentrate on Your Workflow
A successful medical practice maintains a steady pace while focusing on the most important tasks. Accounts should be organized by dollar amounts and dates by staff members. If your practice isn’t bringing in enough money, you might want to reconsider how it prioritizes its operations.
Determine the main reasons for denials
There could be a variety of reasons why you haven’t received payments. In order to correct the situation, it is critical for an organization to identify the reasons for denials. Duplicate claims, missing information, and charges not covered by the payer are all common reasons for denials.
Increase the collections
Is there a clear collection process in place at your company? It is critical that you define terms clearly with your patients so that there are no ambiguities. Many practices are rethinking their collection strategies and switching to electronic mailing statements. This facilitates and speeds up the collection process.
Accounts Receivable should be staffed with the right people
The people who are currently working in collections could be putting a stop to your business. They must be able to switch their focus between multiple patient accounts and have good multitasking skills.
3 Ways to Improve the Efficiency of Your Revenue Cycle Management
A strong revenue cycle management system is required if you want your company to be as successful as possible. In many ways, a healthcare revenue cycle is at the heart of a medical practice’s operations. It must not only be clear and concise from beginning to end, but it must also function efficiently. Continue reading to learn a few pointers on how to improve the efficiency of your revenue cycle management.
Better Communication from Top to Bottom
It is critical for a medical organization to be as open as possible with a patient. Before any services are provided, they must be given a reasonable estimate. They must also be informed of the due dates for all payments as well as the different types of payments that are accepted. To make revenue cycle management as efficient as possible, employees must educate patients on the various payment terms so that there is no misunderstanding. When patients are unclear, it frequently leads to payment delays as well as other issues that could have been avoided.
Always submit your claims via the internet
We can submit medical claims electronically now that we have technology at our fingertips. It used to be that hospitals and other medical institutions were bursting at the seams with paperwork. This is certainly no longer the case. In today’s world, not submitting claims in electronic format makes little sense. It not only accelerates the revenue cycle, but it also ensures accuracy. You can drastically reduce your mailing costs by doing so. This could be an excellent time for your practice to invest in revenue cycle management software to streamline processes.
Online Eligibility Check
How do you find out if your patient is covered? Before providing any services, it is critical to remember that it is the organization’s responsibility to ensure that a patient is covered by a health plan. All too often, this is only discovered after the fact. This could result in the patient being hit with unexpected costs. This is usually simple to check on a computer.
