Every medical practice needs to have certain things that make it the right kind of establishment patients choose to come to. Owning or being in charge of such a workplace is a lot of responsibility, which means you have to make sure that all the right things are happening in all the right places. One of the most important things that every successful medical practice needs to have is an optimized revenue management cycle (RCM), the key step in the entire revenue cycle process. This is a big part of the entire operation because it helps you take care of streamlining billing as well as revenue collection. Such processes, if not done the correct and optimal way, can be very bothersome. The key is to eliminate most of the coding and billing that happens in a place that offers healthcare services.
Taking care of the patients and giving them the best in terms of healthcare services is the most important part of the job. However, the health of the business side of things is equally important because without it the practice cannot exist. A healthcare business is still a business and it needs to be run as one at least to some extent. There are many problems and challenges that a RCM can face, which is why the whole revenue cycle process needs to be better understood and explored by those who must implement it. In this article we talk about this very thing and bring the best tips for understanding it closer to you. Read on to learn more about this and be sure to check out CollaborateMD for more information about this.
Contents
1. Know The Problems
Understanding the revenue cycle process cannot begin without you knowing about some of the most common problems in this area. The most widespread are certainly clerical errors that happen at the time of patient registration, which leads to non-clinical denials from the payers of health insurance. Then there are practices like improper medical coding, which cause denials of payment. A big issue in places and regions that are still not utilizing digital solutions and modern technology is just that. The lack of digitalization damages the communication between patients and providers, as well as the payments being managed on time. Finally, the very payments themselves and the delays in handling the denials prolongs the time between the patient’s seeing the care provider and paying for the care. Sadly, the majority of healthcare facilities struggle with these sorts of problems, many of which could be overcome only if the right revenue cycle management is in place.
2. Introductory Pre-Admission Contact
Establishing a pre-admission contact with the patient in need before they actually come for their first visit is a great way to start things. It can be done through traditional means like phone calls and emails. Giving them all the necessary information and, more importantly, printable forms to fill out makes everything faster and easier for both sides. Explaining everything in advance especially regarding the payments will save time since the patients will have the info without asking for it. Things like registration errors, various confusions about payment processes, and even filling out the forms can be tackled with a single email. Best of all, you can automate it and have one and the same email for all first-time clients to send them before they ever arrive to the facility.
3. Software Solutions
Remember how one of the main problems was not utilizing modern technologies and digitalization? Well, this is where software solutions come in, those that can improve revenue cycles and make things much more efficient. Clinic management software comes in many different forms, but the ones you should explore in most detail revolve around revenue cycle process solutions. As mentioned earlier, streamlining revenue management processes like billing, filling of claims, management of payments, and scheduling appointments should all be on one and the same platform. With advance software solutions and investment in the right choices there will be plenty of benefits for any medical facility that offers quality healthcare.
4. In-House Coordinators
If you want to understand this whole area of your organization better and more easily, as well as to help all the sides from the rest of your staff to the clients, the clinic needs to have an in-house care coordinator. Clinicians can better understand all of the challenges and concerns the patients face have if there are employees appointed to this specific role. They provide a greater sense of care and seriousness towards the patients and help the rest of the healthcare staff understand the whole revenue cycle process. Securing the trust of the people who turn to you for their health needs is crucial and a loyal client base cannot exist without coordinators.
5. Monitoring Statistics and Collecting Data
Implementing the right solutions and hiring the right people for the job will grant the entire healthcare facility something invaluable, stats and data. Statistics and data that has been monitored and collected from the patients in a certain period is very important because it is all the proof the practice needs to improve their revenue cycle management and process. Observing what is going on and locating discrepancies in claims is how you make sure they are improved. Also, identifying issues in billing processes and resolving them on time without making the patients wait can only be done if you know where to look and if you know how to read the data and the stats. If it sounds like too much work for your current team, you do not have to do it in-house. Outsourcing is usually done for aspects of business that revolve around data collection and regular monitoring of key stats. Professionals know how to do it and your staff will be left with more time and attention to focus on their expertise, which is providing the right healthcare to the patients without being bothered by the business side of things. When the healthcare providers do their job and the data analysists do theirs, everyone is happy.