When it comes to boosting revenue for your medical practice, updating your revenue cycle management strategy is a great place to start. RCM is the process of handling payment information, from communicating with patients, to filing claims with insurance providers. Without a solid RCM strategy, it’s easy for small errors to cause delays in payments and negatively impact earnings.
Improving the efficacy of your RCM begins with implementing new technology, and utilizing automation to simplify administrative tasks. Here's what you need to know about improving your RCM strategy to boost revenue.
The newest RCM technology incorporates automation and AI to achieve streamlined communications and automated filing.
Improve Patient Registration Accuracy – Start off strong by obtaining comprehensive information during the patient registration process. Ensure you have accurate and complete contact, payment, and insurance information, which will reduce errors during the filing and payment process.
Automate Scheduling and Appointment Reminders – Use technology to improve efficiency throughout the scheduling process. Remember, ensuring patients have a user-friendly experience solidifies long-term patient loyalty. Once an appointment is scheduled, enable automatic appointment reminders, which alleviate the burden on administrative staff and increase patient follow-through.
Automate Patient Eligibility – Avoid claim denials by automating the patient eligibility verification process. This is another opportunity to reduce the strain on in-house staff. By pre-determining patient eligibility with the insurance carrier, you’ll be more likely to receive timely payments for services without any unwelcome complications.
Use Cloud-Based Systems – House all your relevant data on an accessible cloud-based system. This ensures that all administrators and caregivers have access to the same information throughout the treatment and billing process.
Digitally File Claims – Billing software enables you to easily submit correctly coded claims to insurance providers. Claim generator software is a quick way to categorize claims and catch errors early on in the filing process.
Utilize data analysis to shed light on patient trends and frequent in-house errors. By tracking certain data sets, you’ll be able to monitor your overall RCM performance.
Patient Preferences – At its heart, your RCM strategy needs to prioritize patient satisfaction and experience. For this reason, it’s essential to prioritize patient preferences when it comes to communication and payment options. Track patient responsiveness through various communication methods including text, email, and phone calls. This will help you determine the best way to deliver vital information and remind patients about appointments or payments. Furthermore, modern patient pay platforms, like REV Patient Pay, increase collections from patients and provides an online patient engagement and payment system that patients can understand and expect. A study by InstaMed, a J.P. Morgan company, shows that 74% of all consumers and 80% of millennials prefer online payments for medical bills. 74% of millennials would switch providers for a better healthcare payment experience. Currently, 75% of providers still use paper statements and manual processes primarily for collection.
Claims Denials – Claim denials arise from a multitude of errors, including incorrect coding, incomplete patient information, and late filing. Keep track of recent claim denials to see if there are any frequent errors that emerge. This data may help you curb future errors by educating staff on how to avoid common mistakes.
Accounts Receivable – Another data set to keep an eye on is your accounts receivable balance. Accounts receivable represents the outstanding payments you have yet to receive from insurance companies and patients. In particular, note the percentage of your AR balance that’s over 3 months old. This will indicate how effectively you are collecting payments for services rendered.
One of the best things you can do to improve your RCM strategy and boost revenue is to invest in an outsourced RCM service. Instead of burdening your in-house team with additional and complex tasks, investing in professional RCM services ensures you’re getting the best possible support, insights, and strategies to increase your practice’s earnings. In many cases, quality medical billing and RCM outsourcing services can be less expensive and more effective than in-house models.
The landscape of medical billing and claim filing is often complex, and a dedicated RCM team will help you optimize your earnings and streamline the process.
Revele is a revenue cycle management service dedicated to simplifying the business of medicine. By implementing cutting-edge technology, prioritizing innovation, and partnering with industry experts, Revele is committed to helping your practice grow.
At Revele, we approach RCM a little differently from the competition. We proactively analyze your workflow and KPIs to deliver the best possible solutions to your practice. Plus, when you partner with us, your investment is our investment, as our compensation is based on what we collect for you. We guarantee that we will increase your collections. Watch this quick video to see how we increased this client’s revenue by 24%.
Ready to optimize your revenue cycle? Contact us today to get started!