Only 25% of U.S. medical practices think they’re getting every dollar they deserve, according to a recent survey. And just as many said they think their staff members spend way too much time on revenue cycle management responsibilities. Wondering what may be behind the inability of practices to collect the money they’ve earned?
Check out four ways your practice may be able to improve revenue cycle management habits and collect more income.
1. Make It Easier for Patients to Pay
When you think of revenue cycle management, your first thought might go straight to medical billing, coding and appeals, but don’t forget about that other collection avenue — direct patient collections. Between deductibles, copays, coinsurance and non-covered services, patients often owe your practice significant funds, and if you fail to collect them, you’re surely losing money.
Make sure you ask patients to pay their portion of the bill before they leave your practice on the date of service, and give them easy ways to pay you. Accepting digital payments, keeping credit cards on file, allowing payment by check and cash (which some practices have banned), and using secure app-based billing options like mobile wallets may help inspire patients to pay more quickly.
2. Verify Patient Insurance Information Before Each Visit
You can head off a significant volume of denials by pre-verifying all patient insurance information prior to patient visits, and rectifying any issues ahead of time.
For instance, if an insurer tells you that a patient is only covered for sick visits but your patient has scheduled a preventive service, call the patient up front, let them know that they’ll be responsible for the entire bill (and tell them the approximate cost) and ask if they want to keep the appointment. Patients who only find this type of information out after the visit might be flustered and unwilling to pay, leaving you out significant income.
3. Conduct Documentation Training
One often overlooked area of revenue cycle optimizing is ensuring that providers are well trained in documentation. Coders and billers can only select the right codes to submit if the documentation is thorough and complete, and when providers fall short in this area, it can end up requiring your coding team to submit unspecified codes, which often pay less. Always perform several documentation training seminars each year so your providers know exactly what coders need to be able to collect maximum revenue.
4. Work Your Denials
Your practice can’t afford to ignore denials — you must address them and appeal the ones that were incorrectly denied. Create a timeline and work denials regularly — for instance, every two weeks — so you don’t miss the opportunity to file appeals within the deadline. This will allow you to let insurers know why they should have paid you, and it can provide your practice with a second chance to collect.
If your practice wants to optimize its collections rate, you must shore up your billing processes. Let four billing, legal and collections experts walk you through the essentials with our three-part series, Compliant Billing Strategies to Boost Cash Flow. Register today!
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The post How Your Practice Can Improve Revenue Cycle Management appeared first on Healthcare Training Leader.