The Case For Investing in a Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management Solution
It’s no secret that American healthcare is extremely complicated with a labyrinth of regulation. It’s one of the reasons why medical costs are high, and providers have to navigate a maze of processes to get paid on time. When a patient walks in, there is pre-registration, then his or her insurance plan needs to get verified, there’s documentation of the services rendered by the provider, followed by medical coding and filling out claims and submitting them. It would take over 2 weeks or even longer for the payer to reimburse the provider, provided everything is alright with the claim.
Needless to point out, such an elaborate series of bureaucratic steps are highly prone to human errors. A single mistake in the above steps could result in long and costly delays for the provider. That’s where revenue cycle management software can make a difference.
The larger the hospital, the greater the volume of patients it deals with. Consequently, it would involve a large load of documentation and paperwork without a digital platform for revenue cycle management. Moreover, it is bound to increase the likelihood of human errors during any one or more of the series of steps involved in medical billing. That’s why large hospitals and even medium-sized ambulatory care centers use revenue cycle software. Such a platform greatly improves the productivity of the staff, minimizes the chances of errors, and ensures healthy revenue cycles.
In addition to improving revenues, revenue cycle management services also ease the administrative burden for upper management at hospitals. When that happens, both they and the doctors can direct more time and energy towards patient care. In fact, it has actually been observed that solutions for revenue cycle in healthcare have had a direct impact on the overall patient experience. It holds true especially for smaller practices in rural locations.
In addition to large hospitals, small clinics with just one or a few physicians too could go on to improve their incomes by investing in any of the reputed revenue cycle solutions. It would help them streamline all the activities in the billing workflow with minimal staffing requirements and greater efficiency. As mentioned above, it could also have a direct impact on the quality of care they’re able to deliver. In small practices, if providers can spend less time dealing with the revenue cycle workflows, it frees up time to focus on patients. As a result, they would end up seeing more patients per day, enjoy better revenues, and reduce waiting times. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Furthermore, a lot of RCM platforms also gather data on the workflows which help in highlighting the activities where revenue leaks away. This insight is invaluable for ironing out the kinks and ensuring an optimal operation with high productivity.
So, if you are a healthcare administrator at a city hospital or run a private practice, it is worth every penny to invest in robust RCM systems. Overlooking the initial cost and time for training, it is sure to improve revenues in the long run. But make sure that such a revenue cycle management solution is from a reputed company, that offers timely support and updates.
