Know About the Pragmatic Ways to Improve Hospital Accounts Receivable
The total amount of money that you owe for the services and treatments that you have provided is known as accounts receivable. The patient or their insurance company is responsible for paying the billed amount. The longer accounts receivable (AR) go unpaid, the more liability it becomes for all. There are instances where only ten cents per dollar owed is received when hospitals cross the bar of 120 days.
The hospital accounts receivable cycle begins when you bill a patient or their insurance company. Hospital ARs are classified based on their age bucket-
- 1-30 days
- 31-60 days
- 61-90 days
- 91-120 days
Failure to collect reimbursement on time extends your hospital accounts receivable cycle and ruptures your overall revenue. Thus, it is crucial to streamline a perfect hospital AR process to improve the overall revenue.
Below are some effective tips to streamline a perfect hospital accounts receivable process-
6 Crucial Tips to improve your hospital accounts receivable services:
1) Submit clean claims:
You should collect accurate patient information and submit proper claims on your first attempt. Any mistake in the submitted claim can cause claim denials and an increased AR cycle.
2) Establish transparent payment terms:
Make your payment terms clear to your patients. You should let your patients know about your payment expectations, including the exact due date. You need to prepare payment policies that patients can easily understand and follow.
3) Ensure frequent follow-ups on outstanding accounts:
Late payments are the main reason behind your hospital accounts receivable. Make sure you notify your patients frequently about their due payments. You can do it via phone calls, letters and emails.
4) Run consistent A/R reports for understanding and improving:
You need to closely track your AR. It would be an effective practice to analyze AR data every month to spot disturbing trends or frequent issues. Your AR report should include the following things:
- Average AR cycle
- Gap between services rendered and invoicing
- Aged accounts
- Collection rate
5) Offer multiple payment options:
Offering multiple payment options is an effective way to make it easier for your payers to pay bills. These payment options include credit cards, bank portals, auto-debit, etc.
6) Train your staff on hospital accounts receivable management:
Staff who handle your AR management should receive adequate training in patient communication, bill tracking, etc. Furthermore, they should be proficient in the invoicing process.
Hospital accounts receivable services require a major amount of time and effort. It can be an additional burden as you primarily focus on patient care. Thus, outsourcing your hospital accounts receivable to a reputed RCM company like Sunknowledge can be a perfect decision. Outsourcing hospital AR enables you to fully focus on patient care, while your partner handles the entire accounts receivable management, thus improving both the revenue and patient experience.
