Revenue cycle management (RCM) is incredibly important to a practice’s profitability. Without the ability to streamline the billing and collections processes, a medical enterprise will find it challenging to stay afloat. What makes it even more challenging is that the payment environment has changed considerably in the last few years. Despite the increase in coverage due to healthcare exchanges, many “patients now find themselves responsible for a significant portion of their medical bill, which has led to an increase in the size of outstanding patient balances”.
Managing your practice’s revenue cycle requires you and your staff to take an honest look at your current workflow to determine what’s working and what isn’t. Here are some things to focus on:
Your Financial Policy
Your patients need to know that their payments are due before they come in to see you. Check the policy listed on your website and statements to see if you are clearly communicating this.
Check Your Daily Collections Report
Are you checking your daily collections reports… daily? These will help you to quickly see how many patients were seen that day, how much money was collected, and how many patients were collected from. If a patient wasn’t collected from, your report should also explain why that occurred.
Check Your Front Desk
Make sure your front desk people are taking accurate information about patients’ deductibles, copays, and past balance dues.
New Patient Policy
What is your practice’s policy on collecting payment from a new patient who has a high deductible? Are all services clearly documented so they can be collected at checkout? Does staff provide new patients an estimate of costs at check in? Continue reading