With new advances in the way medical information is transcribed, stored and transferred, technology has created more variables to a provider’s success than ever before. Between tangling with mountains worth of paperwork, handling claims denials and riding the learning curve of new systems like EHRs and ICD-10 coding, there can be lots of room for error and, consequently, potential revenue that slips through the cracks.
Luckily, revenue cycle management systems are here to help. They can streamline a vast array of your most intensive processes — like admitting, coding, balancing budgets, billing and filing claims — in order to provide a supreme level of oversight and control. This control, in turn, helps you avoid common RCM problems that lead to lost revenue, profitability and productivity.
Delving more into the specifics, these are the primary RCM benefits that can help you both reduce errors and drive revenue at the same time:
1. Coding Flags
ICD-10 is sending massive waves throughout the healthcare provider industry. The new requirements are catching those without the needed training or oversight capabilities completely off-guard. As a result, they are seeing more billing errors and coding errors that lead to denied claims and lost revenue.
RCM systems can include coding functions that help vet billing codes and flag the ones with possible errors. These flags are based on common mistakes that occur generally and within your organization specifically. Anyone handling the coding or billing process of the claim before it is officially filed will detect the flag and correct the error, saving themselves time and preventing a lengthy denial and appeals process. Read more