With profit margins shrinking alongside tightened standards and regulations, it is essential to shore things up on the supply side. Fortunately, new techniques provide opportunities to improve medical billing process. Here are just a few of the best practices for 2017.
A Revenue Cycle Scorecard
Identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for your medical practice is only the first step to improving the management of the revenue cycle. With new big data analytics features now connected directly to actionable direction, a medical practice can now react in real time to leaks in the system. You can now view how your KPIs compare with benchmarks for your industry, how they are trending, and where your cycles stand at any point in time. This information is all vital to streamlining your revenue cycle.
Move to a Patient Centered Philosophy
The more transparent the billing process, the more your patients will appreciate the process. Employ applications that will help your patients estimate their out of pocket costs, help with scheduling through a call center, manage referrals, or detail financial agreements with patients who cannot pay cash. Companies like M-Scribe are quite proficient in finding the leaks in your system and plugging them with cutting edge billing technologies that will make an immediate impression on your patient base.
Optimize Your Current Technologies
The technologies such as Electronic Health Record (EHR), Practice Management (PM), Patient Portal etc., providers use on daily basis should be optimized before they think about adding any new services on a company-wide scale. For instance, if you do not have your denial management solution with-in your practice managment or with your revenue cycle management (RCM) process, then you should handle this problem first before expanding into big data analysis. With a solid base in tow, you will be more easily able to expand your capabilities and keep your revenue cycle functions relevant for longer periods of time without expensive upgrades.
Setting Goals for the Practice
Measure performance against set goals – do not wing it. Think ahead five years and set expectations for all of the KPIs that you have identified as important to your revenue stream. Have your outsourced company or key employees monitoring these goals on a daily basis, with senior management in place to hold these people responsible.
Designate Co-leaders within Medical Practice
If the right people are not in-charge of the changes that your practice needs to make based on data analytics, then your research is for nothing. You must identify the right personalities to lead the movement towards a more streamlined revenue cycle, which will eventually lead to increased revenue. You may need to outsource this functionality if you do not have anyone in-house with financial experience, but the expense will be well worth it.
Understand Your Strengths and Weaknesses
If you need a comparison or a benchmark for your efforts, look to peer organizations. Other medical practices may also serve as a guide marker. Whether you are outsourcing functions like medical billing or doing everything in house, give your practice a way to measure success. You may also hold a consultation with your revenue cycle vendors – these companies understand better than anyone what is working with a client base. Their livelihood is based on the real time knowledge they cultivate about the medical practices they service.
If you improve the important processes in your revenue cycle, your revenue is sure to increase. Keep your feet to the fire when you begin this new direction. There is no such thing as an overnight solution. There is also no magic bean. The solutions above are meant to be employed holistically instead of piecemeal. If you are looking for assistance in billing, M-Scribe has served hundreds of medical practices around the country.
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