3 ways providers can optimize revenue cycle management

As patients increasingly bare the brunt of medical expenses, a healthcare provider's ability to effectively assess and inform patients of their financial responsibility is more crucial than ever.

 

Twenty-five percent of healthcare provider revenues come directly from consumer's pockets due to rising deductibles, co-insurance and self-pay for non-covered services. Compared to a year ago, 67 percent of surveyed providers reported more patients are failing to pay out-of-pocket costs, according to a survey poll by The Advisory Board Company.

 

Here are three ways providers can enhance patient engagement and optimize revenue cycle management.

 

1. Prepare staff to answer difficult payment questions with dedicated training and resources.

Increasing transparency and removing "surprise" billing elements through credible, early cost estimates and open finance conversations can improve a provider's chances of collecting.

 

2. Diversified, online billing services can facilitate better reimbursement rates by offering the most convenient method of payment for patients. Fiserv's Seventh Annual Billing Household Survey shows a strong relationship exists between customer satisfaction and the billing and payment experience.

 

3. The most advanced medical practices have invested in technology that predicts patients' likelihood to pay, in order to focus their efforts on the accounts they are mostly likely to collect. Prioritizing post-service collection saves time and effort wasted on uncollectible reimbursements.

 

More articles on revenue cycle: 


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Florida county uses stopgap solutions to solve uncompensated care deficit

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