Don't be short-sighted about labor costs.
Theresa Brandon, managing director at healthcare consultancy Novia Strategies: Labor benchmarks are directional and should always be normalized based on physical layout, as well as effectiveness of available technology. Critical positions that effectively prevent denials and lost reimbursement include 24/7 case managers and registration personnel in busy emergency departments. Identify denials by department and use this information to support the need for retaining or hiring staff into these important positions. Continue monitoring service level and departmental quality metrics in conjunction with productivity metrics.
If you would like to share your RCM best practices, please email Carrie Pallardy at cpallardy@beckershealthcare.com to be featured in the "RCM tip of the day" series.