Here are four revenue cycle management tips from industry experts, published by Becker's Hospital Review since Feb. 6.
1. "Healthcare providers who acknowledge the significance of cost and quality in this time of increasing premiums and copays, and already large and growing deductibles, can be an important part of this new, more open patient [financial] conversation. To do so, providers can make treatment cost information available to patients prior to appointments for non-acute health issues. Advanced revenue cycle tools make it easier than ever to gather and share this information before or immediately following an appointment. A revenue cycle management solution with built-in patient financial data is the first step in responding to and staying aligned with healthcare consumers now and in the future." - Kevin Lathrop, president of TriZetto Provider Solutions, a Cognizant company
2. CMS is slated to start mailing new Medicare ID cards to beneficiaries in April as part of Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act requirements to replace Social Security numbers with Medicare beneficiary identifiers. Ahead of this change, "two key actions need to be taken by your practice: prepare your front desk staff to collect this information from your patients and verify that your practice management system is able to accept the new information and use it to bill your claims." - Dale Gentz, network executive with The Halley Consulting Group
3. "To reduce the recurrence of [claim] denials, it's imperative that healthcare systems employ a multidisciplinary approach that leverages technology and data analytics to optimize processes and shift from a reactive to a proactive approach. By employing data analytics, problematic areas can be identified and internal processes fine-tuned to reduce denials, accelerate cash flow and decrease administrative inefficiencies." - Kyle Kobe, vice president of consulting and analytic services at nThrive
4. "Credentialing is important to hospitals, clinics and independent doctors' offices because one misstep in the process can bring it to a halt, potentially impacting revenue for a considerable length of time. When the process stops unexpectedly, it can impact patient care and the physician's job at the hospital as well.
"Any well-thought-out process takes into account the many items necessary to secure credentialing from payers. In addition, the potential for errors are many, so it's important to identify where these may occur and have a mitigation plan in place. Whether the healthcare organization is large or small, a very specific, step-by-step plan is necessary to ensure the process is completed quickly and efficiently, and, hopefully, without any snags." - Kevin Lathrop, president of TriZetto Provider Solutions, a Cognizant company
More articles on healthcare finance:
15 hospitals seeking RCM talent
6 recent hospital, health system outlook and credit rating actions
Intermountain donates $15M to U of Utah for new medical school: 4 things to know