Hospitals should focus their revenue cycles on healthcare consumers as well as healthcare prosumers, said Allen Latham, vice president of revenue cycle management at TriZetto Provider Solutions, a Cognizant Company.
Healthcare prosumers are patients who gather their own health data via a wearable or sensor. That data may include information on nutrition, diabetes, exercise or other health issues and is used to inform their care decisions.
"At first glance, there may not seem much of a connection between revenue cycle management and healthcare prosumers, who have an extreme interest in their well-being and the ability to diagnose health issues," said Mr. Latham. "But when you take a deeper look at prosumers, they are simply a more intense version of the healthcare consumer. Both want to participate in the decisions made about their treatment.
"Healthcare providers who employ user-friendly patient portals and healthcare tracking apps have an opportunity to connect and participate as a caregiver like never before. Bringing this data into the revenue cycle helps providers better understand claims, denials and patient eligibility," he said.
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