Implementing a new revenue cycle system can be stressful, but there are ways to ease the transition, according to Susan Eilman, a senior revenue cycle transformation healthcare consultant at Hayes Management Consulting.
Ms. Eilman shared these seven tips with Becker's Hospital Review.
Note: The response was lightly edited for clarity.
"1. Revisit and document workflows with the new system incorporated. Often implementations do not document the actual workflow and miss important factors with processes.
2. Offer refresher training for staff who are struggling with the new system.
3. Develop competency evaluations for all staff (including management) to ensure they all understand the new system and workflow changes. Retrain staff who do not pass with a grade of 80 percent or higher.
4. Update or create new policies and procedures that accommodate the implementation and communicate them to staff.
5. Set up monthly key performance indicators, trend reports or dashboards that will assist in monitoring trends to locate new issues.
6. Create sessions with different departments so they can learn from each other what works and what does not.
7. Hold organization functions to reward staff after implementations are live and show appreciation for hard work and acceptance of new system changes. Communicate positives and outlooks during the functions to encourage joy in the workplace."
If you would like to share your RCM best practices, please email Kelly Gooch at kgooch@beckershealthcare.com to be featured in the "RCM tip of the day" series.
More articles on healthcare finance:
Methodist Health System Selects VisitPay’s Patient Financial Experience Platform
Americans' No. 1 priority for healthcare? Affordability
Implementation of advanced technologies to support quality initiatives and reduce inefficiencies for critical care patients