Innovation has become the name of the game for healthcare facilities grappling with the need to maximize revenue, while maintaining exceptional levels of care quality and patient satisfaction. Having the right technology in place is key to managing your revenue cycle and allowing your facility to thrive during healthcare’s constantly changing environment.
Error Detection
Just as your operational teams are focused on lowering the cost of healthcare by reducing costly oversights, your revenue cycle team needs to be focused on limiting mistakes that lead to unnecessary denials. A well-trained RCM team, along with a solid technological infrastructure, is essential to accurately track claims through their entire lifecycle. For example, your RCM team should know your contracts inside and out. Knowing LCD’s and specific payer policies will prevent denials before they happen, allowing you to avoid the lengthy appeals process.
Reporting
To achieve a healthy revenue cycle, facilities need full transparency on case status. The ability to instantly pull customized reports that provide insight into the health of your revenue cycle is critical to financial planning, pinpointing growth opportunities and cutting services that are not profitable. Unfortunately, most healthcare facilities do not have the technology to deliver sophisticated reporting, instead they spend an enormous amount of time and money on claims scrubbing and collections. While revenue is ultimately still captured, it never truly resolves the underlying issues.
Faster Dictation
An efficient RCM process relies on physicians to dictate and sign their reports in a timely fashion; ideally within one day of surgery. Physicians, however, are busy and focused on quality care, making this quite challenging at times. The right technology can make dictating easier for physicians, reminding them of their cases that still need to be dictated and signed. Tech advancements, like a Mobile App encourage them to dictate and sign more frequently. Knowing that many physicians will still put off dictation, sending them automated reminders is also key. Finally, a direct interface with your existing scheduling software, gives your physicians the ability to easily track dictated vs. undictated cases and identify all unsigned reports.
To learn more about revenue cycle “fixes” to help your RCM team receive the money your facility is owed faster than ever before, download the free MedTek white paper here.