Cash Leaks Can Occur Before,
During and After Every Patient Visit
Part 2
Last month, we have identified
the most common Revenue Cycle Management critical gaps within medical practices
which can be triggered before and after a claim is filed, including:
• Claims are not filed promptly.
• Patient information is not accurate or up to date.
• Claims are sent to the wrong place.
• Coding problems cause rejections.
• Clean claims aren’t paid for 30-120 days by insurance companies.
• Patients owe balances for services not covered by insurance. You become
the “bank” and must issue
statements and follow up.
• Patients can’t or won’t pay; resulting in write-offs.
• Collection agencies can be bad for patient relations
and can cost upwards of 50% of the money collected.
• You have to borrow money to cover expenses while
waiting for payments that may arrived in weeks, months, or sometimes – never.
• Some insurance companies refuse or delay payments that
are rightfully due.
• Other carriers have low reimbursements that
require you to see more patients to net the same money.
To fix these issues, it is
necessary to perform a systematic review of every component of the revenue
cycle. To begin, have your office staff walk you through every point of patient
contact from the initial phone call to a paid claim. You may discover you’ve made
assumptions about how things are being handled up front while you’re busy in
the back.
Look at every step through the
revenue cycle management lens. You’ll see how to
plug many of the leaks that
cost money before and during the visit.
Don’t forget to include your
back office in the review. Inventory control is crucial, as
well as appropriately treating
patients in the most efficient way. After completion of your review, implement
these steps to initiate the positive change for your practice:
• Let your staff help you formulate improved systems and
office procedures. The people on the front lines always know about problems the
boss might not necessarily notice.
• Make employees aware of the factors that stall cash
flow. Let them know they have a stake in keeping the practice healthy and
profitable.
• Institute simple checklists to make sure all the bases
are covered. Make it
known these aren’t
recommendations, but the expected standard.
• Document the procedures you want implemented and
review them with new and existing staff.
• Monitor improvements monthly. Reward the staff for
actively improving cash flow and income by using the system, and random acts of
efficiency. • Slash rejected claims from the national average of 30% to
an enviable 2% or less.
• Receive
the patient’s monthly payments on time for the balances they couldn’t pay
at the time of service was provided.
• Collect on the old
accounts receivable that you’re about to write off without hiring a lawyer
or using a traditional collection agency.
Fortunately, there are proven
systems to handle the problems stemming from medical claims and patients that
owe you money:
These
suggestions are simple and obvious, however it’s easy to simply get stuck in
the same old ways, overlooking the reasons for a cash crunch. Medical
profession is designed to create cash flow problems. To get the most money into
your practice, and most out of it, you must go on the offensive.
To
know more about Patient Payment Plans,
Patient Payment Portal and Insurance Credentialing Services, please visit at www.elitemedbiz.com.
