While there are some upfront payments associated with medical services, many patients pay after the fact. This trend makes managing hospital accounts receivable a critical task for healthcare providers and facilities wanting to stay in the black.
Healthcare facilities struggle to stay profitable amidst reimbursement cuts and ever-evolving regulations. Hospital accounts receivable is one of the several metrics that need constant monitoring to avoid flushing your rightful revenue down the drain.
In this blog, we have explored how you can improve your hospital accounts receivable solutions and enhance revenue generation in the long run.
Before we dive deep into the strategies that can reduce AR days, we have discussed the importance of effective AR management in your practice and the challenges you may encounter while handling it.
Importance of Hospital Accounts Receivable Management
As a provider, it is evident that you will not pay close attention to statistics and financial aspects of your practice as your key area of focus is quality patient care.
When AR days increase, it is a clear indication of cash flow reduction. This means you will have less money on hand to pay the employees, less capital for expansion, and less ability to invest in cutting-edge technology that can improve your practice’s performance.
Reimbursements from the patients and insurance companies are the source of revenue generation and functional stability of a healthcare practice.
If you manage your hospital AR services properly, you will never fall behind the revenue curve and will be able to sustain functionality in the long run.
The primary goal of AR management is to reduce the outstanding days and follow up on unpaid claims to maintain the cash flow within the organization.
In fact, regular hospital AR management avoids aging claims older than 60 days and aids in maintaining steady and profitable financial goals.
Major Challenges in Hospital Accounts Receivable Management
To maintain an efficient workflow in your hospital accounts receivable process you need to navigate through numerous complexities.
One of the major challenges in AR management services is a crooked medical billing and coding process. A minor mistake within billing and coding results in claim denials and revenue loss.
Furthermore, the increasing exposure to bad debt pushes the providers to write off several claims which are leading to increasing AR bucket days.
Without a dedicated team to handle hospital accounts receivable services, you cannot implement consistent follow-up on the claim and after a point of time with immense work pressure you will leave that claim to be.
As a result, you have to write these bills as bad debts which ultimately cripples your revenue generation and creates chaos in the patient care process simultaneously.
Strategies to Improve Hospital Accounts Receivable Solutions
To overcome these tedious challenges, we have discussed some proven strategies that can improve your hospital accounts receivable services.
1. Effective patient communication:
Before you start the treatment procedure, educate the patients about their financial responsibilities within the process. Always make sure they have a clear idea about the services and their roles in reimbursements.
2. Different payment methods:
Restrictive payment methods in your healthcare practice often prevent you from collecting copays and deductibles upfront. Consider numerous payment options for both patients’ convenience and your increased chances of getting accurate and timely reimbursements.
3. Frequent follow-up:
A dedicated follow-up and monitoring team is a proactive approach when it comes to revenue generation. Though some of the practices have worried about negative reviews, respectfully reminding patients about the reimbursements won’t hurt your practice.
4. Conduct AR reports:
Implementing a regular audit process along with identifying and analyzing the key performance indicators can help you gain insights into your practice’s performance. Furthermore, you will be able to understand the areas of improvement and can make an informed decision.
5. Consider workflow automation and outsourcing:
You can leverage the benefits of advanced technology and consider the implementation of robotic process automation in your administrative workflow. This can eliminate the errors within your medical billing and coding processes and reduce the administrative burden as a whole.
However, outsourcing hospital accounts receivable services can be a more cost-effective option that will instill quality and confidence in your practice. A reliable team of outsourced accounts receivable management experts can eliminate errors and streamline your practice’s workflow.
To Conclude,
Outstanding claims and late collections frequently add to the administrative burden imposed on healthcare practices. Furthermore, federal regulatory changes have become extremely critically demanding for a strategic approach in healthcare revenue cycle management.
Hospital accounts receivable management is a crucial aspect of your practice’s financial and functional stability.
Being a provider while you shine at providing the utmost care to the patients, management of hospital AR services comes under the financial aspect of your business. Hiring an outsourced expert proficient in hospital accounts receivable can optimize your practice’s growth and revenue in the long run.
