Five Things to Know About Revenue Cycle Management (RCM)

A recent industry survey of physicians showed that their #1 priority was running a more profitable practice. That’s where the right technology solution can help but there are many options when considering the best product for the business. The right revenue cycle management (RCM) solution can help practices collect payments faster and do that in a more efficient manner but also do so much more for the practice success.

RCM is the process of collecting payments for medical bills to generate revenue for a healthcare organization. Outsourcing RCM is the same as referring a patient to a specialist. That specialist has concentrated training, more experience, access to specific knowledge and greater resources to handle the tasks. There are many benefits to outsourcing RCM. Read on for five things you need to know about how the solution benefits your business.

Get Paid Faster

Obviously – the biggest benefit of a revenue cycle management solution will be the impact on practice financial performance. Revenue collection is a necessary part of running a practice, but it’s also one of the most challenging. Revenue Cycle Management supports increased collections, faster payments, and fewer billing efforts – all driving a more profitable practice. The RCM process actually runs through all areas of the patient experience – from making the appointment and determining insurance eligibility to coding and charge capture to claims submission, payment posting, statement processing and managing denied claims. The time it takes the practice to manage these tasks impacts cash flow and getting your business the amount owed as quickly as possible. In short, an efficient RCM gets the business more money, in shorter time, through a consistent process and with lower costs to earn it.

Increase Staff Satisfaction

A great RCM solution reduces administrative burden for staff. “Too many administrative tasks” was cited as the top driver of burnout in a 2021 Medscape study. With an RCM solution, the technology does all the heavy lifting and redundant work, including coding, billing, verifying insurance coverage, interfacing with payers, and other tasks. Reducing administrative burdens and redundant processes with an Revenue Cycle Management solution allows you to allocate staff for higher-value, patient-facing tasks that positively impact both the patient and staff experience.

Gain Happier Patients

Patient expectations for healthcare are rapidly changing. Studies show a positive clinical outcome can be overshadowed by a negative administrative and billing experience. Every encounter in the revenue cycle, from appointment scheduling to final payment, impacts patient satisfaction. Patients aren’t concerned about the specifics of the process. They just want to schedule appointments, see their doctors and pay their bills without any significant issue. A more standardized RCM process provides them greater consistency and convenience and by automating the revenue process, an RCM streamlines the different encounters across the patient journey – from the initial appointment setting to the process ending with timely payments.

Improve Financial Health

Just as a physician focuses on physical and mental health, think of your RCM as a tool to assess the practice’s financial health. A major benefit of an RCM is visibility. By using the RCM to examine processes and analyze data, you’ll gain an accurate, transparent assessment of your business’s fiscal performance.

An outstanding RCM solution offers automated data aggregation and reporting solutions to help your practice improve communication with patients. This gives you a more efficient and seamless solution. and creates a better patient experience.

Prepare for Value-Based Care

As the industry continues to focus on value-based care, it is becoming more important than ever to reduce costs and increase efficiency. The right RCM solution will provide customizable reporting and analysis tools that will help your practice reach the forefront of new emerging payment models, which is

becoming more and more important as the healthcare industry moves toward value-based reimbursement. The data provided by your RCM solution lets providers realize higher reimbursement rates.

As the nation evolves post-pandemic, there is increased financial pressures on healthcare organizations. Rising costs and increasing administrative burdens on staff make RCM outsourcing a growing necessity. As consumers bear more financial responsibility for their healthcare costs, that pressure continues to grow. The right RCM solution allows practices many opportunities to lower billing costs while getting them paid faster – along with the benefits of happier staff and patients.

Learn more about the iSalus RCM solution here.