How to Reduce Cost-to-Collect and Increase Patient Satisfaction with Revenue Cycle Technology

Updated: Nov 10, 2022

Healthcare organizations have used Revenue Cycle Management Software to streamline financial tasks and keep patients satisfied. The use of RCM software can greatly enhance performance levels and refine financial processes, benefiting both staff members and patients.

Slow financial processes negatively affect patient experiences.

Even if a patient has a positive clinical experience with their provider, slow and complex financial processes can negatively impact their overall visit. Patient experience is crucial in today’s world as it helps to retain patients. The patient’s experience starts from the time they enter the hospital until they get their bill. With explainable AI, technology has the potential to foster patient relationships and improve the healthcare experience. AI empowers human decision-making and enables technology to take over redundant tasks so staff can get to know patients' preferences. This can help improve revenue cycle management.

The front end of the revenue cycle begins with patient registration, continues through obtaining insurance information and patient health profile information, and ends once payments are collected. Having this information allows a company to develop the appropriate plan of care tailored for that specific individual.

For many patients, time is of the essence when verifying benefits and communicating patient financial responsibilities. Using technology to verify eligibility automatically decreases the chance of human error, while providing faster results. Properly setting up system holds in the EMR will ensure that the company does not provide unallowable services. A correct patient profile at the start of care allows for the most efficient claim submission and collection process.

To decrease the amount of uncollectible dollars at the end of care, healthcare providers should aggressively use online payment systems to collect known balances prior to the start of service. Revenue cycle challenges can be expected in any industry that provides services before receiving payment; healthcare revenue cycle can be especially challenging due to the length of time it may take to submit a claim for services provided. Many insurance providers require a significant amount of documentation to be completed before a claim can be submitted.

The future of artificial intelligence in revenue cycle management

Explainable AI has the potential to foster relationships between patients and doctors, not hinder them. By employing artificial intelligence, healthcare organizations can streamline operations and empower staff to focus on patient care instead of repetitive tasks. Revenue cycle management is an area ripe for this type of innovation.

Many stakeholders are concerned that artificial intelligence will replace human labor in the workplace. However, these fears are unwarranted because the technology is actually helping revenue cycle staff work more efficiently by supporting their workflows and allowing them to tackle accounts needing more human intervention.

In today's world of falling margins, high-deductible health plans, and increasing efficiency in revenue cycle management, business intelligence has become increasingly important to communicate more effectively with patients.

Media Contact

Austin Nasworthy

anasworthy@joriehc.com

(331) - 282 - 1281

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