Why is Revenue Cycle Management Necessary?

Running a health practice is simultaneously a rewarding and challenging endeavor. On the one hand, you get to heal people of what ails them; on the other, there’s a mound of paperwork you need to accomplish. Then there’s also the issue of collecting payments from the patients you’ve treated.

To make daily operations smoother, many hospitals and clinics utilize what’s called a revenue cycle management (RCM) system. This tool, which is a type of software, offers two key benefits:

Increased Efficiency

RCM can greatly increase your practice’s efficiency by streamlining the admission process. Specifically, it allows you to quickly verify a patient’s insurance coverage before treating them, thereby reducing the chances of their claim being rejected by insurers.

It also offers useful functions like electronic claims submission and remittance posting. In addition, RCM systems make it possible to create e-statements, which your patients can then pay online.

Increased Revenue

Another key feature of RCM is its ability to track claims at all points of the billing process. This allows your practice to keep a close eye on outstanding payments, so that fewer bills will remain uncollected. It also encompasses the collection of co-pays, which now represent a bigger chunk of hospital bills.

Of course, health practices can also bolster their revenue by ensuring that eligible patients take advantage of government programs like SSID, Medicaid, and Medicare. By deploying RCM systems and enrolling patients into assisted programs, your practice can become as healthy as the patients you treat.