EHRs/EMRs that are not optimized with streamlined clinical and billing workflows pose revenue collection problems to hospitals and clinics. Overworked doctors find it difficult to cope up with these problems. They do not have the time to ensure optimal revenue collection and adhere to changing federal/state regulations and stipulations of insurance companies. Rather, they would like to focus on their medical profession.
According to the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), hospitals fail to collect roughly 4 to 12% of their dues and around 25 to 30% of their claims are rejected, resulting in revenue cycle inefficiency.
Scrap out your EHR/EMR Predicaments for perking up your revenue
Here goes the slide-deck on best in practice measures to tune your EHR/EMR
There is a dire need to implement some of the following best-in-practice measures to optimize EHR/EMR technology for maximized revenue cycle management (RCM):
- Implement physicians’ practice-specific, optimized scheduling, coding, and billing workflows into the EHR/EMR.
- Manage the complete revenue cycle, starting right from patient check-in to payment receipt.
- Ascertain medical necessity of diagnosis and treatment from the insurance payers’ point of view.
- Verify patients’ eligibility for insurance claims.
- Ensure precise and complete clinical documentation.
- Ensure correct capture of codes for billing and preparation of claims.
- Submit claims in time and track their progress with the insurance payer.
- Analyze denied claims.
- Resubmit corrected claims and follow them up.
- Ensure online payment of bills by patients through the patients’ portals.
- Understand and comply with insurance payers’ contracts and requirements.
- Be informed on how new codes, statues, and guidelines could impact revenue collections and implement appropriate measures.
Be an Early Bird
Among the bountiful range of innovative EHRs, some of the choices include:
- EHR-based mobile devices with built-in medical billing features.
- Smart EHRs that are connected to smart phones or tablets to help patients and doctors access health information.
- EHRs with patient portal feature, built-in scrubbers and coding guide.
- Electronic claims submissions software.
- Interactive voice response (IVR) technology-based diallers for collection of bad debts from patients.
- Software tools (skip trackers) that use available patients’ demographic data for locating patients, who have not paid their bills and have shifted out.
The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) opines that around $140 billion could be saved in the US by utilizing high-tech IT for healthcare.
For any clarification you are welcome to contact BillingParadise.
