From Cardiology to Orthopedics, Dermatology or Pain Management, if a patient has a poor visit at your medical practice, he or she is going to be less likely to make a payment once the bill is received. Rather than receiving the bill and turning a payment around in a quick manner, a negative patient experience can often lead to them just sitting on the bill and paying late – if at all. A negative visit is linked to a delay in payment time.

This payment process doesn’t do you, or even the patient, any favors, which is why it is important to consider outsourcing your medical practice’s billing so that your medical team can pay more attention to what is really important, which is the patient and his or her health.

Put Your Focus Back on Patient Experience

There is a huge correlation between patient satisfaction and the patient paying their medical bill upon receiving it in the mail. As a result, the medical billing team at MEREM Healthcare Solutions has found that medical practices can become more profitable when they come together to work on patient care with a third-party that is focused on billing and collections.

When the patient arrives at your medical facility, he or she needs to feel as though they are the only patient in the room. From the moment the patient signs in, to the moment the patient leaves the practice, he or she needs to feel like their overall health was the priority.

Yet, if the front desk receptionist is more focused on getting the patient’s payment rather than what he or she is there for, it can start the vicious cycle of a patient having a poor experience.  But, if a third party was involved in taking care of payments, then the patient could receive the quality care from the moment he or she walked through the door because the front desk receptionist could focus more on the patient and why he or she is there, rather than on payment collection.

It Is All Perception

Now, it is not to say that when your medical team is handling billing, too, that your staff doesn’t care about the patients. But, from a patient’s view, it can come off that way, especially if he or she is sick, tired, frustrated, etc.

By taking this one step off your plate, you not only take stress off your medical team so that they can focus solely on patient care, but you are also opening the eyes of patients to see themselves as more than just a payment to your practice.

Merem Healthcare Solutions offers services for every step in a practice’s revenue cycle management. We can start from the beginning from credentialing and end with payment posting once an account has been satisfied. We offer a wide range of solutions which include auditing, billing, coding, consulting, credentialing, payment posting, practice management, and pre-collections training.  Check us out on our website or feel free to call us so see how we can help run your practice like a well-oiled machine – (205) 329-7519.

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Managing your practice’s revenue cycle requires an honest look at your current workflow. From front office pre-collections to denials management, MEREM Health wants to help you determine what is working and what isn’t by offering a Free Revenue Cycle Audit. Before you proceed, there are 5 practical questions you should answer to better prepare for your next revenue cycle assessment.

1. Do your patients know that their payments are due before the come in to see you?

Are your front office staff aware of and clearly communicating the patient’s financial obligations or are you assuming that patients know what is due? Check to make sure your policy is listed on your website and on all billing statements to make sure they get it.

2. Are you checking your Collections Report daily?

Like the speedometer in your favorite car, you’ve got to keep a watchful eye on your daily collections to ensure that revenue loss isn’t stacking up daily. Your investment of time in making collections monitoring a daily practice will help you to quickly see

• how many patients were seen that day
• how much money was collected
• how many patients were collected from

If a patient wasn’t collected from, your report should also explain why that occurred. This will be useful tool in keeping your front office staff accountable.

3. How do you hold your front desk accountable and what measurable performance do you review?

Pre-Collections are just a part of their many responsibilities. Make sure that your front desk staff are accurate in collecting patient information, reviewing and collecting patient deductibles, copays, and past due balances. Also, be sure to look at their preauthorization efforts in comparison to claims denial causes.

4. Have you invested in technology and continuing education?

In order to have the most efficient billing process, your technology must be up to date. EMR, scheduling programs, and medical billing software can make a big impact on streamlining your practice’s financials and workflow.

Also, ongoing training for your staff is a timely but beneficial investment to ensure they are properly trained and up to date on all policy changes and are knowledgeable of filing deadlines.

5. What are your KPIs and how are they performing?

Comparing monthly reports can provide a clear indication of existing data trends. Monthly reporting does a great job of showcasing your monthly spending, which is important for budgeting in the present, but it does not do a proficient job of illustrating trends and overall revenue cycle performance. Custom Reporting is a great asset to collect and evaluate trending data.

If you do not monitor your monthly reporting, months can go by and many practice owners have no idea whether their practice has grown or at least maintained and balanced their revenue. A monthly dashboard with custom performance metrics is invaluable. [For More Information…]

MEREM Healthcare Solutions offers a FREE Revenue Cycle Audit and Practice Consultation Solutions for specialty clinicians, groups and healthcare entities. We deliver custom healthcare solutions to help you better understand your practice performance. If you are in need of consulting services for your medical practice or would like a revenue cycle audit performed, Request a Free Consultation with MEREM Health today.  For more information, call (205) 329-7519.

The post Five Practical Questions to Answer Before Your Next Revenue Cycle Assessment appeared first on MEREM Health.