Examine your revenue cycle to keep pace with changing economic trends

• Published in: Medical economics Vol. 90; no. 8; pp. 44 - 45
• Main Author: Ellis, Jr, George G
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States MultiMedia Healthcare Inc 25.04.2013
• Subjects: Denials; Efficiency, Organizational; Electronic health records; Financial Audit; Financial Management - methods; Health administration; Health economics; Humans; Patient Credit and Collection; Patients; Physicians; Practice Management, Medical - economics; Reimbursement; Revenue; Trends; United States > US
• ISSN: 0025-7206; 2150-7155

Revenue cycle management (RCM) tools can drive healthcare reimbursement to higher levels. And tools to actively and accurately monitor your revenue cycle are becoming rapidly available in the form of robust electronic health record (EHR) systems that are consolidating functions to streamline the way revenue is they collect and process revenue. Consider that RCM refers to an entire billing process. The cycle begins when a patient books an appointment, and it ends when remittance is received from the payer and the patient. It also includes multiple steps along the way, including eligibility checks (verifying insurance); capturing, entering, editing, or scrubbing a claim, collecting accurate information needed to create a medical billing claim to a third-party payer, Medicare, Medicaid, and so on. As physicians, they not only drive patient care, they also generate most of the revenue for the practice. They clearly are the most valuable asset of the practice.