Like many other businesses, the management of a medical practice requires not only the delivery of outstanding health services but also the balancing of a practice’s finances. Collection and cash management is one of the most important areas in terms of practice development and stability. Following is the list of six implementable strategies that can improve your collections and cash flow, thus making your medical practice future-proof.
1. Streamline Billing Processes
Essentially, it can be said that a well-managed billing process is the first step towards enhancing its collection. This includes making sure that your staff is current with the codes and billing requirements that they need to follow. Leverage technologies such as EHR and practice management, to avoid cases of incorrect billing in the clinic. The use of a proper billing system will reduce the time taken in billing and also reduce cases of billing disagreements.
Ensure that you make claims for reimbursement as early as possible and provide accurate details. It is therefore important that you regularly conduct audits on your billing processes to determine the problems and ways of correcting them. Another way to enhance collections is by making sure you train your staff on the potential oversight that may lead to issues when it comes to billing mechanisms.
2. Improve Patient Communication
Transparency, especially as far as the patient is concerned, is very important when it comes to explaining the cost aspect. Make sure your patients know the insurance they have, their co-pay, deductible, and personal out-of-pocket responsibilities from the get-go. You can accomplish this by sending e-mails before the visit, providing pamphlets beforehand, or addressing it during the registration process.
The hospital should offer patients various modes of payment, such as online payment, credit card payment, and different payment facilities, to ensure they can comfortably pay their bills. Continuously communicate with the patients about any balances due through telephone, e-mail, or short message service. Communication skills enable one to set the appropriate prognosis for the agreed terms, ensuring that payments are made on time and thus enhancing their cash flow.
3. Consider Medical Billing Services
Outsourced billing can be of great help to your collections and can be offered by specialized services. Specialized services such as workers compensation collections and personal injury billing services can be helpful if your practice is involved in handling these types of claims. These services must have credible knowledge of workers’ compensation and personal injury to make prompt and correct payments on your behalf.
This makes business sense since many of the billing tasks are complex and time-consuming, and by outsourcing such tasks, you are creating more time for your staff to manage other important operations of the practice. Not only does this save time and effort, but it also has a positive effect on your cash flow because most of these billing procedures are rather intricate and time-consuming.
4. Implement a Rigorous Follow-Up System
Hunting for all the unpaid claims, as well as outstanding balances, is important if one has to ensure that cash inflow is steady. Automate the follow-up of unpaid claims to manage the matter in accordance with the company’s policy. You can easily manage this through your practice management software, which assists in providing alerts and reminders for follow-ups.
Assign the follow-ups to a special person or a group of staff. Review the unpaid claims’ status regularly and perform actions like resubmission, insurance follow-up, or patient reminders. A good follow-up incorporated into your collections improves the overall collection in a way that minimizes unpaid claims.
5. Monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
The identification of KPIs could also help you manage your practice’s finances effectively and efficiently. Key performance indicators include average days in accounts receivable, the percentage of claims denied, and the collection rate.
Looking at such figures and statistics periodically is useful to discover patterns and potential issues that require attention. For example, if you realize that there are many rejected claims, it could be as a result of staff ignorance or some modification in your billing system. Applying KPIs can help in making better decisions when it comes to solutions for increasing collection and, consequently, cash flow.
6. Offer Financial Counseling
It may also be advisable to provide financial education to clients who may require assistance in dealing with their insurance carriers or balancing their costs. Since many patients have little idea what they can afford when turning up for their appointments, you can help them make appropriate payment arrangements and be more responsible when it comes to payments.
Apart from effective collection, this proactive approach proves helpful for patients’ satisfaction. This implies that the patients will be in a position to pay their bills or charges on time when they are guided or supported appropriately. Financial consultation can also be used to detect any problems on the financial side early enough so that you can be in a position to counter them before they affect the cash flow.
Conclusion
Effective collections and cash management in medical practice call for some good and efficient systems, understanding, and proven methods. Therefore, you can strengthen your practice’s finances by optimizing billing measures, communicating with patients, using billing services, following up the process, calculating KPI, and providing financial advice. Not only do these steps help to maintain a regular source of income, but they also help to maintain and develop the business of the medical practice.
