Setting Yourself Up for a Successful Revenue Cycle in 2023

What trends are emerging in Revenue Cycle? How can you prepare?

As healthcare delivery continues to evolve, providers struggle to keep up. As with most consumer services, providers need to figure out how to meet the needs of their customers and plan for the shifting targets that will arise in the future.

To start, it’s critical to understand the trends on the horizon.

Top Healthcare Trends to Watch in 2023

• The (continued) rise of technology
• The evolution of revenue cycle staff
• AI assistance for processes
• Patient-Centric care and service

Understanding how these changes will impact your facility, staff, and revenue cycle operations is imperative for creating a plan for future success.

The (continued) Rise of Technology

RCM Technology: Enhancements and Utilization

Most providers access some level of technology within their revenue cycle operations today. These products range from “can’t live without” to “barely use” regarding staff ratings. A successful tech-enabled RCM should accelerate workflow, not inhibit it.

Evaluation of your current technology should include the following questions:

• Is this product enhancing our staff output?
• Does our product create further work for our team?
• Is the product integral to our successful daily operations?
• What should be transacted within the solution that our staff prefers to do themselves?
• Is this cost prohibitive?
• What are the onboarding loads and success rates of new users?

It sometimes requires a process update and change management measures to encourage the adoption of new technology. After the “dust settles,” does your staff feel the transformation was worthwhile, or are they constantly struggling to get the technology to carry out its processes? If your technology is not exhibiting great value, it may be time to re-evaluate.

The Evolution of Revenue Cycle Staff

Technology + Process Improvement = Efficient Staffing

With increasing technology adoption in our healthcare systems today, measuring the benefit is essential. The goal is not to replace humans with machines. However, it is necessary to ensure the processes that are expedited by technology remain carried out in that way, to free up time for staff to address the myriad of critical tasks that stack up each day. To evaluate where to start, ask the following:

• Can you segregate maintenance tasks vs. improvement tasks?
• Which types of tasks fall to the bottom of the list?
• Of the tasks carried out manually, which can be tech-enabled?
• What is the expected time savings of automating?

Identify a few time-consuming tasks that are eligible for automation. Offloading the manual effort of routine tasks allows for focus on additional data and process improvements.

What does it mean to Create a Patient-Focused Revenue Cycle?

The Patient’s Perception is the Patient’s Reality

The patient journey begins before they enter the waiting room and ends far after discharge. With rising patient pay responsibilities and increased availability of provider sites, healthcare consumers have options and seek the best outcomes and value for their money. Improvements to the revenue cycle can have a direct impact on patient satisfaction.

By assessing opportunities for improvement in financial counseling, bill accuracy and understandability, and payment methods, direct and indirect benefits can arise. Increased patient satisfaction will retain and grow your patient base, and timely payment will reduce days in A/R.

Finding Technology to Enhance your RCM

Finding the right technology to enable RCM efficiencies and improve the patient journey can be overwhelming with the ever-growing list of options on the market today. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. To shape your criteria for a technology that is both process improving and revenue enhancing, start by asking how you can address the specific needs of your team.

Discover What’s Holding Your Organization Back with MedCom

MedCom Solutions creates customized charge cycle solutions that reduce denials, enhance revenue, and sustain results. Our full listing of services can be applied to both professional and technical billing.

MedCom creates patented technology and state-of-the-art software to help medical service providers meet rapidly escalating and changing medical billing demands. Our Chargemaster, Pricing, and Compliance solutions have yielded hundreds of millions in net revenue for healthcare providers across the country.

Learn more about our solutions, visit our homepage or contact us today!