Enhancing revenue cycle operations can help pinpoint and fix issues, boost productivity, cut costs and escalate revenue

The dynamics of the healthcare industry continue to shift in response to escalating costs, increasing interest rates and the attenuation of government-sponsored COVID-19 relief funds. As these financial pressures persist, it is incumbent upon healthcare leaders to safeguard their organizations’ fiscal stability. One viable strategy to mitigate these fiscal challenges lies in optimizing the revenue cycle. 

An efficient revenue cycle is the backbone of a healthcare organization’s financial well-being, ensuring streamlined workflows, maximizing reimbursement and minimizing cost structures. It plays a vital role in strategically managing financial resources, bolstering overall performance and reducing operational uncertainties. Furthermore, it fosters sustainable growth by generating cash flow, facilitating strategic decision-making and creating an environment that supports quality patient care. 

To achieve these advantages, it’s imperative to undertake a comprehensive evaluation and subsequent optimization of the revenue cycle, focusing specifically on roles, processes and technologies. This pursuit, while complex, is a necessary and beneficial initiative that can result in tangible improvements to a healthcare organization’s bottom line, operational efficiency and patient satisfaction.  

Optimize your Healthcare Revenue Cycle 

  • Optimizing Roles  
    • Establish a Clinical Document Integrity (CDI) Team: A CDI team’s primary role is to assist physicians and other healthcare professionals in achieving complete and precise clinical documentation. This includes detailed information on current conditions to facilitate accurate and swift coding. CDI specialists should ideally have a background in both clinical (typically nursing) and medical coding. 
    • Strengthen Your Relationships with Payers: Ensure your payer contracts have clearly outlined escalation procedures for handling denials and payment issues. This includes setting up joint operating committees to oversee payer-provider cooperation, resolve issues and mediate disputes. A formalized contract structure will guarantee issues are addressed consistently and promptly with minimum ambiguity. 
  • Streamlining Processes  
    • Develop a Denial Management Program: A successful denial management program should have efficient workflows to tackle denial-related problems promptly. The program should include data collection, root cause analysis, and the combined expertise of clinical and financial teams to suggest process improvements. 
    • Set up a Post-payment Audit Process: Given the complexity of the claim lifecycle, pre and post-payment audits have skyrocketed in recent years. Establish a standardized process to handle post-payment audits, focusing on improving speed, efficiency and precision. 
    • Utilize AI & RPA: Take advantage of technologies such as robotic process automation and artificial intelligence to free up your staff’s time for more critical activities. Stay updated with the latest advancements in these technologies and gradually improve the automation level in your processes. 
    • Review Financial Risk: Regularly review cash receivables and maintain appropriate reserves to manage financial risk effectively. Use balance-forward methods for applying cash instead of specific identification. Ensure cash received isn’t misplaced, lost or inaccurately reported.  

Questions? 

Optimizing the revenue cycle of your healthcare organization indeed presents a challenging undertaking, one that requires thoughtful planning, efficient execution and continuous monitoring. However, by concentrating efforts on the pivotal components – roles, processes and technology, you unlock a pathway toward enhanced financial resilience and stability for your healthcare organization. 

Whether you require expert analysis of your organization’s present Revenue Cycle Management performance, targeted enhancements in specific operational sectors or a comprehensive revamp, our healthcare experts can help. Contact an Adams Brown advisor today.