Outsourcing RCM Services
A healthcare provider’s ability to maintain cash flow is a vital component in keeping a business healthy and growing. Problems collecting revenue can affect a business adversely. Outsourcing is often the most effective and practical solution to improve your revenue cycle management and boost your income.
Avoiding Negative Cash Flow
Healthcare is a business like any other. However, although many people are covered by insurance that pays a large part of the bill for services rendered, the patient or guarantor may be responsible for co-pays and other expenses. Patients who do not pay cause negative cash flow which can be remedied with efficient, professional revenue cycle management.
Underperformance Can Damage Your Business
Banks use slow or negligent payers as key indicators that your clients are unsatisfied or that your business has issues. Any outstanding receivables could affect your ability to borrow when it becomes necessary to purchase new medical equipment or supplies. Allowing your patients to slide on their debt may be doing your healthcare practice more harm than just a reduction in revenue and hindered cash flow.
Revenue Cycle Management Versus Real Income
Even with careful monitoring of your daily revenue cycle, there can be a different amount actually flowing into the business due to unpaid accounts. This can cause serious damage to the success and future of a business. Trying to collect debt on your own can cost more and take time from your busy schedule that can be better spent elsewhere.
Outsourcing Your Revenue Cycle Management Can Increase Your Income
Acting on your own to collect money owed on accounts can be unproductive and frustrating. Generally, after numerous unsuccessful attempts, you either turn it over to an agency or give up entirely and write off the debt– losing revenue. By choosing a company that is not only focused on recovering what is owed to you, but performs in a way that helps sustain the relationship, you are able to move forward, collect the debts owed and retain your clients.
Outsourcing revenue cycle management involves using a company with a well-developed plan to encourage patients to pay overdue bills, without seeming aggressive or injuring the relationship between the practitioner and patient.
By outsourcing your revenue cycle management you can also be assured that your needs are met in terms of healthcare’s regulatory environment. You will not need to be concerned with hiring a staff of collectors who could unknowingly be in breach of compliance by calling at the wrong times or saying the wrong things, possibly costing you thousands of dollars in fines on top of the cost of staffing a dedicated team of collectors.
Using a long-term plan that begins with non-aggressive reminders by mail or by phone will obtain the desired response from some people. Many people can be gently persuaded without having to resort to more aggressive measures, but for those who are reluctant to pay after several months more urgent requests may be required. Skip tracing may be necessary to locate them if they have moved. Those who have been delinquent for a long time may require more assertive contact by an attorney to avoid having to charge off the bad debt.
TSI provides reliable, effective revenue cycle management services to companies from large corporations to small businesses in order to help them improve their cash flow. We can do the same for you. The health care industry is one of our major focuses, from small practices to hospital systems. With our data filters, accounts that are collectible can be focused on to provide you with maximum recovery.
To learn more about TSI’s revenue cycle management services, visit tsico.com/partner-resources/micromd
