Revenue cycle management (RCM) is a vital process for modern healthcare practices. While this process can often be challenging and confusing, the good news is that there are a variety of technological solutions that can make the RCM process much more streamlined and efficient. At Bikham Healthcare, we leverage a number of these RCM tools and technologies in order to help the healthcare practices that we work with manage their revenue cycle in the most time-and-cost-effective way possible. To help explain how these tools and technologies work to make RCM more effective, efficient, and affordable, let’s take a look at everything you need to know about the role that technology plays in revenue cycle management.
What is Revenue Cycle Management?
The revenue cycle is defined as the steps that take place between a customer purchasing a product or service and the company offering this product or service collecting the money they are owed. For many companies such as retail stores, the entire revenue cycle takes place in a matter of minutes, with customers making a purchase and paying for that purchase at the same time and location. For healthcare practices, though, the revenue cycle is not nearly so straightforward. Due to the complex nature of medical billing and collections, healthcare practices are required to implement a thorough and strategic RCM process that will ensure that payments are collected in full and in a timely manner.
The RCM process for healthcare practices tends to include steps such as:
- Claim Preparation – The RCM process begins by collecting a patient’s information regarding their eligibility and insurance coverage.
- Claim Submission – After a service has been provided, healthcare practices must then create a claim, code the charges for that claim, and submit the claim to the patient’s insurance provider.
- Claim Management – Once a claim has been submitted, healthcare organizations must then actively manage that claim in order to address any issues, disputes, or denials that might arise with the patient’s insurance provider.
- Receivables Collection – The final step in the RCM process for healthcare organizations is actually collecting payment from either the patient’s insurance provider, the patient themselves, or both.
While certainly essential, completing the steps outlined above for every patient that is treated at your facility can be an incredibly time-consuming process and one that is wrought with the potential for costly errors. Thankfully, the right technological solutions can go a long way toward making the RCM process more efficient and error-free.
The Role of Technology in Revenue Cycle Management
RCM tools and technological solutions work to streamline the RCM process by automating many of the tasks that it requires. Databases that include electronic health records, for example, can be used to streamline the coding and claims process while also reducing the likelihood of errors or incomplete forms by providing your staff with a comprehensive and easy-to-navigate database of patient information. Software solutions powered by artificial intelligence, meanwhile, can be used to automate many manual, redundant tasks associated with coding, billing, collections, and denials processing.
Today, at a time when staffing shortages are a pressing concern for many healthcare facilities across the country, the ability to streamline the RCM process and automate many of the tasks that it entails is especially useful. If you would like to start leveraging the technological solutions that will make RCM a much less time-consuming process for your healthcare practice, we at Bikham Healthcare are able to help.
Modernize Your RCM Process With Help From Bikham Healthcare
At Bikham Healthcare, we are proud to utilize the latest RCM tools and technologies in order to help the clients we work with manage their revenue cycle in a way that is both more efficient and more accurate alike. From AI-driven software that automates many redundant tasks to electronic health record databases that ensure accurate and easy-to-access information, we at Bikham Healthcare offer a variety of incredibly useful RCM technologies to healthcare practices across the country. To learn more about how Bikham Healthcare can help your practice modernize its RCM process with the latest tools and technologies, be sure to contact us today.
