Prospects for US hospitals that closed out 2022 at a financial loss looked brighter by the end of 2023, prompting cautious optimism heading into 2024. An industry analysis published in October 2023 found that most hospitals were back in the black from March 2023 onward, while the economy more generally ended the year with a strong finish. That said, healthcare margins remain slim, and expenses continue to grow. Finding efficiency savings across all operations remains a top priority. That’s where revenue cycle automation comes in.
With revenue cycle automation, providers can eliminate many of the persistent pain points in traditional revenue cycle management (RCM). Staff no longer lose time to tedious manual tasks, patients get their queries answered faster, and managers get the meaningful data they need to drive improvements. And the biggest win? It’s easier for providers to get reimbursed for the services they provide – faster and in full.
What is revenue cycle automation and how does it work?
Healthcare revenue cycle management knits together the financial and clinical components of care to ensure providers are properly reimbursed. As staff and patients know all too well, this can be a complex and time-consuming process, involving repetitive tasks and lengthy forms to ensure the right parties get the right information at the right time. This requires data pulled from multiple databases and systems for accurate claims and billing, and is a perfect use case for automation.
Revenue cycle automation refers to the application of robotic process automation (RPA) to these repetitive, rules-based processes. In practice, this might include:
Automatically generating and issuing invoices, bills and financial statements
Streamlining patient data management and exchanging information quickly and reliably
Processing digital payments
Collating and analyzing performance data to draw out useful insights.
Common RCM challenges
Automation is already making headway in tackling some of the most pervasive challenges, such as:
Stemming the rise in claim denials: Experian Health’s State of Claims 2022 survey found that a third of providers had around 10-15% of their claims denied. These often result from errors made earlier in the revenue cycle such as incorrect patient information or overlooked pre-authorizations. RCM automation reduces the propensity for errors significantly.
Streamlining patient access: Without a welcoming digital front door, the revenue cycle gets off on the wrong foot. Automation can be deployed in patient scheduling and registration to ensure patient information is collected and stored quickly and accurately.
Improving collections rates: Self-pay patients (who are increasing in number) want clear, upfront information about what their care is likely to cost. Providers can find themselves playing catch-up if patients are unsure about what they owe. Automated tools that generate accurate estimates and support pre-service payment can build a more resilient cash flow.
Expanding access to data insights: One of the biggest ironies in revenue cycle management is that more data is collected than ever, but managers are struggling to digest it and uncover actionable insights. RCM automation helps identify patterns in claims and collections.
Six ways revenue cycle automation accelerates reimbursements
Let’s break down these opportunities into six specific actions providers can take to improve their organization’s financial health:
1. Capture accurate information quickly during patient access
Just like any business, healthcare organizations must maintain a positive cash flow to remain viable and continue serving their communities. Together, these six revenue cycle automation strategies can cut through many of the common obstacles that get in the way of financial stability and growth.
Learn more about Experian Health’s revenue cycle management technology and see where automation could have the biggest impact on your organization’s financial health.
Learn more
Contact us
The post Revenue cycle automation – 6 ways it speeds up reimbursements appeared first on Healthcare Blog.
