Today’s revenue cycle management outsourcers face a challenging environment — one that continually changes and grows with complexities. Evolving insurance requirements, increasing medical debt with more patient financial responsibility, managing a growing remote workforce … these are just a few of the various barriers that slow down the path to financial success.

In this ever-changing environment, RCM outsourcing organizations must find ways to reduce the cost to collect and drive revenue — leveraging the right technology (with the right approach) is the key to getting there. So, the question then becomes, “Can your current technology get you there?”

To help you determine if your current technology is up to the challenge, let’s look at three critical pillars of RCM success that your tech stack should help you accomplish.

1. The Ability to Make Data-Driven Decisions

If you’re like many organizations managing RCM operations, you’re using multiple data sources and vendor solutions which creates an environment that can make it difficult to identify, communicate, and resolve issues across the revenue cycle continuum.

If your staff has to navigate these various systems to gather the data points necessary to work their account inventory, they are likely impeded with a challenging, disjointed process. This means your account representatives rely on manual processes, increasing the likelihood of human error as well as significantly slowing the speed to payment.

This disjointed process also prevents you from getting the holistic view that provides the actionable data you need to identify gaps in your revenue cycle. Without these insights, it’s impossible to create an environment that fosters organizational transparency and ensures your staff is operating as efficiently as possible. Your tech stack should provide that holistic view while enhancing your staff’s end-user experience to create transparent and quality assurance-based performance measures in support of their daily activities.

2. Support the Acceleration of Financial Results

Most revenue cycle management leaders would agree that when it comes to achieving financial success, speeding the path to payment and account resolution is perhaps the most critical aspect of the RCM process. But in truth, most lack the technology to create efficient processes and lift the administrative burdens that allow their account representatives to recover more in less time.

When you think about how efficiently your staff is operating, ask yourself a few questions:

— Do I have repeatable processes that speed the onboarding of new clients to work accounts earlier in those new relationships?

— Do I have standardized processes that enhance my staff’s onboarding experience and get them collecting more faster?

— Am I able to segment accounts to ensure my reps are focused on work that drives the highest yield?

— Ultimately, am I able to maximize each dollar collected by reducing the staff hours it takes to collect?

Without the ability to standardize and optimize processes, your revenue recovery efforts will continue to suffer and your accounts will languish in A/R.

3. Help You Maximize Your Current Resources

Doing more with less isn’t about reducing head count, it’s about making the best use of the talent you have. Some of your biggest revenue drains are likely tied directly to your ability to empower your staff to work smarter, not harder.

Consider this: All day long your account representatives are working, following up on patient balances, claims, and denials. Are you able to direct their activities based on your business strategy? Is your current solution automating workflow and prioritizing accounts to ensure your reps are making the most of every call? Do they have the tools to promote patient self-service, allowing them to focus on accounts requiring human interaction?

If your current solution isn’t equipped with advanced technologies like workflow automation, enhanced patient and payer engagement channels, AI and RPA tech, and payment processing, you’re not setting yourself up to get the most out of your resources.

Making a Difference with Technology

If you found yourself relating to these various pain points and are questioning your technology’s ability to successfully navigate the complexities facing your RCM organization, you’re not alone. The good news is, there are technology solutions out there today that can help you achieve revenue recovery excellence.

In the coming weeks, we’ll take a deeper dive into each of these pillars of RCM success and talk more about how through a data-driven workflow technology solution, you can maximize resources and accelerate financial outcomes, and ultimately transform the payment journey for clients and patients.

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