Any business, even if it’s a noble service like healthcare can come to naught if payments are not received on time. Mounting accounts receivables and erratic cash flows are problems that many healthcare services are grappling with today. But surprisingly, the solution to these can be quite simple – diligent A/R follow-ups! Industry statistics tell us that not following up on unpaid claims results in nearly a 25% loss in revenue. Then a clear corollary that we can infer from this fact is that A/R follow-ups can significantly ramp up your health practice’s revenues.
What Do A/R Follow-ups entail?
A/R follow-ups is a systematic process that billing teams or medical billing companies follow to collect the outstanding payments. An A/R follow up process typically includes three main stages.
- Evaluation
- Analysis and Segregation based on Priority
- Collection
Why are A/R follow-ups important?
And if the boost in revenue is not enough reason for healthcare companies to focus on A/R follow-ups here are some more compelling reasons why you must make A/R follow-ups a key focus area of your practice.
1. Consistent Cash flows
When your healthcare practice has a proper A/R follow-up process, the first benefit that naturally follows is the consistency in your cash flows. A smooth cash flow ensures that your healthcare business is financially resilient to external shocks in the healthcare landscape.
2. Better financial health with improved metrics
Improved revenues and steady cash flows boost the financial health of your healthcare practice. And the betterment in financial robustness is reflected in all the important financial metrics of your practice like Lower A/R Days, Lower Cost to Collect, and Higher Net Patient Revenues.
3. Better tracking of unprocessed claims
Next to denials, the major reason for delayed payments could be that some claims are not received, or not processed for reasons as simple as a lack of information or oversight. A systematic A/R follow-up process can help you keep better track of claims and know it when claims are not received or processed.
4. More efficient denials management.
Denied claims gnaw away at your time and revenues. A dedicated team to follow up on A/R will ensure that the reasons for denials are quickly identified and rectified leading to timely re-submissions of denied claims and ultimately to a higher collection rate. So it is established beyond a doubt that there are measurable improvements in revenue that A/R follow-ups can bring to your healthcare practice. Professional medical billing agencies have the expertise and proficiency to follow up on your Accounts Receivables with more efficiency than your in-house teams. If you are looking for reliable assistance in A/R calling and follow-ups, reach out to us today. At Rannsolve, we have a systematic approach to A/R follow-ups and train our teams constantly, so when we partner with you we can guarantee a sure dip in your A/R days and a hike in your revenues.
Imagine putting all your money in a bag with a hole!
But denials, the proverbial holes in the coffers of healthcare businesses are mostly left unmanaged.
Here are some helpful strategies for healthcare businesses to get a better grip on their denial management process.1.
Metrics like Initial denial rate, claims, and dollar rates give you the exact picture of the problem.
So it makes more sense to focus your denial prevention efforts on the initial stages of the cycle.3.
Since the root causes of denials can be buried in the processes and practices of any department, effective denial management demands concerted efforts and shared accountability from all departments and staff.
