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The Biggest Revenue Cycle Challenges for Small Practices

Providers of all shapes and sizes are struggling to adjust their revenue cycle to accommodate changes in the billing world. For small practices, having to rely less on large-sum payments and more on patient payments presents revenue cycle challenges. 

There are several revenue cycle challenges that small practices face every day that keep them from achieving financial success.

Revenue Cycle Challenges:

1) Patient Payments

One of the most unavoidable revenue cycle challenges that small practice providers face is the receiving of patient payments. With the rise of high-deductible plans in the US, providers struggle to receive enough from patient payments. Patients are no longer budgeting for the medical expenses as they would with a low deductive plan. The good news about this revenue cycle challenge is that it is one that every small practice is facing.

2) Resources

Whether it be software, billing staff, funds, a lack of resources is another common revenue cycle challenge. Without the right tools, it can be nearly impossible to collect patient payments. Billing resources include things like online payment processing, online bill view, patient education, credit card processing, and other billing tools.

3) Software

Without the right software, providers are not able to file their claims most effectively, identify coding errors, and monitor the productivity of their billing staff. A lack of quality billing software is a common revenue cycle challenge that leaves providers unable to optimize their billing workflow and leaves them with a high number of denied claims and a suffering bottom line.

Solutions to These Challenges:

While some of these revenue cycle challenges may seem impossible to conquer, there are always affordable solutions to help for small practices in need.

1) Medical Billing Software

While implementing quality billing software may seem like a heavy upfront investment, the return is well worth it. Medical billing software helps to tackle and defeat multiple revenue cycle challenges that small practices face. It helps attain more patient payments by integrating new payment options, educating your patients, and enabling providers to optimize their billing schedule. Medical Billing Software includes tools like mass claims processing, insurance verification, payment reminders, and 24/7 accessibility. Depending on the vendor, quality software is affordable, cloud-based, and allows for as many account users as your practice needs.

2) RCM Services

By partnering with a U.S. based RCM services vendor, providers optimize their billing workflow, increase their clean claims up to 99%, gain access to billing experts, and earn more from difficult collections. The right vendor of RCM services helps providers address some of the more difficult revenue cycle challenges by giving your practice the extra help it needs to address rooted issues. RCM services address revenue challenges like denials to help identify your most common causes for denials and reduce them. Your vendor should offer claims scrubbing to identify any potential for denials before the claim is submitted, improving your number of clean claims up to 99%. They are also able to address the revenue cycle challenge of getting payments from patients in collections. They have the staff and time to dedicate to these difficult payments, positively impacting your bottom line.

3) Online Patient Payments

Online patient payments are a simple solution to some revenue cycle challenges that small practices face that encourages more frequent payments from their patients. A common reason patients avoid payments is that they do not know the best way to do it. Online payment integration with their payment portal allows patients to make, payments the moment they remember, via credit card, making the entire process simpler and more accessible for them.

4) Patient Engagement Tools

Patient engagement tools are also another way to dispute revenue cycle challenges and increase payments. These tools include online payment options, but also payment plan options that should be included in your practice management software. It also includes patient education tools, patient portal billing integration, and text/email payment reminders to help them stay on top of their medical expenses. The more engaged a patient is in their medical billing, the more likely they are to make on-time or even in-full patient payments.

To learn more about how to tackle these touch revenue cycle challenges, click here.

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