How To Improve Your Hospital Accounts Receivable?

By Your Health Magazine

Your Health Magazine

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How To Improve Your Hospital Accounts Receivable?

We know that health is wealth as the saying has been reiterated for years. Still, several people prioritize wealth over health. This phenomenon may seem disconnected from pressure points on the cash flows of a healthcare system, only till the domino effect spirals. It was observed during the pandemic that patients prioritized mortgage and other loan payments over settling their medical bills. The healthcare system cannot survive without positive cash flows. It has been observed that when patients don’t pay immediately, the healthcare providers are less likely to receive the complete dues.  A clinic or a hospital has to pay vendors like medical suppliers,  catering,  and cleaning companies that extend support services to the unit.

Many patients opted for cheaper plans with high deductibles to reduce their monthly expenses.  Post changes in the Affordable Care Act, patients owe more for care upfront. It is highly likely now that they may miss a payment or delay their medical needs. Financial hardships of patients will add to the burgeoning problem and delay the collection cycle. It becomes difficult to forecast the cash flows for healthcare providers. The solution lies in dealing with the crux of the problem through effective accounts receivable practices. If the days to outstanding reduces, the collection cycle becomes compact, and the accounts receivable are more productive. Managed accounts receivable can solve many persisting problems in healthcare billing that often add to issues like confusion over a billing item whereby the patients are not willing to pay for something they don’t understand. Here are a few tips that healthcare providers can use to improve their AR cycle:

• Use Automation

Automation has pre-fed information in the form of algorithms that streamline the healthcare billing and accounts receivable cycle. Repetitive and rule-based tasks are followed without committing any errors as the deep learning software gets it right the first time. Complete verification of the patient’s insurance leads to accurate claims without errors and future delays. Patients get reminder alerts from the system to pay their bills on time. Staff have more time on hand to focus on complex cases and spend quality time understanding their patient’s perspectives to improve their overall service standards. 

• Patient-Centric Practices

Healthcare is one sector where the target customer who is the patient cannot avoid the service for a long period.  At the same time,  it is an ethical practice to know that the patients are not well-versed in medical terminology.   If the bills are simple and comprehensible for a nonmedical person,  then the patients will not confuse complex treatment names. The best should be easy to understand and avoid medical jargon. An item is a breakdown of the treatment provided and the cost associated with it should be mentioned. Clarity is the first defense against delays and setbacks.

Conclusion:

Automation and clear intentions will increase the confidence of the patients in their local clinic and trusted hospital network. With multiple gateways to pay the dues will be collected in time.