The Digital Environment Revenue Cycle Management Companies Are Building

1. May 25, 2017 The Digital Environment Revenue Cycle Management Companies Are Building Image 1: Revenue Cycle Management Companies Aim to Let Hospitals Go Digital Major changes in revenue cycle management (RCM) technology are in store for health providers, including the small physician practice market. Currently, small medical practices are having a hard time handling the fast growth of patient payments, account management inefficiencies, and regulatory environment changes. These difficulties affect their collection of revenues, which can eventually derail the quality of services patients get when left ignored. P a g e 1 | 3

2. However, the use of electronic health records (EHR) is starting to change the landscape and improve the way healthcare organizations gather, analyze and report data. Experts believe that advanced RCM systems will keep on expanding as RCM providers work to incorporate new tools with unified platforms to enhance patient engagement, population health management and analytics. In fact, 97% of hospitals and nearly three quarters of providers are utilizing certified EHR technology. EHR implementation poses challenges, as well, since the shift from paper to electronic records would demand a lot of time, energy and capital of a healthcare organization. These changes also call for additional training for staff involved in RCM and familiarize themselves with the ins and outs of the technology. Despite this, more are expected to go digital with small practices believing that it’s wise to invest in RCM tools. There are several reasons why healthcare providers, especially small practices, can benefit from this modern environment that revenue cycle management companies are helping to build. Integrated Solution A unified system built on a single platform makes the RCM process tighter and more focused. Physicians are able to transfer data between EHR and claims and billing management systems. This then enhances the technology’s functionality and usability, making the entire process faster and more convenient. It saves a lot of time and energy on the part of the physicians. Closer Vendor Relationship Hospitals can establish a better partnership with a single RCM vendor. It removes the confusion and other difficulties brought by working with multiple vendors. Also, a single company that provides advanced RCM solutions can fix issues more efficiently as they understand and follow a single roadmap that they developed. Wider Variety of Tools More issues can now be addressed as more RCM software technologies are developed. There are now tools for patient outreach, patient engagement, population health management and analytics, among others. All these provide assistance to hospitals and physicians in crafting a plan and improving decision making, which are crucial in collecting revenues. P a g e 2 | 3

3. While the development of RCM systems are expanding, hospitals should keep up with the changes as well. It may not be that easy since facilities are used to the old methods. Apart from revenue cycle management companies, hospitals and healthcare providers may keep abreast of changes and even see improved revenue cycle management through the help of companies offering ACA enrollment assistance and eligibility management services. These companies can help them understand and deal with certain technological challenges like claims denials and resubmissions and how to monitor them using modern solutions. About DECO: DECO aims to enhance the revenue cycle management process of hospitals and healthcare providers with a compassionate patient-advocacy approach. We work to help you meet your target revenue while ensuring patient satisfaction among your uninsured and underinsured patients. We also design modern solutions and programs based on your software and internal departmental needs. Sources: After EHR Adoption, Revenue Cycle Modernization Begins, Revcycleintelligence.com Big Changes Ahead for Revenue Cycle Management Systems, Medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com P a g e 3 | 3