7 Ways to Improve Accounts Receivable and Cash Flow

Could your healthcare facility make use of cash flow sitting stagnant in your Accounts Receivable(AR)?  
Are issues like claim denial, bad debts, needless write-offs, and high staffing turnover hindering your cash flow and efficiency?  
Do you simply want to ensure you are running your medical billing in the most productive and profitable manner? 

Below are 7 ways to make sure your AR is efficient and you improve cash flow! 
1. Create a Routine for Follow-Ups – Whether you follow up daily, weekly, or once a month- you should have a set routine.  A routine ensures no claim goes without being followed-up and that they are followed-up in the most efficient and correct manner.  Have a system for when you follow-up via email, through online portals, and phone call (phone calls tend to be more successful).  A routine might include which day of the week/month you follow-up, how you initially conduct the follow-up (phone call, portal or email), how far between follow-ups, your secondary follow-up method, and so on.  A routine will ensure claims do not get forgotten or swept under the rug.
2. Have a System with Checks and Balances – As you are establishing a routine, implementing a system with checks and balances will make certain your claims are proofread, accurate, complete, and ready to be collected.  By putting more than one set of eyes on your claims, you can save valuable time and by not needing to spend labor correcting and resubmitting claims. Yes, you may think the labor of having extra eyes might outweigh the benefit- but, even just a few seconds of review can save hours of having the same person try to figure out what caused the error
3. Increase the Frequency of Collection – If you are currently submitting and/or only following up monthly on your claims, then you may consider increasing your submissions to bi-monthly, weekly, or bi-weekly.  Increasing your billing cycles means the recipient gets the claim sooner, and in return the claim can be collected sooner.
4. Be Proactive – This may be a no-brainer and a practice you already adhere to, but before a patient comes in for their appointment or treatment, verify their insurance to make sure they are qualified with your facility.  This can save both you and your patient major headaches when it comes to getting bills paid and collecting AR.  When the patient is aware of their copay and deductibles coming into the appointment, they can be more prepared, and you will be too when it comes time to collect. 
5. Review, Review, Review Write-offs! – Before writing a claim off, go through all payment options and be sure each have been utilized, plenty of follow-ups have been conducted, and the claim is correct.  Rather than just throwing things at the write-off pile, be thorough and adamant about what gets written off and try hard to collect before resorting to writing off.
6. Run Accounts Receivable Reports – Examining trends in your collections and accounts receivables will show your team where they need to shift their focus.  REVEX can quickly and efficiently run custom AR reports to help you identify trends and boost your billing team’s efficiency and cash flow.
7.  Outsource! – Outsourcing your collections on claims, old AR, and AR reports can save you time, money, and increase your cash flow exponentially!  For example, REVEX is an automated medical billing service and software that can be customized to your specific billing needs.  Do you have a high turnover in your billing staff?  Trust REVEX to step in seamlessly with our 20+ experienced billing managers on staff to help with your headaches.  REVEX software helps our teamwork with your team to communicate and delegate your AR collections for optimal collections.  Any billing problems you have, let REVEX help!
Please leave comments, questions, and feel free to expand on our post at the bottom of the page!  We love to hear from other professionals in the industry and to collaborate on how medical billing processes can be improved!  Thanks for reading.