What is Revenue Cycle Management and Why Does it Matter?

Written by Erica Sobers

Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) is the process of utilizing medical billing software, that healthcare facilities use to track patient care episodes from registration and appointment scheduling to the final payment of a balance. (What is “Revenue Cycle Management“)

Financial management isn’t fun but it’s necessary for all healthcare organizations. Here at UPIC Health, we understand that cash flow is king. The “bottom line” is fundamental to every business. We are skilled and dedicated to eliminating as many barriers to care as possible for patients and providers alike. Most people only see one part of the process; patient scheduling, registration and payment collection. But that is just the beginning, as shown below, there are claims submissions, benefit verifications, and claims management. This helps to ease the process of maintaining financials and lets organizations focus on seeing patients.

Barriers to achieving an efficient RCM flow usually start at the front desk or when the appointment is made. Inaccuracies when collecting insurance information can cause huge issues including front desk staff thinking the patient does not have insurance, a lengthy verification process and patients being billed incorrectly and charged too much up front. Capturing patient data correctly is an essential component of the RCM process.

Having an efficient claims submission process can help detect costly errors in coding. Unidentified errors in the coding can result in patients being charged for services they did not receive or not being charged for services they did receive, leaving money on the table for the business.

Proper staff training, paying attention to detail and making sure no shortcuts are taken throughout the claims submissions process can all make a world of difference in the efficiency of the RCM process. At UPIC Health we are dedicated to making this process seamless for you.