01st Oct 2020
Estimated reading time : 5 Minutes
Managing Accounts Receivables in Covid-19
Accounts receivable is one of the major factors in the revenue cycle management. With almost all major economies of the world coming to a standstill due to stringent lockdown and social-distancing measures, most organizations are reeling for cash. The tremors of disruption have been felt across supply chains. Hospital administrators are doing their best to keep the lights on amid sharp revenue decreases. As hospitals have reallocated resources to combat the pandemic, revenue-generating elective surgeries and in-person visits have dried up. No inflow of cash, alongside still, fixed costs going out in of the form of staff or employee expenses, equipment maintenance, has necessitated an aggressive approach towards receivables.
Although it is financially challenging to keep the business office running during this time, it is a key that practices work to maintain a streamlined revenue cycle that focuses on patient collections, tight denial management and follow-up automation.
According to a survey released by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), 97% of medical practices have experienced a negative financial impact and report, on average, a 55% decrease in revenue and 60% decrease in patient volume since the beginning of the crisis.
This drastic drop in revenue and patient volume forces medical practices to furlough or lay off staff. According to the survey as of April’20, 48% of practices have had to furlough staff and 22% had let some of their employees go. Employer layoffs will bring a shift in most practices’ payer mix. This highlights the importance of checking eligibility for every patient. It also highlights the need to have automated processes to facilitate the collection of outstanding balances such as online and mobile payment capabilities, automated credit card deductions for payment plans, estimation tools, and automated collection letters and phone calls.
As is expected every time practices start using new diagnoses and procedure codes, we should anticipate an influx of denials due to coding errors. Leverage your denial management tool to detect these denials as quickly as possible. The goal should be to implement processes to enhance documentation and to configure coding rules within your practice management system to capture and automatically correct possible errors before the claims are billed out.
But when there are proficient ways and systems to guide you, there will be no time, money or energy wasted from your side. The best solution is to outsource your accounts receivables that are sure to save you a lot of money, time and resources. No matter how big or small your business is, this is something that will certainly help you with potential of a second COVID-19 wave in the fall, organizations should implement an infrastructure to support a revenue cycle system that can be managed remotely. Read on to know the benefits you have when you outsource
accounts receivable management services:
- One of the biggest advantages you will have if you decide to outsource
your account receivables is that it will certainly improve your cash flow.
Since outsourcing companies usually use advanced electronic billing system and
other user-friendly payment options, your receivables are processed within no
time. - If you outsource your account receivables services to a third-party
service provider, then they will be able to deliver the needful with immense
accuracy, efficiency and without any delays. - But outsourcing account receivables management services to a third-party
company will help you automate your receivables that have been overdue
by a month or two or even more than a year helping you save money. - You will save a lot of money on buying the equipment and have
more time in your hands which can be utilized in improving your sales
and other important business activities. - An outsourcing company will make sure to establish all the credit
policies clearly and have an effective screening of the clients that will help
you know which of your clients have a strong credit history and which ones do
not. This will help you to understand which client will pay you back
sooner and help you save lots of money in the long run.
Outsourcing services might make you quiet hesitant about their services and the quality of their work. But do not worry. Viaante is one of the top providers of account receivables management
services. We at Viaante offer account receivables management services globally, which help you lessen the burden of your shoulders and carry it out with 100% accuracy, dedication and transparency. Viaante, a leader of accounts receivable management services in India, has long periods of expertise and experience in giving medical AR services to worldwide healthcare providers. When you outsource AR Management to Viaante, you can profit by competent, cost-effective, reliable and specialised healthcare accounts receivable services.
To know more, log on to www.viaante.com
