Revenue Challenges Resulting From COVID
Revenue Challenges Resulting From COVID
Although there are exceptions to every rule, the impact of Covid-19 has been marked by sharp declines in patient care volume and, in turn, patient care revenue.
While economic recovery will surely be on the horizon for the industry, the outlook proves to be a slower increase than the sharp decline experienced during the height of Covid. So how can a provider begin the process of economic recovery for their business? One thing that providers can do is evaluate and improve their operational processes of their revenue cycle management system.
While practices worked to increase service offerings, improve the patient care experience, and increase operational efficiencies, better revenue cycle manager practices will be the most efficient and effective way for providers to regain their position and pull them out of the turbulence that Covid created.
When you review practice/business operations, the proper management and optimization of the revenue cycle for the business is the low hanging fruit in this equation. It’s the most obvious improvement that will lead to economic recovery of many practices.
Due to the tight social distancing restrictions, many practices were forced to reduce the volume of patients in 2020, resulting in poor revenues and reduces overall business income. Although provider revenue loss estimates can vary widely from study to study, it is commonly understood that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, a significant negative impact on provider revenue streams.
Keeping improvements and optimizations in mind, providers are advised to undertake a comprehensive and focused audit of its revenue cycle management to determine whether it is as efficient and robust as it can be given the current opportunities of revenue cycle outsourcing services. As reported by RSM US, revenue cycle audits and improvements typically yield a minimum of 3-4% improvement on net revenue with an average return on investment of 3:1.
Although much of the healthcare revenue disruptions seem beyond a healthcare provider’s control, a focus on revenue cycle management gives control back to the practices. Through a financial health audit businesses can identify the shortcomings, pain points and processes. Having a financial health roadmap generated from an audit will provide the steps needed for practices to implement RCM services that in turn support their strategies to improve cash flows for short-term and long-term benefits.
Knowing that Revenue Cycle Management is key to economic improvement in healthcare, Alta RCM Solutions assists practices with the identification of service gaps, financial health, and time management. With a wide range of services available to practices, one of Alta’s unique services is the ability to provide end-to-end, customizable RCM solutions. With an emphasis on custom solutions, Alta provides businesses with the solutions they need without all the things they don’t. In addition to customization, Alta also offers an improvement guarantee for key business metrics that are identified in their free financial health evaluation.