Trend Talk – How the Move to “Work from Home” affects your RCM
Trend Talk – How the Move to “Work from Home” affects your RCM
While we can tentatively say that the pandemic is behind us, it has left a lasting impact on healthcare reimbursement and triggered another major change in the industry—remote work.
Like many businesses across the world, healthcare organizations sent much of their staff home to minimize the spread of COVID-19. For months, RCM team members have been working accounts remotely with the use of digital solutions that enable workers to sign in virtually.
The work-from-home trend certainly brought many challenges, including rapid implementation of digital work solutions, increased needs for security and compliance controls, and productivity concerns. But it could become the new normal for medical A/R management now that organizations have worked through the challenges.
The extent to which providers will enable from home flexibility remains to be seen, but we know that some changes are bound to stay in place with 75 percent of health systems and large hospitals considering permanent changes to their workspaces including WFH options.
As providers consider their options, we will see a lot more scrutiny of due diligence to identify revenue cycle management solutions that not only support the operational needs, but also ensure compliance and productivity in a work from home environment.
One such shift in the industry is the increasing popularity of outsourced RCM solutions for practices. With the culture already being familiar with the RCM work being accessed outside of the office, practices are turning to specialized custom solutions that fit their RCM needs directly and eliminate the challenges that in-house revenue cycle management presents.
In a recent webinar, our very own Jacqueline Todd discusses the benefits of outsourced RCM solutions. You can watch the recording of the webinar HERE.
In summary, the trends in the healthcare industry are leaning more and more towards adapting to Work from Home environments, or outsourcing solutions to resolve the challenges practices are facing with the in-house operations. When revenue, scale, and increased patient-engagement are top of mind for the foreseeable future, investing in the right RCM solution could mean the difference for a financially healthy business.