Are you asking yourself the right questions?
Revenue cycle management can be a cumbersome component of running your practice and managers often become so comfortable with current protocols that they don’t recognize how industry changes are impacting their business. Once it becomes apparent that something needs to be done to improve collections, where do you start? The questions and concerns can become overwhelming, but the worst thing you can do is avoid change and remain at a standstill. How are practices supposed to know what questions to ask themselves and the companies they are considering outsourcing to?
We sat down with Universal Health Network’s (UHN) CEO Peter Wall last week at ASTRO 2014 in San Francisco and discussed the questions he advises potential new clients to ask themselves.
- With extensive coding changes on the horizon, who is going to train your staff?
- How much will that training cost you?
- How much time will that training take up?
- Who is acting on your behalf with local representatives to fight increased reimbursement cuts proposed by CMS?
- How will you make up for the revenue lost with these inevitable cuts?
- How do you measure and improve the efficiency of your revenue cycle management process?
- Can your billing protocols be simplified?
- How much money each month could you be losing due to ineffective processes?
- If you decide to outsource, how will the cash flow transition work?
- Do you have anyone fostering relationships with payers across the board? Ex: Insurance Providers, Medicare, Medicaid etc.
- Can you provide cost estimates for all kinds of payers if a patient requests it?
- What is your biggest fear regarding outsourcing your billing? Is it fear of the unknown, fear of losing control or fear of wasted revenue?
Coding changes and reimbursement cuts account for just the first round of adjustments radiation oncology practices and organizations will need to make in order to remain successful. The team at UHN has been working to stay ahead of the curve in regards to industry changes, urging practices to see that they can do better.
Wall commented saying, “We tell our clients, don’t settle for your current income. Don’t you want to be making more? You could be collecting up to $10,000 more each month, we want to help make that happen.”
UHN’s goal is to be a resource powerhouse for radiation oncology practices, giving them the tools to increase revenue and improve their processes. To discuss the customized answers to the aforementioned questions that UHN can provide to your practice, simply fill out the form below.