MedEvolve Blog

Statistics show it no longer makes sense to use in-house resources to follow up on past-due patient accounts. If you aren’t collecting before or during the visit, your likelihood of collecting the balance at all decreases significantly.  

Relying on sending statements every month, making periodic phone calls and hoping balances will be paid is a strategy that's no longer effective. Now that your patients are one of your top payers, you need to be proactive and rethink your collection process to ensure success.  

It’s much more effective to automate these efforts so you can use your valuable in-house resources on more productive tasks.

Is your physician practice experiencing the 10-10-10 Rule?

This phrase refers to the ever-diminishing chances practices have of collecting on patient debt by manually calling homes and individuals. According to our findings:

• Just 10 percent of calls made actually connect with a person.
• Of those connected calls, only 10 percent reach the intended recipient.
• And of those calls that are answered by the right person, just 10 percent are able or willing to pay.
  

Today, patients are the third-leading payer in the country behind Medicare and Medicaid. If practices continue to chase after collections with manual phone calls, patient debt will continue to pile up. Practices are businesses in the end, and now they're dealing with consumers, not just patients. In order to survive, let alone thrive, they must confront the new realities of healthcare. 

(Little Rock, Arkansas – June 20, 2018) – MedEvolve, Inc., a national provider of practice management (PM), revenue cycle management (RCM) and analytics software and services for specialty practices, announced today the company’s Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) services team achieved its largest collection month in company history. This record month is a direct result of the operational redesign of the RCM department, its technology and processes, that took place in April—an effort the company and its clients will continue to see a positive impact from moving forward.

With technological innovations and digital advancements inevitable, it's important for healthcare professionals to stay up to date on the expected developments in 2018. After identifying major health and technology trends to keep an eye out for in 2018, leaders from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) of North America highlighted a common theme for the new year: patients will value a deeper connection between providers, information and technology. Plus, providers will begin to rely more heavily on technology and digital health solutions for data collection, cyberattack protection and increased ease and efficiency in patient care.

With a new year comes new insurance coverage for many patients. When resources and time are stretched thin, it's easy for some tasks to fly under the radar, like checking patient eligibility. However, to prevent delayed payments, each office should request insurance cards (and scan them) for any patient being seen for the first time in the new year. And, while you’re at it, be sure to double check and update demographic information, such as addresses, phone numbers, etc..

Inefficient upfront benefit verification processes open practices up to costly risks. Providing care to patients without the proper coverage will turn reimbursement into a considerably uphill, if not impossible, climb.

(Little Rock, AR – November 20, 2017) – MedEvolve, Inc., a national provider of practice management (PM), revenue cycle management (RCM) and analytics software and services for physician practices, announced today the company was named one of the Top 10 Medical Practice Management Solution Providers for 2017 by Healthcare Tech Outlook Magazine.

This recognition is very timely for MedEvolve as the company has invested a significant amount of time and resources to ensure MedEvolve Practice Management (PM) is best of breed. One of the main focuses of the company's development efforts has been building in more automation that helps practices run their businesses more efficiently. This new functionality includes features that capture payments and check eligibility in advance, or at the time of service, to prevent claim denials which slow down cash flow.

MedEvolve, Inc., a national provider of practice management (PM), revenue cycle management (RCM) and analytics software and services for physician practices, announced today the company’s bookings for third quarter fiscal year 2017 were the highest in its nearly 20-year history for the second quarter in a row. In addition to net new bookings in Q3, the company earned several MedEvolve Practice Management software and service renewals for two to three year commitments, which illustrates client loyalty and confidence as the company continues to launch market leading technology and services.

“The main catalyst for MedEvolve's recent success is our focus on providing data-driven solutions that give decision makers easy access to actionable financial and operational insights,” said Matt Rolfes, CEO of MedEvolve. “The opportunities of Big Data are not exclusive to larger organizations like hospitals and health systems, physician practices also need to leverage their data to find opportunity within their balance sheets and provide cash for growth.”

Check out our latest infographic which outlines the patient payment problem, best practices for patient account resolution and tips on how to improve collections at your practice. 

As more of the financial burden of healthcare falls on patients, many are finding themselves underwater and unable to pay at the time of service. A consequence of this trend is rising patient debt, which is increasing exponentially.  A 2016 survey from Physicians Foundation found that 40 percent of patients have medical debt. Unfortunately for providers, this creates a growing credit risk. 

Practices must rethink their revenue cycle strategy as more financial responsibility is placed on the patient.  Simply sending a bill after a patient visit, a standard practice for most providers, is becoming less and less effective. Statistics tell us that once a patient steps outside the office door after a visit or procedure, the balance due is not likely to be paid, now or ever.

With a greater portion of healthcare costs falling on the shoulders of patients, physicians are less likely to see the types of revenue streams they previously relied on. Unfortunately, reimbursements for medical services are not expected to increase, and are becoming more and more challenging to attain.

In the past, practices focused on increasing revenue to ensure financial success. Today, the focus must shift to decreasing cost—and therefore increasing margin. Physician practices cannot only rely on providing excellent care, they must also be business savvy and fiscally minded. 

No specialty practice wants to sacrifice patient care to increase its margin. We know physicians need to spend more time with patients and less time on administrative functions to sustain a healthy business. According to InstaMed's 2016 Trends in Healthcare Payments Seventh Annual Report, the average physician spends 21 percent of their day on non-clinical adminstrative tasks. Outsourcing some administrative functions, like billing and collections, can help reduce the administrative burden and is often more cost-effective than hiring additional staff.

Maintaining provider income will continue to be a key priority for practices nationwide in these times of regulatory uncertainty. Answers to the revenue problem have never been simple, but now physicians must deal with increasing patient responsibility and decreasing payer reimbursement.

There's more to the issue than simply cost containment. Practices must adopt a holistic view of expenses and observe their cash flow closely so they can maintain–and possibly even increase–their revenue. Other means like diversifying service offerings and attracting more of the right patients will lead to more revenue for the benefit of all.

By being proactive and constantly vigilant, physicians ensure healthy revenue streams for themselves and their practices. When provider income stabilizes, practices are able to provide better services for patients. 

Download our article to learn six ways that can help maintain provider income for your practice!