Accounts receivable management is a foreign land to many. But it’s absolutely crucial to have experienced and knowledgeable staff taking care of it for your practice. Without the proper knowledge and expertise, it’s very common to make mistakes that can complicate your collections process. Not to mention your entire accounts receivable management. In an attempt to help you reduce the number of mistakes that are made in this domain, we’ve rounded up 4 common mistakes that you should be on the lookout for and work to correct.
Inadequate staff to manage the accounts
Is your staff well trained on how to manage your accounts receivable? Maintaining trained staff to oversee your accounts is integral to keeping your accounts receivable low. Make sure to vet potential employees for proper qualifications or give them access to training. By doing so, they can learn how to prioritize patient collections, avoid internal billing and coding errors. It will also help you communicate clearly with your patients to verify their information and educate them on your policies.
Patient collection mistakes
Lots of effort should be directed into patient collections to avoid having to chase patients down to provide payment down the road. Reduce the number of patient collection mistakes you make by maintaining and updating patient information on file before every visit and tracking delinquent accounts. Additionally, keep a credit card on file for all patients and require patients to pay at the time of treatment. It’s also wise to transparently share your policies and processes with your patients upfront. You can then review your monthly financial reports to catch anything out of the ordinary.
Write-offs go unreviewed
Always review write-offs to see if there are any errors or opportunities to capitalize on. Tracking both contractual and non-contractual write-offs will empower you to improve your revenue cycle and collect what you’re owed. Always review your write-off reports every month, or even more frequently, to take advantage of what you can. Stick to your fee and reimbursement schedules and keep track of them. This way you won’t apply the wrong adjustments to charges when payments are posted.
Claim denials aren’t looked into
Get curious and stay curious about your claim denials. Keeping your business cash flow positive is incredibly important for your bottom line. Identifying errors before making claims is essential to maximizing their success. Make it a habit to check your claims for coding errors, payer errors, missed deadlines, and other denials before submitting your claims to lower your denial rate.
Medical accounts receivable management is no simple thing to navigate. Our team here at Frost-Arnett is ready and willing to help you optimize your healthcare business operations and resolve any high accounts receivable. Contact us at 1 (855) 287-7043 to learn more about how we can help you ease the pain of debt collection!