Five Tips for Getting the Most Out of Revenue Cycle Technology

With the growing demands of health care reform, getting appropriate reimbursement has become a bigger challenge. Many billing services look to revenue cycle management solutions to simplify claims processing and to meet new standards, such as the version 5010 format and ICD-10 code set requirements.

But, how can you make sure you and your clients get the most out of revenue cycle management technology? Here are a few tips:

1. Engage any staff that might use the technology throughout the entire selection process to ensure there is buy-in from the beginning. Create an advisory committee that represents staff members from diverse backgrounds and skill levels to test out options before committing to a partner.

2. Involve your staff in continued education with trade organizations, such as HBMA, so they will be more prepared as the industry changes (i.e., 5010 and ICD-10) and additional technology solutions become available.

3. Ensure your technology partner delivers ongoing training and customer support. Even if the technology itself is useful, you may not realize its full potential without adequate customer support and training for you and your clients. Ideally, you want to be able to quickly reach a real person (not a list of menu options), who answers all of your questions in one phone call.

4. Confirm in advance that the new technology solution will fit seamlessly within your existing workflow. To further ease the transition, you can break the integration into phases to assess performance and challenges at each phase.

5. Choose a technology solution that extends your existing abilities by taking the next evolutionary step, keeping your organization on track with changes in the marketplace. Technology and the health care industry continue to change, so products that are expandable can grow with you and will not become outdated as quickly.

Click here to check out two short videos with some of my additional tips for getting the most out of revenue cycle management technology.