Healthcare BusinessAddressing the Revenue Cycle Labor Shortage with Technology and Outsourcing in Healthcare

The COVID-19 outbreak has caused significant and enduring disruption to the medical coding jobs in the United States, including in hospitals and medical institutions. There are 11.3 million job openings in the United States as of February 2022, but only 6.3 million unemployed workers.

When faced with a labor shortage, hospitals’ first inclination is to hire more aggressively or turn to pricey, short-term contractors. However, there are other approaches that can alleviate some of the stress on your current personnel while still resolving the issue in the short and long term.

The Necessity of Workflow and Personnel Management Systems

Almost all hospitals and revenue cycle organizations lack the technology to track the efficiency of remote personnel. The modernization of the hospital revenue cycle relies heavily on operational data. Each revenue cycle process’s performance and productivity data is critical to the overall efficiency and efficacy of the entire revenue cycle or collection efficiency.
While revenue cycle KPIs are important, many administrators just focus on the efficiency of each component operation. Hospital administrators are looking for a more efficient workflow. However, the existing application structure does not enable this.

The Use of a Cloud-Based IT Solution

For this reason, IT managers must ensure that mission-critical EHR & RCM platforms are available at all times and from any location. Moreover, increasing numbers of physicians are using SaaS-based EMR/RCM technologies.

Automating the Workflow

Using AI, RPA, and machine learning in clinical and non-clinical revenue cycle solutions is helping to alleviate some of the pressure on revenue cycle managers. Repetitive, labor-intensive work can be moved to machines by using technology and automation.
Claims status automation and the use of portals, for example, help to cut call center staffing. People will be happier at work if you release them from routine tasks and allow them to engage in more meaningful ones.

Operational Rigor

Despite the fact that everyone in the revenue cycle talks about managing tighter operations, only a handful have actually invested time and money into building workflow tools that allow them to track, monitor, and manage the productivity of each person. Short-term advantages in financial outcomes can be expected as a result of transactional efficiency improvements.

Analytics for Long-Term Sustenance

It’s common for revenue cycle success to rely on A/R management, which includes identifying the patterns of denials, resolving fundamental reasons, strategic touchpoints to claims in higher revenue brackets, and preventing claims from falling into longer-aging buckets. Analyzing the revenue cycle and using industry-standard reporting can aid RCM managers in narrowing their focus.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing may be the most popular method that businesses are considering since it provides them with access to highly-trained and credentialed workers throughout the country.
Additionally, offshore allows you to reap the benefits of lower costs. Almost twenty years after the outsourcing and offshoring market began, you can identify service providers who have spent in process expertise and technology to help you gain access to the best practices.

Benefits of Outsourcing in Healthcare

* Implementation that is always on schedule and managed by numbers. Key workforce management duties, including hiring, training, and operations management, are moved to a best-in-class management framework governed by the numbers when outsourcing these functions to an external service provider.

* Cost Reduction: Healthcare firms can lower their overall collection costs and increase their profit margins through outsourcing. The costs of facilities, infrastructure, and technology can also be reduced by healthcare companies. Front-end, clinical documentation enhancement, medical coding jobs, billing, and collection staff are also available on demand. It’s not a problem to increase staff during periods of high demand.

* Plug Revenue Leakage: In addition, the financial gains you make from outsourcing are generally more than the costs you pay to your outsourcing partner. In hospitals and emergency rooms, for example, it is not uncommon for patients to be discharged with unpaid bills. Success examples abound in which the provider of outsourcing services has stopped revenue leakage by a factor of two or more than the annual rates paid for outsourced coding.

* Technology: When it comes to delivering superior patient care and revenue cycle outcomes, outsourcing is becoming increasingly commonplace in the healthcare industry.

* Organization and control of the workforce Access. Healthcare, for example, offers a technology-enabled delivery strategy in which they track the productivity and effectiveness of their agents down to the individual employee level. Hospitals and healthcare systems benefit from an unparalleled focus on procedural efficiency and incremental quality improvement programs.

Select a Reputable Outsourcing Service Provider

Vendor selection is just as critical as outsourcing itself. The RCM system can grow significantly with the proper partner, who is well-aligned to the company’s standards and stabilizes strategic operations.
For the time being, the labor shortfall will persist. Maintaining the coping mechanisms and putting them into action is therefore critical. Technology, outsourcing, operational frameworks, and RCM analytics are just a few of the strategies that RCM leaders must be willing to consider if they want to see their practice succeed.

Pervasive change techniques must be implemented simultaneously to reduce collection costs.

In order to get a hold of the revenue cycle, the following questions must be asked:
●    What tasks are automatable?
●    Which technologies should you invest in, including workflow automation, analytics, and front-end technology?
●    Where will you obtain the funds to invest in cutting-edge technology?
●    Can this function be performed offshore, or must it be performed on-site?
The existence of healthcare institutions depends on the ability to move cash quickly. Streamline operations by addressing issues like revenue leakage and front-end processes.

Change the Job Content for Your Employees

Increasing the use of technology and outsourcing can free up your staff’s time to work on other important projects. They now feel more in control of the organization’s revenue cycle as a result of the shift in job responsibilities.
While you can handle your revenue cycle difficulties in the short term, revenue cycle executives need to create long-term solutions due to a shortage of workers. Accordingly, reimbursements will continue to fall. You have little choice but to bank on technology, operational rigor, and outsourcing. Choose wisely, plan meticulously, and carry out your plans with flair.

Conclusion

Hospital and healthcare system revenue cycle leaders must contend with a developing talent gap as well as a slew of other challenges. As they seek to accomplish more with less, they must make wise decisions.
In order to close the skill gap, they will need to rely on both outsourcing and automation. As a result, the relentless attention of outsourcing service providers on controlling company processes by the statistics can also increase reimbursements.

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