Accounts receivable (AR) is an important parameter for any practiceās revenue cycle management. More number of AR days indicate inefficiencies in your overall revenue cycle activities. Things can quickly go out of hand and providers require to write off significant amount as bed debt if not planned accordingly. In this article, we shared key parameters that will help you to reduce accounts receivable for your practice. If you donāt have a strategy to reduce accounts receivable days and amount, these parameters are good starting points.
Key Parameters to Reduce AR
Net Days in AR
Net days in AR is the most important parameter to determine the financial health of your practice, as it indicates an effective collections process. Net days in AR indicates the average number of days it takes to collect the payments due for services delivered. Ideally, the net days in AR must be in between 35 and 40 days.
Discharged Not Final Billed (DNFB)
Discharged not final billed (DNFB) is a valuable parameter that not only indicates revenue cycle performance, but it also helps identify issues in the receivable process. Ineffective management of DNFB can lead to mounting AR days, frustrated employees, and disrupted cash flow. Common reasons for DNFB more than 5 days could be, coding and billing inefficiencies; staffing shortages; and incomplete patient/insurance data. Most healthcare providers aim to keep DNFB low; between 3 and 5 days is ideal. If your DNFB is consistently above 5 days, it is an immediate red flag that is indicative of a systemic issue.
Aged AR
Longer claims remain in AR lesser chances of them to be paid. As a general practice, most practices monitor AR in 30-day increments. Any claim under 90 days in AR, has more chance to receive reimbursement as comparted to claim above 90 days in AR. You must classify aged AR in percentages, to make sure that your overall 90+ day AR should not make more than 25 percent of total AR. More percentage of 30 days AR and 60 days AR indicates, billing activities with steady collection.
Number of Touches Per Claim
Your RCM team includes experts from billing, coding, denial and AR fields. Every team member works on pending claim to provide suitable resolution. Getting claims paid quickly depends on your billing teamās ability to coordinate and follow up on pending claims. Number of touches per claim suggest your teamās ability to work seamlessly with less rework, more touches doesnāt mean the work has been effective. To determine if your revenue cycle processes are efficient, monitor the number of touches on successfully adjudicated claims.
Pending Patient Responsibilities
With more patient are opting for high deductible plans, continuous monitoring of patient responsibility becomes crucial for healthy RCM. If you know exact patient responsibility before patient visit, then only you will be able to collect them. Once the patient leaves the office, possibility of receiving patient collections decreases week by week. Plus, your team has to do continuous follow up to collect them. You must have insurance coverage report before every patient visit, your front desk staff must be well trained to understand coverage and benefits report, you should offer various payments options so that patient can make payments easily while they are in office.
We used āKemberton Financial Health Check Reportā as a reference to discuss a key parameter to reduce AR for your practice. Medisys Data Solutions is a leading medical billing company providing billing and coding services for various medical billing specialities. We can assist you in reducing your AR days and increasing your monthly insurance and patient collections. To know more about our AR in medical billing services, contact us at info@medisysdata.com / 888-720-8884
