Quick Tips for Using Your Practice Management Software like a Revenue Cycle Management Tool

Let’s dive into how YOU can use your PM like an RCM tool.

In our eBook “Everything You Need to Know about Using your Practice Management Software like a RCM Tool” a number of ways were laid out in which practice management (PM) software can be used to help with your revenue cycle management (RCM). This blog post will present some quick tips from that eBook to get you started along the path to making the best use of your PM software features to help you with your RCM process.

Tip #1: Examine Your Revenue Cycle Workflow

In essence the revenue cycle workflow is the sequence of events from the moment the office opens, through the initial encounter with a patient, straight through until their bill is reconciled. This cycle has four main phases each denoted by the major player(s) involved in them. It begins with the front office, transitions to the vitals/lab nurse, then on to the physician and finally the billing department. Each of those players serve a complex function in the overall cycle and a kink anywhere in that sequence can spell disaster for the sequence thereafter. Understanding your practice’s revenue cycle workflow is an essential first step in getting the most out of your PM software.

Tip #2: Learn How to Integrate New or Updated Practice Management Software into Your Existing RCM Process

For this tip the goal should be to find the areas in your revenue management cycle that would benefit from either the introduction of software or from the updating of current software. Most often this is useful in both the front office, where it can be used to more seamlessly navigate patient records and update information; and in the billing department for filing claims, tracking denied claims and sending bills and reminders. Ideally, one piece of software will be able to cover all of these bases, but it may be necessary to acquire software specific to the front office and billing department to ensure that the needs of both are sufficiently met.

Tip #3: Acquire Practice Management Software that will make the Coding Process Easier

Coding in this context refers to the specific identifiers that insurance companies and other regulatory bodies give to diagnoses and treatments. The goal is to find a software that will help keep track of coding updates, ensure that the proper coding is being used and give reference to the master-list of these codes for use by the billing staff. While this tip pertains more directly to the billing department, it is still essential that the physician manages to find the appropriate software to meet this need.

Hopefully, these tips have helped you to begin thinking about this process in a way that will smooth the transition to new software and make sure that the transition is for the ultimate benefit of your practice.

Looking for more detailed tips, check out our “Everything You Need to Know about Using your Practice Management Software like a RCM Tool” eBook.