COVID-19 has reshaped the business landscape for healthcare providers all around the world. The transformation initiative will be led by innovation and technology as they revive. Healthcare facilities will use advanced technologies to drive innovation, improve operational efficiency, and concentrate more on clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. However, because of several operational complexities, revenue integrity might be challenging for providers. Deficiencies in one division might have a negative impact on the entire performance of a provider’s Revenue Cycle Management (RCM).

Revenue cycle management is the financial process that healthcare facilities employ to track patient care events from registration to final settlement using medical billing software. The objective of revenue cycle management is to identify and address any sources of friction in a healthcare provider’s revenue cycle. Healthcare providers can maximize claim reimbursements and boost revenue with efficient revenue cycle management.

Revenue cycle management is like a strategy for managing the administrative and clinical activities of the revenue cycle by healthcare providers. When a patient contacts a healthcare provider to make an appointment, the revenue cycle begins. When all payments for the consultation and treatment have been settled, the cycle comes to an end. The goal of healthcare revenue cycle management is to create a system that enables businesses to get entire payment for their services as soon as possible.

Benefits of Revenue Cycle Management

Although the primary purpose of RCM is to enhance provider revenue, it also provides additional benefits. These advantages benefit both providers and patients, making revenue cycle management even more beneficial.

Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of revenue cycle management.

• Detecting and Resolving Flaws

By leveraging RCM, healthcare providers can more quickly determine where errors occur in the revenue cycle and easily resolve them.

• Minimizing Administrative Burden

More time and energy is saved for patient treatment by maintaining claim denials to a minimum reduces the administrative burden.

Prevents Healthcare Fraud

Another important advantage of RCM is that it prevents healthcare fraud and abuse. An investigation into deception can cost a provider both money and their reputation.

• Accelerating Revenue

Healthcare providers can receive compensation for their services quickly. They can also save thousands of dollars by adopting RCM.

Cybersecurity in RCM

When it comes to healthcare cybersecurity, there are numerous complexities to manage. On a more fundamental level, IT requires a partner to elevate and strengthen the cybersecurity infrastructure in a healthcare organization, and revenue cycle management is a perfect fit. This is because revenue cycle management has extensive experience deploying PCI DSS compliance processes and technology, and has learnt insights that are applicable in establishing cybersecurity goals.

• Education and Training

Providing training is a top priority for businesses when it comes to strengthening cybersecurity. User awareness training, which is necessary for PCI DSS compliance, also serves as a line of defence against cyberattacks.

• Ensuring Compliance

It is inadequate to ensure that your organization is HIPAA or PCI compliant. The only way to assure a risk-free environment is to take the necessary precautions to ensure that sensitive financial data never enters your system in the first place.

• Achieving Objectives

You may develop internal competencies to maintain network segmentation, manage threats, and employ an auditor to analyze segmentation results and assist with an annual audit. However, you can meet PCI DSS requirements by transferring all credit card transactions to a PCI-validated P2PE device.

Wrapping Up

The consequences of relegating cybersecurity are likely greater in healthcare than in any other industry. Patient care and safety may be harmed if the organization’s activities are disrupted. However, revenue cycle management may become a cybersecurity champion, a function that is becoming significantly important and essential to accomplish.