decisionhealth Newsletters, Part B News - 2004 Issue 7 (July)
7 tips to perform better in A/R and collections
Subscribe or sign in to view the full article.
Article Overview
This article is a practice-management piece for medical billing and revenue cycle staff, practice administrators, and physicians who want to improve accounts receivable and collections. It discusses broad operational approaches such as setting A/R goals, monitoring reimbursement, speeding claim submission, handling payer and patient disputes, organizing aged receivables, educating staff, and managing overpayments. The article is framed around a successful specialty practice and references industry benchmarking from MGMA.
Why This Topic Matters
Strong A/R and collections processes can improve cash flow, reduce aged balances, and support overall practice stability. For coding and billing teams, the article highlights how front-end verification, charge capture, claim turnaround, and payer communication affect revenue cycle performance.
Article Sections
-
Introduction
Introduces the practice-management focus of the article and explains that it draws on real-world experience from a successful specialty group.
-
Tip 1: Create monthly A/R goals
Discusses setting monthly receivables targets and tracking collection performance against historical benchmarks and practice expectations.
-
Tip 2: Know your reimbursement amounts
Covers the importance of understanding payer payment patterns and staying informed about expected reimbursements across the practice.
-
Tip 3: Enter bills into the computer and send them out within 24 hours of service
Addresses claim workflow, charge verification, posting, and fast submission processes intended to support timely billing operations.
-
Tip 4: Defend your patients if the carrier erroneously demands money
Describes how the practice handles payer disputes and patient communication when billing or responsibility questions arise.
-
Tip 5: Break down your unpaid claims by categories to account for every dollar until the appeals process reaches its conclusion
Explains organizing aging receivables into broad categories so balances can be monitored while appeals and other follow-up activities continue.
-
Tip 6: Educate physicians and staffers about how their responsibilities tie into the practice’s financial well-being
Focuses on staff and physician education related to billing awareness, documentation responsibility, and patient financial understanding.
-
Tip 7: Promptly repay overpayments
Covers the operational importance of identifying and returning overpayments in a timely manner and maintaining payer relationships.
What You Will Learn
- How practices can structure monthly A/R goals
- Why understanding reimbursement patterns supports billing operations
- How faster charge submission fits into revenue cycle workflow
- Ways practices may manage payer disputes and patient communication
- How to categorize unpaid claims during follow-up
- Why staff education matters to practice financial performance
- Why prompt overpayment handling is part of collections management
Who Should Read This
- Practice administrators
- Medical billers
- Revenue cycle staff
- Physicians
- Billing managers
- Office managers
Subscribe or sign in to view the full article.
Quick, Current, Complete - www.findacode.com