As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, revenue cycle management has become a complex and challenging task for healthcare providers. With so much at stake, healthcare providers are increasingly turning to revenue cycle management strategies that can help increase income and save costs while keeping patient satisfaction at the forefront. In this article, we will explore the future of revenue cycle management in healthcare and discuss emerging trends and technologies that are shaping the way providers manage their revenue cycles.
Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Revenue Cycle Management
Due to the immense medical resource demands that came with the pandemic, the healthcare industry has no option but to take extensive measures to cope with these demands. It is a well-known fact that the healthcare system is losing income rapidly due to the surge of patients and lack of resources. Moreover, the massive unemployment caused by the weakened economy creates new difficulties for medical coding and billing.
Current Trends That Can Impact The Future Of Revenue Cycle Management
After surviving the pandemic stage (with casualties), now it’s time to look for a better future within the healthcare industry. The first step in shaping a better future is by strengthening the financial aspect of the medical industry.
So, what better way to bolster medical finances than better revenue cycle management! Here are some of the current trends that can affect the future of RCM positively or negatively.
- Staff switching to work from home approach when possible.
- Renewal of consumer collection and surprise billing practices and regulations.
- Switching from the traditional manual method to RCM automation.
- Shift to the patient as the new payer for better RCM management.
- Increased risks in data security
What To Expect In The Future?
When looking at the current state of things, the medical industry seems to be on the right track. Also, trends that are left in the wake of the pandemic are mostly flexible and tend to be future-proof.
At the current pace, thanks to the massive leaps in the technological field, many new opportunities will arise to aid the growth of the medical field and its RCM. The most promising of these are the advances in artificial intelligence technology. Moreover, 80% of the healthcare systems that invest in AI expect it to help improve their financial performance.
New technological practices also pave the way for new payment models and telehealth practices. We also can expect the current transition from the fee-for-service model to value-based care and alternative payment models to be complete by then. This will create new ways that both the patient and the medical service provider can benefit from.
Another major aspect we can expect is the labor and workforce changes left in the wake of the pandemic. With the entire system taking a remote working approach, the same can be expected from the healthcare field.
All of these can severely impact the way how healthcare RCM behaves in the future. So, the best thing to do right now as a medical service provider is to implement those new changes, follow current trends, and prepare to adapt to the future.
Future Proof Your RCM Process Proper management of RCM is necessary if you expect to maximize your profits as a medical service provider. Also, with the changes that came with the pandemic, anyone who falls behind in adapting to the changes is sure to be left behind. So, if you have any questions about RCM and RCM management, contact us. We at Invoisync are experts in handling RCM and preparing medical service providers for a better tomorrow
