Rural healthcare systems are coming face-to-face with a bleak financial reality: The well is drying up. Federal Medicaid cuts are set to disproportionately affect rural hospitals across the country, putting individuals who need care at risk while facilities operating on razor-thin margins struggle to keep the doors open.
But there’s still time to intervene. Rural hospitals have a unique opportunity to maximize their revenue cycle management and improve their cash position. By integrating interoperable technology and refining care processes, rural hospitals can grow financially, prevent patient leakage and ensure their continued survival.
RCM inefficiencies are magnified for rural hospitals
Billion-dollar health systems may be able to explain away a missed charge as a rounding error or a write-off, but for rural hospitals, the impact is much different. Missed charges mean missed revenue, and they could even create a life-or-death financial situation for a small rural facility.
As external funding for rural hospitals dries up in the wake of the government’s shifting funding priorities, it’s time to rethink your financial picture. Every billable service affects your bottom line, and accurate charge capture has never been more important.
The problem is that rural healthcare is playing catch-up from top to bottom. RCM, operations and care delivery all lag behind due to limited resources, so most rural facilities are stuck relying on outdated technology systems. Disconnected EHRs don’t “talk” to one another, forcing sluggish and inefficient manual processes that drag staff and patients down.
Billing as a clinician problem
Too many rural hospitals leave billing activities to clinicians themselves. But clinical staff should focus on being the patient care experts they are, not interrupting workflows to log charges.
Imagine if you could automatically track and capture charges in the background. By introducing automation, rural facilities can give clinicians a simple way to recognize and bill for services as soon as they document a treatment, from starting an IV to sending a patient for an X-ray. The result? Far fewer missed charges.
The human element
Instead of connecting between healthcare systems or providing automated scheduling, smaller facilities leave the burden of scheduling follow-ups to patients. This inefficiency is time-consuming and inconvenient for individuals who have to call the scheduling desk, making them less likely to continue care.
Siloed work queues
When you send medical orders, they need action now, not in three days. Too often, rural facilities that feed these requests into disconnected systems and massive work queues wait as they sit unnoticed by overworked staff. Backed-up, fragmented queues drain potential revenue from the hospital, but you can’t blame frustrated patients who just want answers if they leave for another provider.
Strategies to optimize revenue, efficiency and patient retention
Establishing end-to-end interoperability can open so many doors for small rural hospitals, diagnostic centers and specialists. Integrating software that shares information across specialties, departments and facilities closes gaps so each patient receives appropriate care.
Leverage interoperable EHR technology to support the patient care journey from check-in to discharge:
- Maintain accurate notes and recommendations for patients across your hospital system to provide continuity so they don’t seek alternate care options.
- Manage discharge plans and preschedule appointments to make it easy for patients to continue care.
- Retain patients within your network to control care quality and boost your revenue potential.
Begin by automating processes that interrupt care or even require coordination after-hours.
Integrate an RCM system inside your EHR
Combining RCM with your EHR helps automatically capture or flag charges. Whether it’s for labs, medications or something else, the system will recognize care events as they’re entered. Capture charges immediately or compile them automatically for review and confirmation before generating a bill.
Route scheduling messages appropriately
Connecting patients to the right provider at the right time directly affects outcomes. When rural facilities configure their EHRs to automatically message certain providers or specialists, they gain access to their schedules and can directly book appointments for patients. It’s even possible to route scheduling messages for affiliated private practices to office personnel so patients don’t have to initiate contact.
Alert departments with limited hours to patient needs
Patient A narrowly missed having a heart attack and must follow up with cardio. Patient B’s blood sugar spiked and they need an A1C test. Automatically alerting niche departments that don’t keep full-time hours empowers them to reach out to schedule tests and procedures so patients receive timely follow-up care.
Secure the future of rural healthcare
Between budgetary constraints and operational inefficiencies, small rural systems are already struggling. Introducing new funding limitations into the mix will have an outsized negative impact, forcing patients to seek care elsewhere.
Rethink how you can stretch your resources to offer the care experiences people deserve. Automated, interoperable EHR and RCM technology gives rural hospitals the freedom to refocus on patient care without breaking the bank.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
_______________
Subscribe to SmartBrief for Health Care Leaders, one of our more than 30 health care publications.