If your organization is like most billing service companies, you’re facing more pressure than ever to grow your business on razor-thin margins — without adding people to your team. You’re constantly looking for ways to cut costs while delivering better financial results to your clients. It can seem like an impossible task. Fortunately, there are tips and tools you can use to do more with less and take the heat off your team. Read on to learn about the most pressing challenges in billing services — and how you can solve them.
Challenge 1: your team struggles with different systems
Every client you work with might have an entirely different HIS or PM system. This means your team is dealing with multiple logins and processes, as well as variations in data formatting and quality. That’s a strain on mindshare and a waste of time. What’s more, long hours and navigating different systems can lead to team fatigue and even mistakes. You’re not alone—a recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the largest source of waste in the healthcare system comes from administrative costs, which total $266B a year.
Solution:
Cloud-based RCM technology offers a simple, effective way to streamline workflows and manage data in one central location, ideally through a portal with a single sign-on.
Challenge 2: you can’t see where your problems are
You know there’s a problem with your workflows. You just can’t see it. Whether you’re still struggling with paper records or juggling multiple systems, visibility will remain a challenge as long as you lack the proper tools. You may know there’s room for improvement, but you’re not sure where and what you can do about it.
Solution:
Implement a revenue cycle platform that offers visibility across all your accounts to identify trouble spots and missing revenue sources.
Challenge 3: you don’t have the tools to measure and demonstrate performance
When healthcare organizations outsource their billing service, they expect results better than those they could achieve in-house, and they want to see proof. You need the proper analytics and reporting—and a proven track record—to keep current clients satisfied and attract new business.
Solution:
Identify a technology partner with advanced analytics capabilities that can deliver in-depth reporting to help you course-correct and make more informed decisions upstream. Truly robust reporting will also provide details on user productivity, helping identify areas for improvement among your team. This will help ease costs and reduce dependence on business analysts while providing the insights your team needs to work at its best.
Challenge 4: You don’t have the bandwidth to implement yet another technology solution
The last thing you want to do is to go through a complicated implementation process that disrupts team productivity and workflow, and then train your team to use this technology. It can seem daunting at best, and a waste of time and resources at worst.
Solution:
The right technology solution offers you the best results with the least amount of hassle. Cloud-based technologies are best to ensure a simplified implementation process that will have things up and running quickly while enabling any further updates to happen automatically in the background. An intuitive interface that works well with the systems your team already knows is key. You’ll also want to look for a technology partner that provides its own implementation team so as not to tax your staff, as well as in-house, responsive client support through integration and beyond.
Challenge 5: you’re resource-strapped and have to get funding
When you’re on the hook to deliver more with less, getting buy-in and budget for a new solution can be a tough sell.
Solution:
Do your research and offer proof that it’s worth it. Help everyone in your organization understand that the right system will help bring in more revenue with fewer resources, improve accuracy, and save your team valuable time. Be sure to ask a potential technology partner what they consider examples of their own proven success. Connect with existing customers and get their opinions. The results should speak for themselves and convince even the biggest skeptics.
The wrap up
You’ve got your work cut out for you juggling your disparate accounts and the systems that manage them, with rising expectations and shrinking margins. The good news: there are technology solutions that are already helping billing service organizations exceed their goals. All you have to do is make the right choice.
Want to see if the Waystar platform is the right fit for your team? Learn more about what we can do for billing services or contact us today to speak to an expert.
