These Things Can Hurt Your Revenue Cycle

Revenue cycle management is vital to the financial health of your behavioral health practice. It’s not a single task but rather a combination of interconnected processes that help maximize income and minimize delays. Unfortunately, some practices fall into common traps that negatively impact their revenue cycle efficiency. Addressing these issues is key to improving cash flow and reducing administrative burdens.

Lack of Proper Staff Training

One of the foundational steps in improving revenue cycle management is staff training. Your staff excels at providing quality behavioral health services, but they may not fully understand how their roles affect the financial side of the practice. Every stage of patient interaction, from scheduling to registration, influences the billing process. Errors in these stages, like choosing the wrong procedure description or code, can result in claim denials. These mistakes not only slow down payments but can also impact the quality of care if not addressed.

Training your staff to recognize their role in the revenue cycle helps prevent these errors. It gives them a sense of ownership in the process, reducing costly mistakes. Staff who are well-trained in administrative tasks like coding and patient registration ensure that claims are submitted accurately and on time, streamlining the entire billing process. This reduces frustration for both your team and your patients while improving your practice’s financial performance.

Not Monitoring the Entire Claims Process

Another common issue in revenue cycle management is failing to monitor the claims process from start to finish. It’s easy to focus on the daily needs of a busy practice and overlook the importance of keeping track of claims after they’re submitted. This oversight can lead to errors becoming patterns, rather than isolated incidents. When trends are missed, errors like repeated denials or coding mistakes can persist, costing the practice time and money.

Partnering with a billing service like Nextus allows you to leverage advanced tools that monitor the entire claims process. We can flag recurring issues, such as the same codes being denied over and over and provide insight into how to correct them. Addressing these trends early prevents larger, systemic problems from developing and helps your practice maintain a healthy revenue cycle over the long term.

Waiting on Claims Submissions

One of the most effective ways to reduce delays in payment is to submit claims daily. Some practices wait until the end of the week, thinking that dedicating one block of time to claims submission will streamline the process. In reality, this approach only adds unnecessary delays. When you hold claims until the end of the week, services rendered on Monday, for example, won’t be processed until Friday, creating a week-long delay before you even begin submitting for reimbursement.

Additionally, batching claims for a once-weekly submission increases the likelihood that paperwork will be misplaced, leading to further delays or incomplete submissions. By working with us, you can submit claims daily, ensuring faster processing times and reducing the risk of misplaced paperwork. We handle the rest, so you can focus on providing the best care for your patients.

Not Resubmitting Denied Claims

Denied claims are a fact of life for every practice, but not every practice handles them effectively. Some choose to let denied claims go unaddressed, often because the cost and effort of resubmitting seem daunting. However, this leads to a significant loss of revenue over time. Common reasons for denials include coding mistakes, incomplete patient information, or filing outside of the required time frame.

At Nextus, we take a proactive approach to denied claims. We catch errors before submission and ensure that your claims are filed correctly the first time. Our ‘measure twice, cut once’ approach has led to a 99% first-pass acceptance rate.

If a claim does get denied, we work to resubmit it as quickly as possible, minimizing lost revenue and ensuring that your practice receives the payments it deserves. This not only saves your team time but also reduces the stress of managing denied claims.

Streamlining Your Revenue Cycle

By partnering with Nextus, you can avoid the common mistakes that often bog down revenue cycle management. Our expertise allows us to handle the intricate details of claims submissions, resubmissions, and tracking, giving you peace of mind and letting your team focus on what they do best—providing quality behavioral health care.

If you’re ready to improve your revenue cycle and see better results, schedule a consultation with us today. We’re here to help you streamline your processes and boost the financial health of your practice.