Course Project Outline: Accounts Receivable Issues

Running Head: COURSE PROJECT OUTLINE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE ISSUES

Tim Shmegle

Course Project Outline: Accounts Receivable Issues

Health Service Finance

Keller Graduate School of Management

Course Project Outline: Accounts Receivable Issues

Intro

Managing a business’s accounts receivable, the money owed to a practice for services rendered is a significant part of running a successful organization, especially a healthcare organization. Regardless of the size of the healthcare facility, effectively managing healthcare accounts receivable can substantially increase the organization’s revenue as well as improve office administrative efficiency and streamline staff tasks.

Problems

Contrary to its importance to health care practices, accounts receivable if not properly managed, can generate issues that could hinder a practice from collecting its expected revenue. These issues are a result of denied claims, missing upfront collections, and unmotivated staff.

Denied Claims

* Hospitals can have inaccurate patient information for many reasons, including insurance coverage changes, complicated insurance contracts, errors in insurance data entered and a lack of knowledge of policies and procedures. Inaccurate information can lead to denials and significantly delay the hospitals' ability to capture accounts receivable.

Solution

* Verifying patients' insurance at the point of service eliminates denials and prevents lost accounts receivable. To aid registrars in this verification, insurance information should be provided by computer systems in an easy-to-understand format.

(Rodak, 2011)

Missing Upfront Collections

* Missing upfront collections can be very costly for hospitals. Some of the reasons for this missed money can be registrars' fear of offending the community or insufficient tools to know what to collect. One opportunity for upfront collections that may be overlooked is emergency room payments.

Solution

* To increase upfront...