We hear the word “data” almost every day now—data plans for your phone, software to protect your personal data, and how “big data” is in play for almost any industry you can imagine. But if you’re involved in revenue cycle management, data should be more than a topic you hear about in passing. It’s key to your business.
Why track your data?
Money comes to mind. Seriously. Information really is power when you’re trying to reduce the number of days an account stays in your A/R, improve your facility’s cash collections or streamline your supply and management costs. Data collection and analysis allows you to spot and follow trends and then act accordingly—maybe you discover that accounts aren’t being followed up on or perhaps you discover a previously unnoticed waste of physical goods.
Once you’re in the know, you’re better prepared to act.
What am I supposed to look for?
The specific data sets that you look for could vary from what other facilities or in2itive clients are tracking, but may include:
- Unbilled medical records/surgical reports
- Billing batch status report
- Financial Summary Report
- Payment analysis by insurance class
- Surgical volume (total or by specialty)
- Revenue by specialty
- Gross and net revenue by case
- Supply costs
- Hours per case
- Net income
- Net days in A/R
- Cash collections
- Payor analysis
- Denial trending
And that’s still just the tip of the iceberg. Deciding which data sets you track and benchmark depends on what kind of outcomes you’re looking for and also what type of data you’re capable of collecting. As a baseline, just consider your key goals and go from there. Are you trying to monitor case mix? Improve cash collections? Reduce A/R? Determine payor issues?
Who can help me do this?
Everybody loves a trend! And data tracking and analysis have formed quite a bandwagon. While in2itive is in the process of developing a proprietary data tracking and analytics software for both internal and client use, there are existing tools on the market that could set you on the right path today. I would recommend SSI Medibis, eSolutions and ZirMed—just to name a few—all of which provide proven technology solutions for those interested in monitoring and analyzing their data.
Along the way, in2itive is happy to be your go-to consulting resource.
We’ve been tracking our client’s data for a long time, even before there were trendy tools to make it simpler, and we’d love to share our insight. So give me a call and let’s talk about how data is the trend to keep your piggy bank satisfied.
Call me at 913.344.7837, or shoot me a message, and let’s talk about feeding your piggy bank.