Do you work in behavioral healthcare? If so, you may be familiar with implementing business strategies like customer relationship management (CRM) or revenue cycle management (RCM). While both approaches aim to improve business operations and increase revenue, RCM can also significantly impact patient satisfaction and quality of life.
What You Should Know About Revenue Cycle Management
Revenue cycle management (RCM) is a business strategy designed to streamline an organization’s financial processes. In a behavioral healthcare setting, this includes billing, payment, and related processing. By automating these tasks and implementing efficient processes, RCM can help organizations increase revenue and reduce costs.
What Does RCM for Behavioral Healthcare Include?
RCM systems for behavioral healthcare centers can include various features, such as electronic billing and claims submissions, payment processing, and comprehensive financial reporting.
Electronic billing refers to using electronic data interchange (EDI) technology to submit claims and receive payments. When done manually, these processes can be time-consuming and prone to errors, resulting in delayed payments and revenue loss. Electronic billing allows for faster claims submission and processing, reducing the risk of claim denials. With electronic payment processing, organizations can receive payments through secure online platforms—eliminating the need for manual check processing.
These systems are designed to automate administrative tasks and improve the efficiency of revenue generation and collection. RCM also aims to reduce administrative burdens for healthcare providers.
Does RCM Involve Health Insurance?
Yes, a good RCM system includes managing health insurance claims and payments. Managing health insurance claims can be tricky with behavioral healthcare, as there may be a higher likelihood of denied claims due to complex documentation requirements. An RCM system can help streamline the process by ensuring proper documentation and prompt submissions, providing much more help to patients in need.
With the rise of electronic medical records (EMR), behavioral healthcare centers can now easily track patient treatment plans, appointments, and billing information in one place. This integration allows seamless communication with insurance providers, resulting in faster and more accurate payment processing.
Sunwave Health’s comprehensive digital platform provides RCM integrated with EMR and customer relationship management, specifically designed for substance abuse and behavioral health treatment organizations. We also work to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), keeping protected health information (PHI) secure while helping you avoid unintentional PHI mishandling—which can result in fines and penalties.
How RCM Improves Patient Satisfaction
You know how RCM works for your company—it streamlines operations, improves financial outcomes, and increases efficiency. But how does RCM software benefit your patients?
There are many benefits of RCM for patients that lead to their satisfaction, including:
- Securing sensitive information – Electronic medical record management integrated with RCM promotes the security of the personal and financial information of your patients, making them feel safe seeking treatment with you.
- Reducing wait times – RCM automates administrative tasks, reducing human errors and delays and shortening patient wait times. This improves each patient’s overall experience and reduces their stress level.
- Improving claim accuracy – RCM systems promote accurate coding and billing, reducing the chances of claim denials or errors. This means patients don’t have to deal with unexpected bills or resubmission of claims, resulting in a smoother process.
- Better outcomes – RCM systems provide comprehensive financial reporting, which allows organizations to track data and identify areas for improvement. This leads not only to better patient outcomes but also to overall business success.
Sunwave Health’s platform helps you manage each patient’s entire treatment journey, and our infrastructure simultaneously operationalizes quality health and business outcomes. Our job is to save you money while driving healthy results and promoting patient satisfaction.
Schedule a Sunwave Health Demo Now
Do you want to provide your patients with the best care possible? We do, too, and we know we can help you. Contact Sunwave Health online or call 561.576.6037 today to schedule a demo of our digital platform and learn more about the impact of RCM software on patient satisfaction.
