Imagine this: you run a busy gastro clinic. You provide excellent care to patients. However, payments are trickling in at a snail’s pace. Insurance claims are being denied left and right. Your admin team is overwhelmed. Cash flow is suffering. Does that sound familiar?
If so, you’re not alone. Managing accounts receivable (AR) in gastro practices can feel like a never-ending battle. One that distracts from what really matters—patient care. Improving AR management sounds simple. However, doing it effectively is a different story!.
But here’s the good news: a gastro AR Service can streamline your revenue cycle. It can also improve cash flow. All this lets your team focus on what they do best. Let’s explore how this works, and how your clinic can benefit.
Why is AR Management So Challenging for Gastro Clinics?
It’s not just about sending bills and waiting for the money to roll in. In gastro, procedures can come with high costs and complicated billing. Insurers often scrutinize these treatments closely. This makes it even more likely that coding or paperwork errors will result in claim denials. On top of that, 60% of denied claims are never resubmitted, according to the AMA.
This is the reality: every year, practices write off billions in unpaid claims. But what if you could reduce your clinic’s write-offs and improve collections? This is where AR services can make a huge difference. Did you know? 90% of denials are preventable, but only if you catch the errors early!
Gastro Specific Billing Issues: A Case Study
Let’s say your clinic performs 50 colonoscopies a month. At $1,000 a pop, that’s $50,000 in revenue. But imagine if 15% of those claims get denied. Maybe due to coding or paperwork issues. Now you’re missing out on $7,500 per month. Worse yet, if your team doesn’t have the time to appeal, that revenue is lost for good.
Dr. Patel’s clinic faced this exact issue. Denials were eating up almost 20% of their revenue. They tried partnering with an AR service, Quickly, denial rates dropped by 30%. They recouped more than £60,000 within three months.
How Does a Gastro AR Service Help?
Now, let’s dive into what you really care about—how a gastro AR service strengthens your revenue cycle:
- Faster Payments Through Proactive Collections
Does it seem like you’re constantly waiting on payments? An AR team doesn’t wait around for payments. They go after them. They’ll follow up with insurers regularly. They make sure claims are processed correctly the first time. They’ll even reach out to patients to discuss their balances. This is to clarify any confusion about coverage, and offer payment options.
- Claim Denials? Not a Problem
We all know that claim denials are the bane of any medical practice. They eat up valuable time and revenue. But an expert AR team knows the ins and outs of coding for gastro procedures. This helps catch errors early.
- More Time for Patient Care
How much time does your team spend dealing with AR? If it feels like too much, it probably is. By outsourcing to experts, your staff can focus on other things. For example, scheduling, records, and improving the patient experience. You won’t be stretched thin.
AR Services vs. In-House Management
In-House | Outsourced | |
Claim Denials | 20-30% of claims denied | Fewer than 10% denied |
Days Sales Outstanding | 60-90 days | 30-45 days |
Cost of Operation | High (staff, training, software) | Lower, pay per service used |
Staff Time on AR | 50-70% | 10-15% |
An article in Medical Economics found that 90% of practices that outsourced their billing and AR saw improvements in their revenue cycle. And just within six months.
What’s the Verdict?
So, is outsourcing your clinic’s AR management worth it? Absolutely. It reduces denials, speeding up collections. It also gives your team more time for patients. The benefits far outweigh the cost.
Still unsure? Think about the time and revenue you could be saving. The next time you’re buried under a pile of unpaid claims. Ask yourself: Is it time to get some help? By outsourcing AR to a specialized service, you’re not just plugging leaks. You’re strengthening the financial backbone of your clinic. Why wait? Start improving your revenue cycle today!