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Medical billing software: the future of RCM

Published: May 7, 2024 by Experian Health

Medical-billing-software-the-future-of-RCM

Medical billing is the first line of defense against claims denials. However, medical billing errors cost U.S. healthcare systems approximately $935 million weekly. Not only do preventable errors wreak havoc on providers’ revenue cycle, but patients say they’re frustrated at the time spent correcting these errors—45% spend up to one month on the back and forth between payers and provider billing teams.Better medical billing software can automate claims management at the beginning of the reimbursement process and eliminate the traditionally labor-intensive processes plagued by human errors. Medical billing software can also make it easier for patients to pay and understand their coverage eligibility for fewer surprises after their care encounter.

This article discusses how healthcare providers can implement these tools and set the stage for a better revenue cycle, happier patients, and more efficient care delivery.

Common problems with medical billing

Experian Health’s State of Claims 2022 report showed healthcare denials increasing substantially each year. Some of the most common medical billing errors include:

  • Medical coding transforms a healthcare service deliverable into reimbursable revenue. Yet Experian Health data shows that 42% of providers say inaccuracies in coding reporting lead to frequent claims denials. Coding errors delay reimbursement and, at worst, increase the risk of health system fraud, abuse fines, or even impact patient care with an incorrect diagnostic code.
  • Patient information errors, including missing or incomplete prior authorizations, are among the top three reasons for claim denials. Even a misspelled name or date of birth can cause the claim to return to the provider for correction. Problems with outdated medical records and manual data entry exacerbate these issues.

While each provider and payer has unique claims denial numbers to share, Medicare reports that the average volume of errors is just over 7%. Yet providers can’t take all the blame for the volume of clerical errors given the complexities of ICD-10 requirements. Medical Economics explains, “The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced 395 new diagnosis codes, 25 deletions and 13 revisions for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 ICD-10 CM code set.”

Medical billing software is critical for preventing healthcare claims denials by keeping up with these complexities and avoiding human errors. What can the latest round of automated, artificial intelligence (AI) powered software do for the average healthcare provider?

Prevent claims denials with better medical billing software

Experian Health’s Patient Access Curator solution heads off claims denials before they happen. The solution incorporates AI to improve the accuracy of claims management at patient registration and billing. The system leverages logic that returns multiple data points from a single inquiry in 30 seconds – streamlining benefits coordination, lessening patient identifier errors, and spotting “hidden” eligibility. Some of the benefits include:

  • Faster and more accurate eligibility verification – Legacy medical billing software operates from a clearinghouse model. However, these tools often miss active, billable coverage and require extensive manual workflows to edit claims and appeals. AI eliminates the standard by-hand workarounds correlated with traditional billing software.
  • Better coordination of benefits (COB) – COB denials are common in healthcare. Many patients do not understand the intricacies of government and commercial coverages and how they interact. Patient Access Curator can help. When integrated into the registration eligibility verification process, this AI-powered tool can lessen or eliminate COB denials by identifying hidden payer coverage requirements that outdated software cannot find. Additionally, the software can trigger automatic inquiries to third parties to verify active coverage quickly.
  • Streamlines MBI conversions – How much time do providers spend tracking down Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers during patient registration? The complicating factor is that MBIs change without warning; many patients and providers find out after the payor rejects the claim. Providers can eliminate this frustration by adding software that automatically updates MBIs in real-time. No more searching websites, calling patients—or reworking the claim.
  • Increases accuracy of patient demographic data –The quality of healthcare data can begin to erode at registration. Incorrect or obsolete patient data is a challenge for the entire industry. It makes sense that up-to-date, accurate patient demographic information improves their experience. Providers can eliminate obsolete or incorrect patient data with better medical billing software to lessen claims denials. Patient Access Curator automatically updates outdated information for cleaner claims and more accurate data.
  • Automates coverage and financial verification for increased accuracy – Patients and providers benefit from AI automation that accurately identifies payment details. The solution is particularly beneficial for spotting missed revenue opportunities for self-pay, unbillable, or patients with unspecified payer status records. Patient Access Curator also identifies each customer’s ability and propensity to pay, increasing the likelihood of successful revenue capture later while maintaining patient satisfaction and comfort.

Reimbursement accuracy, staff efficiency, and patient satisfaction all stem from better medical billing software. Patient Access Curator offers healthcare providers a way to turn claims management into denials prevention. These tools apply a proactive, preventative automated process with artificial intelligence to increase downstream revenue by reducing claims denials.

Experian Health, ranked Best in KLAS in Claims Management, Clearinghouse, and Revenue Cycle Contract Management for 2024, is the leading provider of technology solutions to improve healthcare reimbursement. Experian Health solutions have helped many healthcare providers obliterate claims denials.

In 2023, the organization acquired Wave HDC, an AI-powered healthcare data curation solution leveraging the latest AI technology innovations for a better revenue cycle. To find out more, contact Experian Health today.

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“Reducing denials upfront would improve our revenue, which could be channeled into current and future investments that support our mission.” —Joshua Gayman, Revenue Cycle Manager at UT Medical Center Challenge The University of Tennessee Medical Center (UT Medical Center) is a leading 710-bed acute care hospital with a rich history of exceptional patient care and award-winning services. During the pandemic, the hospital faced revenue losses of around $45 million that put serious strain on its capacity to invest in bigger and better facilities. UT Medical Center needed to find a strategy to recover some of this revenue by reducing claim denials at the point of patient registration. UT Medical Center relied on eligibility checks that often missed errors in patient registration, resulting in increased claims denials, costly reworks, and wasted staff time. The hospital urgently needed a solution to help staff identify and resolve potential patient registration errors in real time to prevent denials before they occur. Finding a more efficient way to capture accurate patient and benefits data would be essential. Proactively preventing claim denials would provide the hospital with a much-needed boost in cash collections and free up staff to focus on patient care. Solution To address its claims denials challenge, UT Medical Center partnered with Experian Health and implemented Registration QA, a solution designed to find and fix registration errors upfront. Now, when patients first arrive, front-end staff enter their data to verify insurance. If Registration QA finds an error, it alerts staff in real-time so they can resolve it within 72 hours. Alongside more than 400 alert rules curated by Experian Health, UT Medical Center also built custom alerts based on the organization's specific requirements, using demographics and benefits data. The tool easily integrates with existing workflows, and its configurable dashboard gives UT Medical Center Management detailed insights into department performance and allows staff to track trends and identify areas for improvement. This proactive approach to correcting errors significantly reduces the risk of downstream denials and helps patient registration staff take proper corrective actions for their errors without management intervention. More accurate patient registration is also better for patients, as fewer errors make for a smoother intake experience. Outcome UT Medical Center successfully optimized patient registration by using Registration QA to identify registration errors before and at the point of service, reducing denials and boosting revenue. In the 12 months after implementing Registration QA, UT Medical Center saw the following results: Now that registration errors can be identified before and at the point of service, UT Medical Center has seen initial denials drop from an average of $5 million per month in 2022 to just $1.7 million in 2023, representing a 66% decrease in average monthly initial denials value. Cash write-offs also decreased, dropping 57% from an average of $1 million to just over $400K, helping the organization keep bad debt low. Gayman notes that UT Medical Center's partnership with Experian Health was central to its success. Experian Health shared the organization's vision and provided weekly support to help realize it. They developed a customized curriculum to make sure staff were confident using Registration QA and offered insights into what was happening more widely in the industry, so UT Medical Center's team could benchmark their performance against similar organizations. Thanks to these savings, the hospital can increase its capacity to invest in new projects and deliver operational excellence, while improving patient satisfaction. Find out more about how Registration QA helps healthcare organizations minimize denials and increase cash flow through accurate patient registration. Learn more Contact us

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