For a physician, it is essential to understand the processes behind financial operations that their patients go through. Setting up, performing, and monitoring this procedure is a key factor for a sustainable healthcare practice. This knowledge can assist involved parties with avoiding issues with governmental and insurance organizations. This paper will provide a synopsis on “The seven step revenue cycle of a healthcare practice” by Kathi Carney.
The article presents seven steps that a physician must be knowledgeable of and perform for each customer to ensure a stable revenue for their work. This process starts with preregistration, during which basic information regarding a potential patient is collected and later confirmed through formal registration (Karney, 2021). After registration, a financial contract is made to guarantee payments for performed work (Karney, 2021). Charges will then be sent to an insurance company that processes all performed services via a system of codes assigned to each procedure (Karney, 2021). Remittances will be sent back to the practitioner with an explanation of covered services and include allowables, fees, and write-offs (Karney, 2021). The next step is insurance follow-up, which reveals any procedures that were not adequately accounted for (Karney, 2021). The last part includes collecting payments uncovered by insurance providers directly from a customer (Karney, 2021). These steps may require additional assistance from experts in case there are any inconsistencies in payments.
In conclusion, understanding the steps related to financial operations in healthcare services provision allows doctors to avoid losses from mistakes in the documentation of provided care for a patient. There are legal and professional risks involved in the revenue cycle that can be avoided only via the adequate following of the described steps. It is in the best interest of all involved sides to fulfill all steps in this guide to ensure the safety of their financial operations.
Reference
Karney, K. (2021). The seven step revenue cycle of a healthcare practice. LBMC Family of Companies. Web.