At Cosentus, we often sign new clients who have a very messy accounts receivable. Sometimes these clients will tell us that they are barely able to stay afloat, as their medical billing company has not been billing their charges out or they do not refile claims or work denials. These troubled practices are only able to notice the lack of performance once their cash-flow has been negatively impacted. However, in our experience, there are predictable signs of an upcoming crisis thatoften start a good 6-8 months before your cash-flow is disrupted. In this day and age, you must outsource your billing, but alsoreview the performance of your medical billing company every now and then to make sure they are doing their expected job.

Often times, medical practices are not even aware of any problems in their revenue cycle management until they begin to lose money. Most times the practice administrators will want to ask questions or review the performance of their billing service, but do not know the right questions to ask and are not aware of how to investigate and ensure their revenue cycle is being managed efficiently. Cosentus has put together a list of 5 warning signs to watch out for, along with the right questions to ask your billing service. 

Download free checklist- The Ultimate AR checklist

The two most integral positions in the success of any healthcare practice are the physician and the medical biller. While the physicians work hard to provide the best care to the patient, it is expected of the biller to ensure optimal reimbursement for the physicians. We continuously speak toindependent physician practices and are often told that their practice is consistently losing money! Some would say too many claim denials are rocking their boat. Others would say the AR is so out of control. This is certainly not acceptable, but the real question is... Why does this happen? 

Here at Cosentus, we bring you fresh perspectives, effective advice, and applicable tips for fully optimizing your revenue cycle and maximizing collections for your medical practice. By following these tips, you willsignificantly improve cashflow for your urgent care center, anesthesia practice, orthopedic clinic, or ASC.   

Cash flow is the lifeline of any business, and an independent medical practice is no different. As a practice owner or administrator, the best way you can ensure consistent and increasing cashflow is by preventing your revenue from being locked in denials. Management of denied claims is important and will remain so, but the main focus needs to shift from management to prevention. The benefits of this shift are immense but so are the challenges of eliminating the traditional retroactive approach. 

According to industry sources, 90% of all claims denials can be prevented. However, for this preventive mechanism to work and deliver optimal results, all departments in the revenue cycle need to collaborate and work cohesively. Once you have seamless & effective practices implemented throughout processes such as patient access to claims submission, you will reduce your future denial rate by 50-60% and enjoy sustained cashflow. 

In this article, you will learn the 4 critical steps required to implement preventive denial management. 

The two most important positions in the success of any healthcare practice when it comes to increasing revenue is the physician and the medical biller. While the physicians work hard to provide the best care to the patient, it is expected of the biller to ensure optimal reimbursement for the physicians. We keep talking to independent physician practices and we are often told their practice is losing money all the time! Some would say too many claim denials are rocking their boat, others would say the AR is so out of control. This is certainly not acceptable, but the real question is why does this happen?

Download our FREE Billing and AR checklist: The Ultimate AR checklist! 

The ever-changing healthcare landscape means coders and billers also must continuously update their skills and concepts to stay on top of the changes to make sure they are not leaving money on the table. With the introduction of EMR and advanced practice management software, the general belief is that the standards of billing and collection will be like never before - with every claim being billed out accurately and collected upon in a timely manner. Unfortunately, according to industry sources, independent medical practices are still leaving as much as 30% potential revenue on the table due to the inefficiencies in the billing and collection process. This happens because the rejection and denial rate is still too high and almost 50% of denials never get worked resulting in 5-7% loss of potential revenue. When you have too many denials your revenue can quickly get locked in Accounts Receivable creating a serious impact to your cash flow.

Cosentus is a leading medical billing service provider having optimized the billing and collection processes for numerous practices, enabling them to maximize their revenue and get rid of their cash flow issues. The purpose of this article is how you can implement these basic changes to your existing billing process and see your revenue grow by 25-30%.

As COVID-19 has been officially declared a pandemic, we have seen overwhelming reactions from the community - ranging from nonchalant to full on panic-mode to everything in between. Schools, business, and events have been canceled, the threat of a monetary downfall is real, and unfortunately this has opened the door to struggles with obtaining basic supplies while others stockpile and exploit their neighbors. Fear and anxiety can be very overwhelming for adults and children alike, and we seem to forget that everyone reacts to stressful situations in different ways. Remember - different does not mean wrong, it simply means different. By allowing people to process their emotions and work through the situation, we allow the emotional healing process to begin and we allow our community to heal from within.

It can be difficult to decide if outsourcing your medical billing and revenue cycle management is the right thing to do. It can be especially difficult in our current state of the unknown. Many questions arise that keep you hesitant: Can I afford it? How can I be sure the job will be done right? Why should I give up that control? With everything happening in our society today, why should I risk a change?