How Poor Charge Capture Methods Lead To Revenue Losses

Mobile charge capture apps

Charge capture is a fundamental process that involves the recording of all necessary medical information used in filing medical claims. Healthcare institutions have lost millions in revenues due to poor charge capture methods and human errors among other causes. But how are these poor capture methods costing institutions money?

Recording errors

When recording information for charge capture it is important to be accurate and immaculate so that you capture every charge involved. In most scenarios, illegibility of handwritten records will lead to rejected claims or disputes when claiming. This will either lead to healthcare institutions getting less from claims or getting nothing from health insurance companies due to recording errors.

Filing errors

All recorded information is filed differently depending on the filing system used by a healthcare institution. Misfiled claims will mean that there can be difficult to identify and will lead to a loss in potential revenues. This can also mean that it will take time for hospitals to be reimbursed for their service as this will only happen when the claim is properly filed in the proper department.

Omissions

Sometimes important charge information can be omitted accidentally and that means that a patient is charged less than he has to pay. With the hospital environment being very busy it is quite normal that information can be left out during the course of the day. This means that when the claim is submitted it contains incomplete information and charges will only be on recorded information. On a large scale, this could mean massive amounts of revenue foregone due to omissions in a recording.

Inexperience

Without the proper training, an inexperienced staffer can have trouble in properly capturing all the necessary charges for a claim. It doesn’t stop there, there can be issues with filing also and that will cost to the institution.

Solutions

Mobile charge capture apps

At the end of the day for hospitals to remain viable they have to generate money. This money will be used to pay hospital staff, doctors, and nurses, expand hospital wings, new equipment and buy medication. Improving charge capture allows for hospitals to minimize on loses and maximize on returns and contribute to better service delivery.

The first solution that can help improve charge capture is to invest in charge capture software or mobile charge capture apps. These allow for recording, storing and filing of claims in one seamless experience which is very beneficial for medical practitioners.

Healthcare institutions should also regularly train their staff on charge capture methods and make sure that they are updated on changes in charges which normally occur every time. Training can be done according to departments or have a networked system that links multiple departments.

Healthcare institutions should conduct regular audits so that they can detect any problems in the system that is used for charge capture. Audits will reflect the revenue losses and also provide solutions on how to slow down and eventually stop any revenue leakages that may be occurring.

Conclusion

Charge capture should be taken seriously in healthcare institutions to maintain viability. That is why any practices that lead to revenue losses should be dealt with immediately by applying various effective solutions.