The global pandemic of Covid-19 has thrown life out of course for everyone in the world. Similar to any modern industry, there has been a tangible impact of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis on the health care sector. The major challenge is faced by the health care revenue cycle as well as financial operations.
The Need for Remote Working Options During the Crisis
Several elements related to the Covid-19 crisis have started changing the revenue cycle of medical practices and providers, forcing revenue cycle managers to opt for providing work from home mode to more number of employees. This is essential to counter the ramifications of the pandemic.
Why is Remote Working Option Urgent?
The practice of social distancing is touted to be the only effective solution to face the Covid-19 threat as of now. Revenue cycle employees must be allowed to work from home to run the process and keep the health care organizations financially afloat.
Practices that have not tested the work from home possibility must start exploring this possibility in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Those who have already been moving toward a remote working model need to ramp up their efforts and efficiently scale up.
How Does Remote Working Help Manage the Clovid-19 Crisis?
In order to gear up facing the Covid-19 crisis, global medical practices need to ensure that their revenue cycle is capable of meeting the challenges. The volume variability, cash flow interruptions, and the incorporation of remote staffing have the potential to challenge any health care organization’s financial viability. Adopting reliable strategies and the best practices for managing remote staff helps practices to handle the situation.
How to Implement the Remote Working Model Effectively?
Medical billers and coders are required to work from home due to the pandemic. This creates challenges related to production, compliance, supervision, and communication. The following must be taken into consideration for successfully managing the remote staff:
- Employees’ computers must be password protected.
- Coders must intimate while signing in, logging off, taking breaks, returning, and signing off.
- Security and privacy of protected health information must be assured using stringent measures.
- Adherence to regulations and other HIPAA provisions must be ensured.
- A regular and transparent communication channel must be set up.
Faced with the challenges thrown by the global pandemic, healthcare organizations across the world have started allowing their employees to work from home. Technological advancements and the people’s adaptability have ensured that hospitals and specialties manage their revenue cycle efficiently through remote working.
Following certain effective steps will ensure that your practice bounces back after the crisis ends:
- Provide cross-training to your billing and coding staff for handling RCM processes.
- Adopt technology to develop an efficient information management process.
- Continue to invest in telehealth and self-service tools.
Conclusion
Just like any modern industry, health care is also at risk for business disruption due to the coronavirus outbreak. Adhering to statutory guidelines and following the appropriate standards will help medical practices to achieve success after the global crisis.
Meta Description
Educating coders and billers, streamlining policy and procedural efforts, and updating new Covid-19 modifiers are the way to ensure proper payment and gain back control over practice RCM.