Improve Quality of Patient Care Using Electronic Remit Advice (ERA)
Posting insurance payments seems quite remote from quality of patient care.
Yet it is instrumental in the ongoing drive to improve this primary and most important deliverable of a medical clinic - quality care for each patient.
The second most important deliverable for medical clinics is to have each patient recognize the care received was excellent.
Achieving the second objective dramatically improves the first because patient perception of quality is as important as the actual care, perhaps even more so.
This is not about political spin or accounting trickery.
It is about getting credit with your patients for the great medical work you do and not compromising your work by non-medical patient interfaces that are less than effective.
Patients will feel better when they are treated well.
They will tell friends and family of their positive experience.
They will be more willing to pay for services and less likely to complain about or delay payment for services.
How can electronic posting help accomplish any of this? Electronic posting will accomplish several things which will directly affect patient care: • Reduced costs for administrative activities • Reduction in number and complexity of posting errors • Improved accuracy of patient statements • Reduction in number and severity of patient complaints By reducing the cost of administrative tasks, the entire focus of the clinic shifts more to patient care and away from administration.
We all recognize the necessity of administrative tasks yet it is difficult to find ways in which they can serve the clinic's primary mission.
By freeing up administrative staff time and removing menial tasks like data entry, those whose functions are not directly associated with providing care have time to improve their interface with and support of the medical staff.
The clinic's primary mission gets more effective attention.
Posting Errors Posting errors create more time consuming work for the back office staff and the medical staff.
Errors in posting payments: • Increase the incidence of write-offs • Increase frustration among medical staff • Reduce cash flow • Reduce profitability Patient Statement Questions Accurate and timely insurance payment posting improves the quality of patient communication.
Their billing statements are accurate.
Questions about billing are fewer and more easily answered.
The patient's records are more likely to have the same information as the clinic's records.
Complaints Besides questions about billing, complaints often begin because of a billing error, confusion about billing or the way a patient feels about how those questions were answered, or not answered.
Yet it is instrumental in the ongoing drive to improve this primary and most important deliverable of a medical clinic - quality care for each patient.
The second most important deliverable for medical clinics is to have each patient recognize the care received was excellent.
Achieving the second objective dramatically improves the first because patient perception of quality is as important as the actual care, perhaps even more so.
This is not about political spin or accounting trickery.
It is about getting credit with your patients for the great medical work you do and not compromising your work by non-medical patient interfaces that are less than effective.
Patients will feel better when they are treated well.
They will tell friends and family of their positive experience.
They will be more willing to pay for services and less likely to complain about or delay payment for services.
How can electronic posting help accomplish any of this? Electronic posting will accomplish several things which will directly affect patient care: • Reduced costs for administrative activities • Reduction in number and complexity of posting errors • Improved accuracy of patient statements • Reduction in number and severity of patient complaints By reducing the cost of administrative tasks, the entire focus of the clinic shifts more to patient care and away from administration.
We all recognize the necessity of administrative tasks yet it is difficult to find ways in which they can serve the clinic's primary mission.
By freeing up administrative staff time and removing menial tasks like data entry, those whose functions are not directly associated with providing care have time to improve their interface with and support of the medical staff.
The clinic's primary mission gets more effective attention.
Posting Errors Posting errors create more time consuming work for the back office staff and the medical staff.
Errors in posting payments: • Increase the incidence of write-offs • Increase frustration among medical staff • Reduce cash flow • Reduce profitability Patient Statement Questions Accurate and timely insurance payment posting improves the quality of patient communication.
Their billing statements are accurate.
Questions about billing are fewer and more easily answered.
The patient's records are more likely to have the same information as the clinic's records.
Complaints Besides questions about billing, complaints often begin because of a billing error, confusion about billing or the way a patient feels about how those questions were answered, or not answered.
