After COVID-19, the healthcare industry experienced new challenges that put all teams to the test. From backed-up appointments to an explosion in tech and telehealth, 2024 operational challenges have put flexibility front and center. While these challenges can be stressful, they also open up new opportunities in patient technology and revenue cycle management (RCM).

As a chief financial officer (CFO) or RCM leader, you must be ahead of the curve. Juggling billing, collections, patient payments and regulations means using cutting-edge tools to advance your team. Every new challenge allows you to adapt and find new ways to optimize your RCM.

Let’s take a look at the recent challenges and how you can use them to take advantage of 2024 healthcare tech opportunities.

Biggest Challenges for Healthcare RCM in 2024

Working to keep your operation efficient and financially stable is no small task. CFOs and healthcare revenue cycle leaders regularly handle significant challenges and seek out innovative solutions. Below are some of the biggest challenges for healthcare RCM in 2024 and solutions for overcoming them.

Timely Patient Collections

Timely patient collections are a significant challenge for many RCM teams — 27% of CFOs cited this issue as a problem for their operation. The rise of high-deductible plans and increasing patient responsibility have created many payment streams for CFOs. With an increasingly complex collection system, it’s easy for patients to get confused and miss payments. RCM teams must improve upfront patient collections, streamline billing processes and reduce accounts receivable aging to maintain their cash flow.

Flexible payment processing tools facilitate convenient options, like online and mobile payments. The easier it is to pay, the easier it is for patients to stay ahead of due dates. Directly accessing statement information and payment tools also eliminates increased workloads and delays that occur when patients need to call the office.

You can go even further with patient engagement solutions, which use prior interactions to optimize revenue cycle management. For example, the best time of day to send a payment reminder can vary for different patients. Patient engagement platforms that incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can learn from preferences and prior interactions to contact the patient at the right time — the one that’s most likely to lead to an on-time payment. With comprehensive software support, your RCM team can optimize patient collections and maintain a solid cash flow.

Hiring and Training Staff

Healthcare organizations also face difficulties recruiting and training qualified staff. While 2023 saw challenges around RCM staffing, 70% of RCM teams think retaining staff will continue to be an issue. Working in RCM means having specialized knowledge of healthcare billing and coding regulations and proficiency in billing software. With an ongoing staffing shortage, RCM teams will have to overcome poor retention rates. CFOs must invest in hiring and training programs that equip their teams to handle RCM challenges.

Reducing your team’s workload can help significantly. Look for a solution that reduces administrative burdens with virtual intake forms, insurance verification and digital check-ins. Patient-facing tools can take the strain off your team, freeing them up to work on other tasks.

Another way to mitigate staffing shortages is to prioritize intuitive interfaces and user-friendly features that simplify training. These resources can reduce the learning curve for new hires and enhance productivity. Ease of use also helps patients quickly understand and navigate systems to submit timely payments.

In addition to implementing new software, your organization could outsource billing tasks to reduce the burden on staff and cut some of the costs associated with employee turnover and training. Plus, outsourcing with reliable agencies gives you access to specialized knowledge and expertise that can help your organization enhance operations without requiring you to hire more employees.

Patient Financial Responsibility and Collection Rates

The complexities of insurance often leave patients confused about what they have to pay for and why, which can negatively impact collection rates and cash flow. Educating your patients on their financial responsibility and being transparent about costs upfront helps to clear up these misunderstandings.

Of course, it’s important to remember that unexpected clinical circumstances can make it difficult to predict how much a visit or treatment will cost upfront. A software solution that accurately estimates patient payments pre-visit can help resolve this issue by analyzing historical data related to their previous care, improving your ability to boost your net collection rate.

Data Analytics and Reporting

Data is everywhere today. With advancements in healthcare technology opportunities like artificial intelligence (AI), RCM teams must learn how to harness all the new data at their fingertips. Analyzing key performance indicators — like days in accounts receivable, collection rates and time to collect — is essential. RCM teams need to use data analytics to spot revenue leakage and create targeted interventions.

However, many RCM teams need more resources and expertise to use data analytics effectively. CFOs need to find solutions that let them harness all their data. With these tools, RCM staff can invest in data-driven decision-making to improve revenue outcomes.

Robust analytics tools can help RCM teams use data-driven insights to boost revenue for healthcare facilities. 

For example, Speech AI can be used to assess phone interactions with patients. This analysis enables the program to alert RCM teams to possible global issues, such as an influx of calls about bills patients have already paid. The team then knows to check if payments were posted incorrectly or not picked up, which can help them find efficient solutions to the problem.

One of Speech AI’s goals is to collect data on trends, such as patient satisfaction or engagement levels. With this kind of data, your team can make more informed decisions that support better RCM.

Maintaining Security and Compliance

Security and compliance are ever-changing challenges for RCM teams and your team and tools must be adaptable and robust to ensure you remain compliant. Healthcare organizations hold a lot of sensitive patient data, and any security breaches can have severe consequences.

RCM teams need to follow strict privacy and security regulations to keep patient data safe. Part of compliance is also updating billing and coding guidelines. Staying compliant, protecting patients and avoiding penalties can contribute to RCM challenges.

If you want to navigate security challenges, you need a secure solution. A dependable healthcare tech stack must follow robust data security measures and comply with industry regulations like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. Additional security features like automated account validation can further protect patient information.

How Streamlined Collections Systems Help Healthcare Revenue Cycle Leaders

Leaders across care settings have turned to innovative technological solutions to address the top challenges facing healthcare RCM teams today. This investment can help your organization make the most of those obstacles by turning them into opportunities for RCM advancement.

Whether you’re looking for a solution to overcome tricky roadblocks or you want to get ahead of the curve, adopting a comprehensive RCM software solution that includes the following features can help your RCM teams tackle some of the field’s most pressing issues:

• Pre-visit features like insurance verification, payment estimates and early payment processing.
• Digital engagement resources, such as live chats, secure payment portals and real-time analytics.
• Flexible digital payment options for patients, including online and mobile payments, text-to-pay, dynamic QR codes and payment plans.
• A supportive software provider dedicated to your success.

Your software vendor should also enable access to resources that streamline processes and improve revenue recovery before and after each appointment for optimal results.

Handle RCM Challenges Easily With Millennia

Millennia offers cutting-edge solutions to help you overcome RCM challenges. From improving patient collections to enhancing data analytics and ensuring compliance, Millennia empowers healthcare providers to optimize their revenue cycle operations.

Comprehensive payment solutions and engagement tools help healthcare organizations like yours achieve a well-rounded system through:

• Streamlined patient collections
• Timely payments
• Increased patient satisfaction
• Simplified billing workflows
• An intuitive, user-friendly interface

As a result, your organization can increase revenue and maximize data security for better collections and streamlined operations.

Don’t let RCM challenges hold your organization back. Request a consultation with Millennia today to unlock your revenue potential!