Revenue Cycle Management

Abstract

Medicine is both a calling to provide high-quality medical services to patients and a business that must generate sufficient revenue to cover expenses to remain viable. Your education and training as a physician focused almost entirely on your clinical knowledge. While you may be ready to enter medical practice and apply your clinical expertise, you are likely less comfortable managing the necessary financial and operational components. You will need help in the business performance aspects of medical practice management whether you are opening a new practice or joining an existing organization. You will be more effective in all practice settings if you know about operations, provider productivity, cost control, and process consistency.

This chapter reviews components of the revenue cycle and briefly discusses these factors in the context of how they affect revenue. It will address appointment scheduling, registration, coding, charge capture, patient and insurance billing, account follow-up, and collections.