The Two Things an AR Employee Needs

April 19, 2017

Category: General

Two weeks ago, we reviewed what an AR Manager needs to be successful. But what about the staff that is doing the daily work? What do they need to be as successful as possible?

It all comes down to two words: Clarity and Ease.

A lot of details need to be handled on the front lines. Patient information, payers, documentation, codes, forms, deadlines… it’s a lot to juggle. The more you can remove the clutter from the process – streamline how things are done and support strategic prioritization of work, the more productive and accomplished your staff will feel. 

Clarity

With high volumes of work, AR employees need the ability to move from one claim to the next without having to put too much thought or effort into deciding what is next. If a team member has to sort through what is coming up, decide how to prioritize, and then start through the process of actually doing the work, they are less productive. However, if they have a technology system that supplies proper clarity into the AR pipeline then: 

• More can get accomplished in a day. Instead of spending time on the sorting, gathering documentation, and organizing the work, more time can be devoted to getting the actual work done and bringing in more revenue. 
• Work happens in alignment with the strategic goals of the company. The default for most people is to sort work by alphabet or by payer – but that doesn’t necessarily take into consideration a lot of other factors that influence priority such as deadline, denial codes, partial payment versus denial, dollar amount, or probability of success. A workflow tool can assign work based on strategic priority, using a complex algorithm set by management. 
• The skill set of the employee is matched appropriately to the work. Workflow systems leverage a factory-style environment where everyone plays a role that is best suited to skill set. You avoid an AR team where employees wear so many hats it's difficult to assess the ROI for the effort. Being able to quickly route the work to the person most suited - from both skill set and pay grade perspectives - means you aren't bogging down your high-paid employee with clerical tasks.

Having your AR priorities defined at a strategic level and preset in a workflow system allows quick prioritization based on a complex set of variables. The most urgent work always rises to the top, and lands in the queue of the right person.

 

Ease

When an AR employee sits down to look work an outstanding amount, they shouldn’t have to hunt around for everything they need. Having a centrailzed system that leverages automation ensures you always have what you need when you need it makes for a less frustrating, more productive day. 

• Document management. When records and documentation are all centralized and organized, it’s simple to get the information you need to work your outstanding invoices with the click of a button.
• Quick hand offs. A centralized system also makes for easy hand-offs, allowing work to be sent from one person to another without having to get up and interrupt the rhythm of the day. Collaboration is improved because of centralized note keeping and the ability to address the work when ready to focus. It saves the time of typing out separate recap emails or worse, getting up to from your desk and wasting more time.
• Escalations and reminders. Alerts are critical for making work life easier for an AR team. When deadlines are met or missed, with alerts you don’t have to maintain the mental energy or handwritten to-do lists to follow up. The system will automatically notify you when you receive important information – or if a set period of time elapses without getting an expected response. That brain space is now freed to focus on the work and not the logistics of the work.

 

In summary, to be most successful, an AR team needs:

• Strategic prioritization
• Everything in one spot
• Easy handoffs and collaboration
• Ability to document
• Reminders to keep on track

The flexibility in workflow, centralized record keeping, and strategic prioritization is not available in most billing software. To truly be your best as an AR team member, you need an integrated automated workflow and document management tool, like the Medforce Accounts Receivable Management App.

Follow these links to learn more about the Medforce Accounts Receivable Management App or read our recent case study: Boosting Productivity in Accounts Receivable.

We’d love to help you take the guesswork out of success, fill in the form below for a free consultation. 

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