Three revenue cycle strategies for radiology practices during COVID-19
Writing in Diagnostic Imaging in 2020, Dhruv Chopra, then CEO of Collaborative Imaging (now CIVIE), argued that radiology practices had to make the most of a painful slowdown. When the federal government urged a halt to elective procedures early in the pandemic, routine exams dropped sharply, which he noted can mean a 40 to 60 percent loss in revenue. His advice was to use that time to strengthen the revenue cycle for the rest of the pandemic and beyond.
Scrub claims with technology
Whether billing is done in-house or by a third party, Chopra recommended using readily available technology to “scrub” claims internally for accuracy and completeness before filing. A rules-based review of billing files “is not dependent on a person” and checks for accuracy before submission. The same tools can also reveal process improvements that prevent future errors.
Find the gaps nobody is watching
Successful billing operations already address common gaps such as incomplete information, missing prior authorization and lack of documentation. Chopra’s point was that many other gaps go unnoticed and, left unchecked, cause significant revenue loss or delays.
The strongest revenue cycle processes, he wrote, automatically focus on problems that are the payer’s fault rather than the billing team’s. They are driven by technology rather than headcount. That mattered as billing teams scrambled to work from home during the pandemic, and a process that doesn’t depend on people in an office is far less likely to be interrupted.
Prepare for the rebound
Chopra expected demand to rise as the pandemic slowed, and he urged practices to prepare with automated workflow solutions. Instead of working claims one by one, automated processes can monitor and manage billing end to end, regardless of vendor or billing system, using real-time, data-driven revenue cycle analytics to get clean, complete information on the front end. The result is clean claims, faster payment and a better chance of capturing reimbursement that might otherwise be missed.
Why it still matters
The pandemic made the case urgent, but the advice was never specific to it. Chopra closed by urging practices to review all of their revenue cycle policies and processes. CIVIE’s revenue cycle management is built on the same principles of automated claim checks and tracking every claim from start to finish.
Source: “Recovering Revenue During COVID-19,” Dhruv Chopra, Diagnostic Imaging, May 15, 2020.
