Revenue per Encounter – The top revenue cycle metric
In my 2 decades of experience managing revenue cycle operations, I have examined collections information of hundreds of healthcare organizations. The revenue cycle can be a statistician’s delight with so many metrics and measures – net collections ratio (NCR), A/R over 120 days, total days in A/R, A/R status in each bucket 30/60/90/120/120+ days, and more. While each of these metrics is valuable and can provide focused insights, there are multiple ways in which these are computed and can be “fixed” by billing personnel to justify the current state of revenue cycle performance.
Revenue per encounter can be defined and computed by dividing net collections by the total number of patient visits in a given month... This metric can provide a quick view of the health of your revenue cycle.
How you can use revenue per encounter
Using revenue per encounter to monitor operational efficiency
Estimating Future Revenue
Using revenue per encounter for revenue cycle diagnostics
How to improve revenue per encounter?
Build an online presence for your practice to attract patients that consult the internet or look at the review before finding a doctor
Build an effective appointment schedule with a combination of virtual & walk-in consultations
Improve your patient collection strategy by collecting the patient responsibility at the front-desk and improving patient communications
Reduce your cost to collect by bringing in a professional billing company, preferably an offshore provider
Utilize an expert coding team to ensure that discharges are fully billed
Monitor your accounts receivable and take proactive strategies to address them
To learn more about how to calculate revenue per encounter and its benefits, download this guide from Medical Billing Wholesalers.
