Staffing shortages continue to plague the healthcare industry, making it difficult for providers to meet patient needs. The shortage has caused a ripple effect in the industry, affecting everything from patient care to account receivables.
While this has been a growing issue for a decade, it accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic pushing staff turnover from 18% to 30%. According to a Mercer report, 6.5 million healthcare workers will permanently leave their jobs by 2026, with only 1.9 million ready to replace these vacancies. If this happens, the US healthcare industry will be short of 3.2 million workers by 2026.
This staffing shortage has created a challenging environment that requires providers to pivot and adapt to new strategies to continue providing quality care to their patients. One of the areas that the staffing shortage has significantly impacted is account receivables (AR). With less staff available to manage the billing and collections process, healthcare facilities need help to keep up with the demand to avoid significant revenue losses and financial instability.
In this blog, we will explore how healthcare organizations can pivot during a staffing shortage and avoid financial losses.
How to Manage Accounts Receivable During Staffing Shortages
The healthcare staffing crisis has created several challenges for providers in managing their accounts receivables. One of the significant challenges is the increased workload on the existing staff, which leads to errors and inefficiencies in AR management. Additionally, the staff shortage means that providers cannot follow up on outstanding claims, leading to a backlog of unpaid bills.
But all is not lost. There are a few ways that healthcare organizations and providers can use to recover and bounce back better from this staffing crisis.
Invest in Technology to Streamline AR Processes
If you’re looking for a way to pivot during a staffing shortage in healthcare, the answer is simple: use technology. Technology has revolutionized the way healthcare organizations function, and it can be leveraged to help manage AR during staffing shortages.
By automating tasks such as claims processing, payment posting, and denials management, healthcare organizations can reduce the workload on their account receivables staff and improve efficiency. Automation can also reduce errors and improve accuracy, leading to faster payments and increased revenue.
You can use technology for:
- Automating collecting payments from patients reduces the staff’s workload and allows them to focus on other tasks.
- Screening and segmenting accounts quickly allow staff to prioritize those most likely to be paid.
- Automating the process of generating and sending invoices and reducing billing errors.
- Identifying trends and improving financial performance through real-time analytics.
Cross-Train Your Staff
Cross-training staff is a quick-fix solution to ensure that your organization can meet staffing needs — at least for the time being. Cross-training allows employees to develop new skills, which can help them advance in their careers and make them more valuable to your organization.
But remember that this can’t last very long. Overworking your employees can lead to burnout, ultimately affecting productivity. So use it until you figure out the long-term plan to manage AR for good.
Outsource to an Expert Team
A wise approach to managing the staffing shortage is to outsource services. You can outsource medical billing and coding, revenue cycle management, and other administrative tasks.
With outsourcing, you will be able to manage your administrative work more efficiently without the need to hire additional full-time employees. Outsourcing also helps avoid distracting your employees by administrative duties so they can focus on patient care instead of dealing with administrative tasks. Plus, you can cut costs in the long run, which may be necessary when experiencing high employee turnover rates.
Here are some areas where third-party providers can help with AR management:
- Medical Billing: Medical billers and coders are trained to understand the ins and outs of insurance companies, how to code and submit claims, and how to follow up on claims that have been denied. If you’re running into a staffing shortage in this area, it may be time to outsource it.
- Debt Collection: If you have a large volume of accounts receivable, it can be challenging to keep track of all your accounts and make sure everyone pays their bills on time. You can outsource the delinquent accounts to debt collectors to recover the debt most easily.
- Pre- & Post-Payment Processing: In some cases, facilities contract out their pre-payment processing to avoid errors in the claim process. In other cases, facilities hire a third-party company as part of their post-payment processing efforts because they don’t have enough staff members trained in financial management or accounting skills. You can outsource one or both of these tasks based on your staffing issues.
- Tools like IVR (Interactive Voice Response): IVRs are automated systems that answer calls and provide information. They can be used in various ways, including answering questions about bills, debt, and more. These programs are extremely helpful when short-staffed.
These are just a few areas where an external team can help with AR management. You can start with a few and add to them when needed.
The Future of Healthcare Staffing
As technology continues shaping the healthcare industry, organizations must stay ahead of the curve. Healthcare staffing is no exception. As more patients are served by fewer staff members, hospitals and clinics must find ways to improve operational effectiveness without sacrificing quality care.
If you’re not already thinking about how technology or skilled third parties can help your organization manage its workforce now — you should start doing so immediately.
If you want an efficient team to help manage account receivables right from billing to recovering bad debts, then call us experts at 470-297-1120.