The Hidden Impact of Pre-Registrations | Reduce Denials

Reports indicate that rework related to revenue cycle management takes up almost 80% of the billing offices time. Oversights in patient onboarding and the pre-registration process can cost a health system more than just FTE, they can increase A/R days and lead to denials or bad debt. As many as one in four denials stem from registration and eligibility errors— and nearly a quarter of those will be unrecoverable. With tight margins continuing to plague the industry and the threat of recession looming, providers cannot afford to leave any money on the table.

Eligibility denials are preventable.

Many of the errors that lead to eligibility denials occur as the result of simple oversight or a failure to collect all of the patient’s information during pre-registration. When authorization teams are missing vital details, the verification process turns into a revolving door: recirculating the same patients through the system and exhausting internal resources with slow to no progress. For this reason, Patient Access is the most pivotal juncture for the revenue cycle, having the ability to impact payments before a patient has even been seen.

68% of healthcare leadership say pre-registration is responsible for gaps in their revenue cycle.

With revenue on everyone’s minds, health systems are looking to fill the gaps wherever possible and most of them are eyeing the roles of front-office and patient follow-up staff. These two roles are not only critical to the success of the revenue cycle, but they are among the most in-demand positions, outside of care staff, in today’s labor shortage. Establishing a dedicated pre-registration team is the first step in eliminating loopholes in your verification and patient onboarding processes.

A strong pre-registration process…

• Includes a dedicated team of patient access coordinators
• Conducts patient outreach to verify all patient data
• Works within your EMR, for more timely access to the status of patient data
• Functions in tantum with scheduling, creating efficiencies for patients and front-office teams

Beyond the direct impact on the revenue cycle, an efficient pre-registration process can greatly influence the patient experience. The work done in pre-registration tackles the two most universal patient complaints: long wait times and price transparency. Comprehensive pre-registration work prevents patients from having to verify information or complete more paperwork on-site, minimizing time spent in the waiting room. Likewise, thorough data collection and verification makes the authorization process run smoothly, giving providers ample time to determine patients out-of-pocket costs— a requirement of the No Surprises Act that has proven to boost patient satisfaction and propensity to pay at the same time.

These first steps in the patient journey are critical, impacting the patient experience, care, and revenue down the line. If you’re organization is having difficulty executing pre-registration outreach, Envera Health can help. We build fully customized access solutions, providing the right combination of people and technology to improve the patient experience and support growth.

Contact us today to schedule an obligation-free consultation.