Are you interested in an exciting new career where you get to help people? Then medical billing might be for you. It doesn’t hurt to do some research before you jump into one of our accessible medical billing courses. One term that you should know is Revenue Cycle Management, or RCM.

What Is RCM?

In a nutshell, Revenue Cycle Management is the process of managing and executing all revenue-generating activities in healthcare. It’s important to understand that because this is the all-important aspect of healthcare.

RCM is a way for hospitals, physicians, and practice managers to profitably provide healthcare services to patients.

Why Is Revenue Cycle Management Important?

Hospital administrators and physicians understand the importance of a sustainable revenue cycle. If a hospital or a physician’s office has a poorly executed revenue cycle, it can lead to financial hardships.

Additionally, a poorly executed revenue cycle slows the inability of a hospital or medical practice to provide patient care.

Why is this? It’s because revenue cycle managers must be effective in managing all registration, billing, and collection activities that come into a hospital or medical practice. Without proper management, all of these activities can cause inefficiencies and cost the organization money. How is this possible, you might ask?

Well, an inefficient revenue cycle can lead to billing and registration errors. If these are not corrected, they can impact the revenue cycle and patient care. These errors may lead to a loss of revenue for the organization and wasted clinical resources.

How Do You Manage Revenue Cycle?

RCM is the process of managing and executing all revenue-generating activities in healthcare. This includes but is not limited to tracking accounts receivable, billing patient accounts, posting payments, managing collections and discharges.

These are extremely important processes. In the revenue cycle, billing and patient payments are critical aspects that ensure a profitable organization.

Now that you understand how RCM works, you can easily thrive in your career as you help your organization with medical billing.