moneyA lack of proper referral management and patient leakage are causing healthcare organizations a significant loss in revenue, more than ten percent according to a new survey. On top of that, nearly twenty percent of healthcare leaders are missing out on significant patient revenue due to patients looking for out of network care. Furthermore, the survey also reveals that more than twenty percent of the survey participants were unaware of the amount of revenue being lost because of patient leakage.

With patient leaks negatively affecting revenue, healthcare executives are placing a greater priority on improving referral management. Close to ninety percent of respondents stated that a reduction on patient leaks is “extremely” important at their organization.

Despite a greater emphasis on patient referral management, a sizeable chunk of medical groups, practices, and hospitals have not implemented a way to formally track patient leakage. Even healthcare leaders that do track patient leakage lack a full comprehension on how to cut down on the number of patients looking for beyond network care.

There is currently no unified or standard solutions for tracking leakage, which means healthcare organizations typically rely on their EHR systems. Most organizations (over 35 percent) use the EHR system for referral management and patient leakage tracking.

To read more, please visit https://revcycleintelligence.com/news/patient-leakage-costs-most-healthcare-facilities-10-of-revenue.

This update is by Medical Accounts Systems, a full-service healthcare revenue cycle management company providing a number of services including insurance follow up and managed care disputes, physician reimbursement, extended business office services, and more. For additional information on our services or for any questions you may have on topics such as medical revenue cycle consulting, please call 877-759-6315.