Day in and day out we sort by last name, high to low balances. The general approach to working outstanding AR and denials has not changed in decades. The result of infinite choices with regards to data is spending our most productive time every morning sorting the same tired reports by last name…and you know…highest balances first.
What to do?
There are three things that anybody, regardless of the organizational chart, can do right now to save time and get better cash flow results.
Use Excel. Seriously, use it.
Many very capable medical billers, bookkeepers, and senior management use Excel as if it were a digitized sheet of paper. If you are entering numbers into a spreadsheet manually, adding them on a calculator, then entering the result on said spreadsheet…stop that right now. Google the SUM function and let Excel do its job. While you’re on a roll, get comfortable with the IF, MATCH, and VLOOKUP functions and Pivot Tables.
Functions (and pivot tables) make the world go ‘round, and once you have an elementary understanding of them you can…
Build recurring templates.
With a template of functions and pivot tables, you only need to copy the new data each day. All of that copying and sorting and summing (Oh, My!) is now complete in one click. If you are inclined to keep working largest to smallest, you can stop here and still brag to your peers how you save hours a week. But if you really want to make a difference…
Separate information creation from the user.
Have you ever tried to proofread a complex email that you authored and had to start over several times because your brain kept skipping words? Trying to analyze our own work is difficult because our fantastical brains have already processed the general idea, so it wants to fill in the blanks based on what we meant…not what we actually wrote. Efficiently compiling data and effectively using it are different skills. If you want to really succeed, separate the preparation from the use and watch the magic happen.
Consider denial management. Most providers, if they have access to good denial information at all, must compile…and sort by last name and balance…manually. Because the compilation is a repetitive process, it consumes valuable time and creative analytical resources every day that could otherwise be used in, you know, the actual resolution of denials.
MiraVista automates the denial reporting process so our reimbursement associates and clients are automatically presented each morning with the denials from the previous day. No compilation required. Redirecting that compilation time to working denials, resolving systemic causes, and high-fiving at the end of the day on a job well done …well that is awesome. So awesome in fact, we received the following email from one of our clients that use our Denial Queue Reporting Service:
“Thank you for all you are doing for us. We are feeling a sense of accomplishment every day and it is wonderful!”
Who talks like that these days in our industry? Our clients do; that’s who. And it feels pretty good.
The point is, leveraging Excel can save you time, improve financial performance, and reduce workloads. Start now or contact MiraVista and let us help you.
What to do?
There are three things that anybody, regardless of the organizational chart, can do right now to save time and get better cash flow results.
Use Excel. Seriously, use it.
Many very capable medical billers, bookkeepers, and senior management use Excel as if it were a digitized sheet of paper. If you are entering numbers into a spreadsheet manually, adding them on a calculator, then entering the result on said spreadsheet…stop that right now. Google the SUM function and let Excel do its job. While you’re on a roll, get comfortable with the IF, MATCH, and VLOOKUP functions and Pivot Tables.
Functions (and pivot tables) make the world go ‘round, and once you have an elementary understanding of them you can…
Build recurring templates.
With a template of functions and pivot tables, you only need to copy the new data each day. All of that copying and sorting and summing (Oh, My!) is now complete in one click. If you are inclined to keep working largest to smallest, you can stop here and still brag to your peers how you save hours a week. But if you really want to make a difference…
Separate information creation from the user.
Have you ever tried to proofread a complex email that you authored and had to start over several times because your brain kept skipping words? Trying to analyze our own work is difficult because our fantastical brains have already processed the general idea, so it wants to fill in the blanks based on what we meant…not what we actually wrote. Efficiently compiling data and effectively using it are different skills. If you want to really succeed, separate the preparation from the use and watch the magic happen.
Consider denial management. Most providers, if they have access to good denial information at all, must compile…and sort by last name and balance…manually. Because the compilation is a repetitive process, it consumes valuable time and creative analytical resources every day that could otherwise be used in, you know, the actual resolution of denials.
MiraVista automates the denial reporting process so our reimbursement associates and clients are automatically presented each morning with the denials from the previous day. No compilation required. Redirecting that compilation time to working denials, resolving systemic causes, and high-fiving at the end of the day on a job well done …well that is awesome. So awesome in fact, we received the following email from one of our clients that use our Denial Queue Reporting Service:
“Thank you for all you are doing for us. We are feeling a sense of accomplishment every day and it is wonderful!”
Who talks like that these days in our industry? Our clients do; that’s who. And it feels pretty good.
The point is, leveraging Excel can save you time, improve financial performance, and reduce workloads. Start now or contact MiraVista and let us help you.
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