In its simplest form, revenue cycle management, also known as RCM, refers to the lifespan of a patient account from first contact to payment and reconciliation. It includes all the administrative and clinical functions that add to the capture, management, and collection of revenue.
Apart from the time and money wasted finding and onboarding billing staff, without an expert, cohesive team, the billing process isn’t as watertight as it should be, leading to providers losing revenue in the process.
In addition, poor coding practices also contribute to a loss in revenue. Refer to the next question for more on this topic.