Azalea Health, a leading provider of fully-integrated cloud-based healthcare solutions and services, released results from its internal customer survey, highlighting how providers are leveraging the company’s revenue cycle management (RCM) services throughout the year.
The Azalea RCM Performance Analysis was conducted at the end of 2021 and captured data from across 500+ healthcare providers using Azalea Health’s RCM and billing services.
“There is a prevalent myth among community physician practices that a robust billing and RCM solution has to be expensive or require a large billing staff,” said Doug Swords, VP of RCM and co-founder of Azalea Health. “The reality is when using our RCM services, our customers increase cash flow, reduce accounts receivables (A/R) and free up staff to focus on other areas of the business. When providers have access to the latest in RCM technology, regardless of size or specialty, the right billing solution has an immediate impact on a provider’s business.”
Healthcare costs escalated significantly in 2021. Paired with staff shortages, inflation, market consolidation and a shift to value-based reimbursement, community-based providers are particularly challenged to ensure steady cash flow to remain independent and financially stable.
Azalea’s analysis showed that its billing services have proven to increase reimbursement across its ambulatory providers, and after analyzing more than 1.1 million claims providers reported:
- an average of 37 days in A/R, compared to 45 to 60 days industry average as reported by MGMA;
- an average 1.6% claim rejection rates – half the industry standard (statistic released by TriZetto); and
- an average of 11% of total A/R greater than 120 Days compared to an industry average of approximately 15% – 25% depending on specialty, according to MGMA.
An independent study conducted by Hobson & Company, a leading research firm focused on return on investment (ROI) studies, found that customers using Azalea Health’s RCM solution were able to heavily reduce time spent managing billing, days in A/R, and denials. A physician owner noted in that study, “Our accounts receivables went from 202 days to 38 days on average with Azalea RCM.”
Azalea Health’s billing solution addresses every step of the revenue cycle workflow, from electronic claims submission and denials management to performance analytics and patient invoicing. With dedicated personnel with expertise in nearly 30 specialties, customers have reported the friendly, easy approach and always timely responses they experience with their Azalea Health consultant.
Azalea keeps providers up to date on regulatory compliance, coding and reimbursement changes. The Azalea Health analysis captured results from practices utilizing RCM services in 2021.