What is Predictable Revenue for Home Health?
Predictable revenue in home health and hospice refers to the ability to consistently generate and forecast income through systematic processes and effective management. This approach is crucial for agencies as it provides financial stability, enables accurate goal-setting, and supports informed decision-making for growth and investment. By creating a reliable revenue stream, organizations can better plan for the future, allocate resources efficiently, and maintain focus on delivering high-quality patient care. Achieving predictable revenue involves implementing strategic measures that optimize financial performance while streamlining operations. As leaders in their respective fields, HealthRev Partners and Forcura offer a powerful combination of expertise and technology to support home health and hospice agencies as they execute these top five strategies to create predictable revenue:
1. Implement Efficient Billing and Collection Processes
The cornerstone of predictable revenue is a robust billing and collection system. Creating predictable revenue is much like putting together a puzzle. The only way to see the full picture is by creating partnerships that contribute the pieces. At HealthRev Partners, we emphasize:
- Automating billing processes, starting with intake, to minimize errors and accelerate claim submissions
- Utilizing advanced analytics to track payer trends and forecast payment timelines
- Establishing clear follow-up protocols for pending claims and denials, supported by real-time alerts
By streamlining these critical processes, agencies can significantly improve their cash flow predictability and overall financial health.
2. Diversify Payer Mix and Regularly Evaluate Payers
Relying on a single payer source can leave agencies vulnerable to revenue fluctuations. We advise our clients to:
- Expand service offerings to attract diverse payer types
- Cultivate strong relationships with multiple payers
- Conduct bi-annual payer assessments using Velocity’s comprehensive reporting features
- Efficiently manage varied payer requirements and ensure proper setup for each payer
- Stay informed about payer policy changes and requirements
This approach, supported by technology like that offered by Forcura’s IQ to easily sort new referrals by payer and apply their business rules to prioritize who is accepted into care, helps mitigate risks and contributes to more stable revenue streams.
3. Invest in Staff Training and Retention
Clinical Staff- these are the physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, personal care services and other clinical staff that see the patient and create a plan of care to meet the individual needs of the patient.
Back Office Staff- these are the individuals who make sure a claim has all of the necessary pieces of information to be sent to the payer.
Well-trained and experienced staff are crucial for maintaining steady revenue. We recommend agencies:
- Provide ongoing training to keep staff updated on evolving payer requirements
- Implement effective retention strategies by equipping teams with tools that standardize critical workflows and focus on higher-value tasks. HRP recommends Forcura Workflow.
- Ensure adequate staffing levels to consistently meet service demands, like HealthRev Partners’ technology platform Velocity’s productivity reports
By maintaining a skilled and stable workforce, empowered by our technologies, agencies can deliver high-quality care and optimize billing processes, both of which are essential for predictable revenue.
4. Leverage Technology for Efficiency and Data Management
Adopting the right technology solutions can significantly enhance revenue predictability. The use of automation is what propels predictability. There is capability to automate processes, create workflows, batch claims, follow up with payers, and adequately predict the stream of cash flow. The data and analytics allows billers and collectors to use payer information and trends to the advantage of the agency, based on the average number of days it takes a payer to fulfill a payment.
We encourage our clients to:
- Streamline operations, manage authorizations, and track utilization
- Implement Velocity’s data analytics tools to gain actionable insights for informed decision-making
- Utilize Forcura’s platform to scale business with the same staff in order to reach more clients. Learn how Liberty Home Healthcare scaled their business by 23%.
These technological investments lead to more efficient operations and better financial forecasting, contributing to more predictable revenue streams.
5. Implement Comprehensive Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) Program KPIs
At HealthRev Partners, we believe in setting clear performance metrics and incentives to drive predictable revenue. We recommend:
- Setting timelines and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each department using customizable dashboards
- Accelerate your order cycle time by leveraging Forcura Circle, which reduces orders turnaround time by an average of 50%.
- Maintaining less than 10% of total claims in the unbilled bucket, tracked in real-time
- Implementing a Claims Management Program with 15-day review cycles, facilitated by Velocity’s task management features
- Working on denials and rejections within 24 hours, supported by Velocity’s real-time alerts
- Aiming for a clean claim rate at or above 98.5%
Bonus Tip: Create Incentive Plans for Staff
Incentive plans provide concrete targets for employees to focus on, motivating them to work harder to achieve specific goals. With rewards tied to performance, employees are more likely to increase their effort and productivity to earn those incentives. We recommend:
- Conducting monthly strategy meetings to address shortfalls and gaps, informed by Velocity’s comprehensive reporting
- Creating performance bonuses to reward efforts and maintain high standards
By implementing these strategies and leveraging the combined power of HealthRev Partners’ Velocity platform and Forcura’s solutions, home health and hospice agencies can create more predictable revenue streams, enabling them to focus on their core mission of providing exceptional patient care.
