Tag: claim denials

Managing claims efficiently—and reducing denials—remains one of the biggest challenges for healthcare providers. Statistics reveal that 46% of denials are caused by missing or inaccurate data, as highlighted by Experian Health's 2024 State of Claims Survey. For providers, these denials translate into endless follow-ups with patients, staff burnout, rising bad debt (which has increased by 7% year-over-year), and slim revenue margins. Reworking a denied claim costs providers an average of $25 and hospitals $181—an expense that is difficult to justify. Introducing Patient Access Curator: Automated claims accuracy from day 1 Fortunately, there is now a way to ensure claims are processed accurately from the start, without excessive effort: Patient Access Curator (PAC), Experian Health's groundbreaking new tool that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize the claims process. As a central component of Experian Health's Patient Access portfolio, this innovative solution automates front-end processes, identifies incorrect data upfront, and resolves inaccuracies in real time, preventing costly claim denials before they occur. Introduced in early 2024, the curation tool is getting the attention of revenue cycle leaders at health systems and laboratories, with good reason.  This article gives a run-down of Patient Access Curator and how it helps providers prevent claim denials in seconds.  Discover how leading organizations like Exact Sciences and Trinity Health have leveraged Patient Access Curator to automate eligibility, reduce denials, and transform their revenue cycles. Watch our pre-recorded session from the 2024 Experian Health High-Performance Summit to see Patient Access Curator in action. Watch now Built-in AI for more accurate data and seamless claims denial prevention Most issues that lead to denials crop up early in the revenue cycle, when information is missed or captured incorrectly during patient registration. For this reason, it makes sense to focus on denial prevention strategies  on the front end. With so much data to capture, manual strategies are bound to stumble. Unfortunately, many digital tools still require staff to check multiple payer websites and data repositories to verify insurance eligibility and check for any billable coverage that might have been missed. Patient Access Curator takes on these tasks seamlessly, and right within Epic workflows. From patient demographics and eligibility checks to coordination of benefits (COB) primacy, Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBI), and insurance discovery, the system automates these essential processes, providing precise data within moments. This solution ensures data integrity from the moment of registration by replacing manual guesswork with advanced AI-driven technology. This reduces the frequency of denials, minimizes A/R write-offs, and curtails vendor fees. Beyond enhancing efficiency, the tool safeguards the financial health of healthcare providers.  Jason Considine, President of Experian Health, says, "Our mission is to simplify healthcare. Patient Access Curator's advanced AI technology equips providers to address claim denials more effectively and efficiently than ever before."  Say goodbye to manual work with instant eligibility and insurance verification Patient Access Curator simplifies operations for billing teams, healthcare staff and patients. By removing administrative hurdles, staff can focus on patient engagement, rather than spending time on paperwork, phone calls and browsing websites for data. The outcome is improved satisfaction for both healthcare providers and their patients.  "We know this technology is revolutionizing the healthcare industry," shares Jordan Levitt, Senior Vice President at Experian Health. Levitt, who developed the AI-powered data capture technology, explains, "By delivering faster, more accurate results, providers can improve financial solvency while giving staff and patients a better experience."  Gone are the days of asking patients for insurance cards or verifying numbers and dates that might be inaccurate. With this solution, registrars and billing teams can be confident in the data they collect, right from the start.  PAC was created to replace the manual guesswork that often bogs down eligibility and insurance verification processes. From patient demographics and eligibility checks to COB primacy, MBI, and insurance discovery, this solution automates these critical touchpoints, delivering accurate data in seconds.  Fewer denials, faster reimbursements  The impact on denial prevention is unparalleled. Patient Access Curator ensures fewer claim rejections and faster payer reimbursements by identifying and correcting bad data across eligibility, COB, and discovery at the start of the revenue cycle. Providers are left with more retained revenue, which can be reinvested into what truly matters: patient care.  Patient Access Curator: Key features that set it apart Patient Access Curator differentiates itself as a comprehensive, all-in-one product that simplifies the most complex aspects of claims management. Key features include:  Real-time data correction: Fixes inaccurate data instantly without staff intervention.  Comprehensive coverage: Finds and corrects bad data across eligibility, COB primacy, MBI, demographics, and insurance discovery.  Eligibility verification: PAC automatically interrogates 271 responses, flagging up active secondary and tertiary coverage information to eliminate coverage gaps Coordination of Benefits: Integrating with eligibility verification workflow, PAC automatically analyzes payer responses to find hidden signs of additional insurances that may be missed by a human eye, and triggers additional inquiries to those third parties to determine primacy, for faster COB processing  Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers: PAC uses AI and robotic process automation to find and fix patient identifiers so no one misses out on essential support Insurance discovery: For patient accounts marked as self-pay or unbillable, PAC automates additional coverage searches Demographics: The platform can quickly check and correct patient contact information.  Seamless integration: Automatically updates host systems (Epic) with verified and corrected coverage data in seconds.  The results? Fewer clicks, faster workflows, and more accurate billing processes. PAC doesn't just prevent claim denials; it transforms how healthcare teams approach patient access and revenue cycle management.  Proven ROI: How Patient Access Curator delivers $100 million boost to Exact Sciences Explore how Patient Access Curator powered a $100M improvement at Exact Sciences by automating insurance discovery and reducing claim denials. Improve financial health by focusing on patient health By eliminating redundant administrative questions, Patient Access Curator allows patients to focus on their health rather than the complexities of billing and coverage. Meanwhile, healthcare staff enjoy a boost in morale, thanks to fewer manual tasks and more efficient workflows—a benefit that can lead to higher staff retention over time.  Patient Access Curator is more than a tool; it's a game-changer for healthcare organizations looking to protect their revenue while delivering a better, more seamless experience for both staff and patients. Say goodbye to manual guesswork and hello to a smarter, faster, and more reliable way to manage claims. With PAC, healthcare organizations can finally get claims right from the start, without the hassle.  Patient Access Curator is available now - learn how your healthcare organization can get started and prevent claim denials in seconds. Learn more Contact us

Highlights: Payer contract management software helps reduce revenue lost through denied claims and underpayments – two of the biggest pain points for providers – by validating reimbursements, supporting compliance and flagging policy changes in real time. Named "Best in KLAS" three years in a row, Experian Health's contract management tools optimize payer contracts and improve financial performance without adding staff. Experian Health's Contract Manager enabled OrthoTennessee to achieve an 86% success rate on appeals, saving time and recovering thousands of dollars. Claim denials and underpayments continue to cut into provider revenue, making them top pain points for healthcare chief financial officers. In Experian Health's 2024 State of Claims survey, 73% of providers reported an uptick in denials over the previous year, while 77% were seeing more frequent payer policy changes. When contract terms aren't up to date or properly understood, these changes can lead to costly surprises. Many healthcare organizations are turning to claims management automation to improve front-end operations and prevent downstream denials. But could they be overlooking another digital tool? Implementing payer contract management software is a practical way to strengthen early revenue cycle performance and ward off discrepancies that lead to denials. This software helps hospitals and health systems recover hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by auditing payer contracts and identifying underpayments. The role of payer software in enhancing contract efficiency Payer contracts set the terms for how providers get paid. These agreements cover details like claim submission timelines, reimbursement schedules, covered services, reimbursement rates, dispute procedures, contract duration and renegotiation terms. When managed well, they ensure providers are reimbursed accurately and promptly. However, monitoring complex payer contracts is becoming increasingly challenging for providers. According to the State of Claims survey, 43% of providers are very or extremely concerned about receiving full reimbursement. Frequent changes to pre-authorization rules and other payer policies are the main reason for this. Many contracts renew automatically or are amended with little notice, making oversight difficult. "Depending on how the contract is written, providers may receive very little notice of these changes," says Tricia Ibrahim, Director of Product Management, Contract Manager Suite. "Without a way to systematically and efficiently monitor these agreements throughout the contract term, there is simply no way for a provider to ensure they're paid properly." Payer contract management software addresses this by streamlining contract workflows and standardizing how agreements are handled. Built-in modelling tools allow providers to simulate different claim scenarios so they can negotiate terms from a stronger, well-informed position. Dashboards offer real-time insights that help staff ensure compliance, prevent denials and secure proper reimbursement. Key benefits of healthcare payer software for managing contracts A big part of the challenge for providers is that they are often juggling multiple contracts with multiple payers, including private insurers, Medicare, Medicaid and third-party administrators. Each has its own rules, rates and timelines. Without an automated way to track everything, it's easy for revenue to slip away. Payer contract management software helps by: Centralizing all contracts in one place Tracking critical dates like renewals and amendments Flagging changes in reimbursement terms Linking payer terms directly to claims workflows Identifying underpayments by comparing actual and expected reimbursements. This amounts to more than just good record-keeping: these tools offer instant feedback to reduce errors that could trigger denials. Teams save significant time because they no longer need to review contracts or chase down missing payments manually. Frances Thomas, Manager of Payer Strategy at OrthoTennessee, uses Experian Health's payer contract management software to negotiate more favorable settlements and terms with payers. "The system gives us the information we need to be successful," she says. "They can't really argue with you on that." Watch the webinar: See how OrthoTennessee achieved an 86% successful appeals rate with Contract Manager. Optimizing payer contracts with advanced contract management tools A first step in reducing denials and boosting revenue should be ensuring the revenue cycle team thoroughly understands their payer contracts. Contract management systems support this by rooting out ambiguous language, complex reimbursement terms or overly strict coding requirements. By analyzing contracts in detail, these tools identify hidden pitfalls that might go unnoticed until revenue is at risk. Experian Health's Contract Manager and Contract Analysis solution optimizes this process by checking claims before submission, then validating expected reimbursement against allowed amounts. Rates and authorization rules are populated automatically to reduce manual input, while contract mapping and real-time alerts help teams stay compliant. Providers also benefit from extra support through Experian Health's team of contract analysts, who are on hand to review contract terms, fee schedules and payment policies to ensure nothing is overlooked. This end-to-end visibility and guidance is why Experian Health's payer software has been named "Best in KLAS" for three consecutive years. One major benefit for OrthoTennessee was being able to handle claims in bulk. Thomas says, "We had over 600 claims for one day in the wrong network. I was able to take that bulk of claims and handle those. Otherwise, I was going to have to sit there and go claim by claim. It's a huge time saver to work smarter, not harder." Listen in to hear how another Experian Health client, Boston Children's Hospital, used Contract Manager to resolve underpayments and work with payers to resolve issues and errors, resulting in increased revenue. Learn more about how payer contract management software optimizes revenue, ensures compliance and streamlines payer contracts. Learn more Contact us

“Data is cleaner throughout all the downstream systems. Our refreshed power reporting now provides encounter-level data, which offers more actionable insights for our client's operational teams.”-Cindy Biggio, Director of Patient Accounting at Virtua Health Challenge Virtua Health is a large New Jersey health system with over 2,000 staffed hospital beds across multiple locations. An inefficient Notice of Admissions (NOA) process was becoming unsustainable for inpatient admissions, putting revenue at risk. “Manually faxing NOAs to payers was an administrative nightmare,” says Ginny Norton, Lead IT Applications Analyst at Virtua Health. “Tracking the sheer volume of NOAs and ensuring they reached the payers on time was time-consuming. The process was inefficient and risky.” Missing a payer's NOA deadline for an inpatient stay can result in reimbursement denials for the entire duration of the patient's stay, which jeopardizes cash flow. At Virtua, connectivity issues, faulty fax machines and human error left the revenue cycle team without a reliable way to track NOA submissions or challenge payer denials. This increased the likelihood of missed deadlines and delayed payments. Adhering to different rules and deadlines for multiple payers made the process even harder to control. The pressure was on to find a scalable solution that would prevent further revenue loss by: Minimizing manual work for admissions staff and insurance verifiers Ensuring NOAs were submitted on time and within each payer's deadline Improving efficiency by freeing staff to focus on more urgent tasks Streamlining the process of requesting additional payer connections. Solution Switching from manual to automated NOAs was the obvious way forward. Cindy Biggio, Director of Patient Accounting at Virtua, says Experian Health's Notice of Care solution, featuring Notice of Admissions (NOA) functionality, was a natural fit, due to its easy integration with their existing Epic® set-up: “Based on recommendations from other Epic health systems and Experian's integration with Epic, choosing Notice of Care was a logical decision for us. We were already using other Experian Health solutions, so it made sense to build up the portfolio of products we were already using.” Because Experian Health's NOA operates within the eCare NEXT® eligibility platform, Virtua staff can manage it within their existing workflows. NOAs are triggered as soon as a patient's insurance eligibility is verified. Submissions are sent directly to payers within their required timeframes, with patient and procedure information automatically pre-filled to save time and reduce data-entry errors. Each request is formatted according to the payer's rules, while incoming payer responses are standardized so staff can view them all in a consistent way. While faxes remain a feature of payers' NOA processes, this tool makes handling them much easier. It captures key information from each fax, links it to the appropriate order, and then sorts and converts data from multiple document types so staff can look it up quickly. This is a major improvement on the previous approach, which required staff to monitor and update submission status by hand and liaise with a clearinghouse over delays and errors. Norton says that working closely with the Experian Health team was key to easy implementation: “Clear onboarding processes for existing and new team members helped maintain smooth operations, along with opportunities to seek feedback from staff so we could keep making improvements… Overall, the implementation process and transition to 'go-live' were smooth. Our staff adapted to the changes well. There was far less chaos without having to manage a mountain of paper. It reduced the volume of manual work and freed up time for other tasks. Onboarding was relatively easy.” Read more about how automation reduces administrative costs in healthcare. Outcome Since implementing NOA, Virtua Health has seen immediate improvements across its revenue cycle operations, including: Less manual work, as automation allows staff to operate more efficiently Quicker and more accurate submissions, resulting in fewer denials and more revenue Smoother dispute resolution, thanks to electronic paper trails Better compliance with payer requirements. “Data is cleaner throughout all the downstream systems,” says Biggio. “Our refreshed power reporting now provides encounter-level data, which offers more actionable insights for our client's operational teams.” The solution also fulfills Virtua's need for a scalable approach to NOAs. Instead of classifying new payers by operational platform, staff can now add all payers through one system. Should payer requirements change, Virtua will be ready to adapt. In addition to preventing revenue loss, NOA has had a meaningful impact on staff satisfaction. The solution has lightened workloads, improved day-to-day efficiency and enabled remote work by eliminating repetitive administrative tasks. Freed from the need to visit payer websites or call up payers for admission notification and status updates, staff can focus on more complex tasks and pay more attention to the patient experience. This benefits staff and patients, and positions Virtua as an attractive employer in a tight labor market. Looking ahead, Norton says Virtua will focus on adding more payers and continue using Experian NOA data to improve processes: “We'll keep listening to our staff, who are heads-down in the work, to see if we need to make changes to improve workflow. Moving forward, leadership will decide on adding more solutions based on the needs of our patients, staff, market and operations. We're excited to see what's next.” Learn more about how Experian Health's Notice of Care solution, with Notice of Admissions functionality, automates and integrates NOAs, resulting in fewer errors and faster payments. Learn more Contact us

Healthcare providers have heard it before – high employee turnover and the constant need to train on new solutions can severely impact the efficiency of revenue cycle management (RCM) teams. As denials increase, the resources required to address them grow, putting additional strain on healthcare providers and their teams.  For decades, manual claim management has been the cornerstone of revenue cycle operations. However, with shifting payer algorithms, higher patient volumes, and evolving insurance coverages, this approach is no longer sustainable. Getting the highest percentage of claims paid with the exact amount of human capital is unachievable. Many health systems can't keep up, and RCM teams are experiencing burnout. There is a glaring need for the rapid adaptation of automation to improve front-end data collection, where reducing errors can have the highest impact on claims, and the teams responsible for them. According to Experian Health's latest State of Patient Access survey, 56% of providers say patient information errors are a primary cause of denied claims, 48% report inaccuracies in data collected at registration, and 83% emphasize the urgent need for faster, more comprehensive insurance verification.  Front-end operations are a major source of friction. Four out of the five top patient access challenges reported by providers relate to front-end data collection, including improving insurance eligibility searches, reducing errors and speeding up authorizations. Is it any wonder that these actions are typically performed by hard-working and taxed humans?   These inefficiencies don't just slow down internal workflows. Manual, error-prone processes lead to delays, claim denials and patient frustration, not to mention low morale with revenue cycle teams trying to find the errant data. Providers note that staffing shortages are compounding the problem, which suggests that tackling front-end workflows would be a strategic operational win.  How Patient Access Curator enhances revenue cycle efficiency  What if providers could take that manually laden process, integrate automation, and allow their staff to apply their revenue cycle experience, equity and strategic thinking in the right place?   Patient Access Curator (PAC) uses automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline patient access and billing, address claim denials and improve data quality without the need for human intervention. This integrated solution performs rapid eligibility, coordination of benefits (COB), Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), demographics and insurance discovery checks to ensure that all data is correct on the front end, freeing teams up to focus on more strategic tasks.   It doesn't require the long training requirement of standalone products; it fits seamlessly into existing EHR systems, and works directly within the system, with no need for drawn-out onboarding programs.   According to one of the early adopters of the Patient Access Curator, their revenue cycle team is already seeing – and feeling – the results of automation.   A Senior Director of Revenue Cycle at a large Midwestern health system says, “One of the primary reasons we chose the Patient Access Curator was because it makes the normally manual work of revenue cycle much easier, which in turn improves productivity, empowerment and morale. Registrars are now able to make determinations right within the system. It's easy to use.” With so much data to capture, manual strategies are bound to stumble and apply downward pressure on those tasked with high-volume work. Patient Access Curator removes the need for manual checks on multiple payer websites and data repositories to verify insurance eligibility, and checks for any billable coverage that might have been missed. Experian Health's industry-leading claims management products are designed to simplify these processes. The  newest denial prevention technology  strengthens this suite with capabilities previously unavailable.  Efficient claims management with artificial intelligence and automation  Patient Access Curator captures and processes patient insurance data at registration using an “if-then” logic that returns multiple data points from a single inquiry, in seconds. Registration staff can leverage this technology to collect and verify much of the information they need to compile an accurate claim, with just a single click. In a matter of seconds, they'll have a comprehensive readout of:  Eligibility verification: PAC automatically interrogates 271 responses, flagging up active secondary and tertiary coverage information to eliminate coverage gaps Coordination of Benefits: Integrating with eligibility verification workflow, PAC automatically analyzes payer responses to find hidden signs of additional insurances that may be missed by a human eye, and triggers additional inquiries to those third parties to determine primacy, for faster COB processing Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers: PAC uses AI and robotic process automation to find and fix patient identifiers so no one misses out on essential support  Insurance discovery: For patient accounts marked as self-pay or unbillable, PAC automates additional coverage searches Demographics: The platform can quickly check and verify patient contact information Patient Access Curator achieves such speedy results “because the underlying code acts like a Rosetta Stone, automatically translating the language of the user and the health system into the terms required by the payer,” says Jordan Levitt, Senior Vice President of Experian Health. “This means data can be transferred easily between interfaces.” Hear how Columbus Regional Hospital has used the Patient Access Curator to simplify and streamline its revenue cycle operations. With Patient Access Curator, better data adds up to increased revenue cycle efficiency, along with the following:   Reduced errors: Automation minimizes human intervention in repetitive tasks.  Faster processing: Automated systems can handle large volumes of claims and payments much faster than manual processes, accelerating the reimbursement cycle, improving cash flow and reducing delays in revenue collection.  Enhanced compliance: Automation tools like Patient Access Curator are continually learning from inputs, and adapt to stay up-to-date with evolving regulatory requirements and payer policies. This ensures that claims are compliant, reducing the risk of denials and costly rework.  Improved denial prevention: Patient Access Curator identifies patterns in historical claim data, flagging or fixing potential errors before submission. This proactive approach helps in preventing denials and optimizing revenue recovery.  Streamlined workflows: Automation frees up staff from mundane tasks, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives such as patient engagement and financial planning. This leads to more efficient use of resources and improved overall productivity.   At a time when revenue cycles are under increasing pressure from changing payer rules, labor dynamics and operational constraints, this new solution offers a long-awaited boost to both reimbursement rates and productivity. Patient Access Curator is available now – learn how it can help healthcare organizations boost revenue cycle efficiency and prevent claim denials in seconds. Learn more Contact us

Claim denials are skyrocketing, and so are revenue cycle leaders' stress levels. In our most recent State of Claims survey, 54% of respondents said their current claims technology is sufficient to address existing revenue cycle demands at their organizations. However, that number was 77% just two years ago. That's because denial management has long been a reactive strategy. Many organizations focus on addressing claim denials after services are rendered and information is sent to payers. However, this approach often leads to increased labor costs, delayed reimbursements, and a higher volume of denied claims. It's time for a paradigm shift towards claim denial prevention, a proactive strategy that addresses potential issues before they result in denials. To prevent claim denials, go on the defensive Jordan Levitt, Senior Vice President at Experian Health, sees it as playing defense. “We use a term called 'Perimeter Defense' - get the patient's information right on the front end, before it gets into the system,” says Levitt. “Denials are happening because incorrect or bad data gets in early, costing health systems time - and money – to fix on the back end. The mindset is moving from management to prevention.” The legacy denial management approach being used today involves significant manual intervention, including correcting errors, resubmitting claims, and appealing denials. The result is a costly and time-consuming process that diverts valuable resources from more strategic tasks. Denial prevention, on the other hand, focuses on addressing potential issues at the front end of the revenue cycle. By ensuring that claims are accurate and complete before they are submitted, organizations can significantly reduce the volume of denied claims. This proactive approach not only accelerates cash flow but also reduces the burden on billing staff and lowers contingency vendor fees. Bad patient data is like a virus “There's a revenue cycle adage often referred to as 'Know Thy Patient,'” says Levitt. “With the Denial Prevention philosophy, at registration and scheduling we need to know exactly who they are (e.g. John Smith or Jonathan Smith?), where they live, and how to reach them, in addition to all of their coverages, the order of billing - everything.” The inherent problem today, he continues, is that the first time incorrect or outdated patient data is ingested into a health system, it proliferates throughout the entire system. Electronic health records are great at keeping patient data together for a health system, but they don't distinguish between good data and bad data. It's all just data. “Whether a patient is coming by way of a physician's office, a business office or residence and the information is wrong, it populates throughout an integrated system - hospitals, urgent care, labs,” says Levitt. “Once you let bad data in the door, regardless of the origination point, it's like a virus. Each time that happens and you're building the work queues and you're building buckets of contingency funds if you can't solve it at the start of the process. Every action you take once bad data enters your system is wasting resources.” Fixing poor data on the front end is the key to preventing claim denials That seems like an obvious solution. However, throwing more people at the problem isn't the right answer when technology that is faster, more accurate and fully integrated into workflows is available. Solving for incorrect or missing eligibility, insurance coverage, Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), demographics and continuation of benefits is readily available with just a simple click. Experian Health's Patient Access Curator is a robust revenue cycle solution designed to prevent claim denials at the front end. It addresses bad data quality with real-time data correction, performing eligibility checks, coordination of benefits (COB), Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), demographics, and discovery in a single solution. With a single click, Patient Access Curator ensures quick, accurate registration and scheduling, significantly reducing denial volumes and billing errors, including: Eligibility Verification: Automatically interrogates 271 responses to indicate any secondary or tertiary coverage data. Coverage Discovery: Works behind the scenes to minimize the cost of insurance discovery and streamline workflows, often generating additional insurance revenue missed by previous processes. MBI Correction: Continuously finds and corrects MBIs using artificial intelligence (AI), in-memory analytics, and robotic process automation. Demographic Updates: Automatically identifies obsolete or inaccurate data using proprietary algorithms. COB Analysis: Analyzes each payer response in real-time at the point of service and integrates directly into the eligibility verification process. Benefits of claim denial prevention By successfully transitioning to a denial prevention strategy, revenue cycle teams can: Reduce denial volumes: By addressing issues before claims are submitted, organizations can significantly reduce the volume of denied claims. Lower labor costs: Automation and real-time data correction reduce the need for manual intervention, allowing staff to focus on more value-added tasks. Accelerate cash flow: Faster, more accurate claims submission leads to quicker reimbursements and improved cash flow. Enhance patient satisfaction: Accurate and timely claims processing reduces the need for patient follow-up and improves overall patient satisfaction. Beyond denial management: The strategic shift to claim denial prevention The transition from claim denial management to denial prevention represents a significant shift in how healthcare organizations approach revenue cycle management. By focusing on proactive strategies and leveraging advanced technologies like Patient Access Curator, organizations can reduce the burden of denied claims, lower costs, and improve overall efficiency. Embracing denial prevention is not just a strategic advantage—it's a necessity in today's complex healthcare landscape. Watch the video to see how Patient Access Curator is evolving patient access at light speed, using the power of AI and machine learning.  Learn more about Patient Access Curator and contact us to see if you qualify for a free denial analysis. Learn more Contact us

Early diagnostics, remote patient monitoring and personalized care recommendations are just a few examples of how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way healthcare is delivered. As technology advances, so do opportunities to optimize clinical and operational processes. With projected savings in the region of up to $360 billion annually, it's no surprise that 75% of healthcare executives believe AI has reached a turning point in their industry. Yet many providers are still just scratching the surface. Only a small percentage use AI for complex tasks like claim denial management, leaving the competitive advantage wide open. Understanding how these technologies work – and where to apply them for maximum impact – will be crucial to improve efficiency, remain competitive and above all, deliver excellent patient care.  The power of AI in healthcare As the name suggests, artificial intelligence refers to a machine's ability to perform cognitive tasks that would normally be associated with humans, such as problem-solving and decision-making. It can spot patterns, learn from experience and choose the right course of action to achieve a goal. Natural language processing, robotics and machine learning might all be in the mix. AI in the healthcare industry has been found to support applications like: Improving diagnosis through the analysis of medical images AI-powered wearables and virtual nursing assistants Patient data management Reducing and preventing insurance claim denials. Artificial intelligence in healthcare isn't a substitute for human contact, which underpins the best patient care. However, by increasing accuracy and reducing costs, it can help clinicians and healthcare administrators make better decisions that support a positive patient experience across virtually all healthcare settings. AI & automation in healthcare: key benefits  AI and automation deliver results in the three areas that matter most to healthcare organizations: improving the patient experience and care delivery, allowing staff to perform at their highest level, and increasing revenue. Boosting patient satisfaction through speed and accuracy Patient feedback has a few common themes: timely access to care, clearer communication and greater financial transparency. To meet these needs (and improve those feedback scores), healthcare providers should offer patients accurate, upfront information and reduce friction wherever possible. Tools like Patient Access Curator use AI to verify and update all necessary patient information at the front end, all at once, which drastically reduces the time and effort required to manage patient records. This streamlines patient intake and solves for bad data, which prevents claim denials and increases patient satisfaction. Bringing in more revenue by reducing claims errors The 2024 CAQH index estimates that 22% of current costs could be saved by shifting from manual revenue cycle processes to automated ones. Experian Health's State of Claims Survey 2024 suggests providers are eager to capitalize on this opportunity, with 51% seeking to reduce manual work. AI-driven solutions like Patient Access Curator and AI Advantage are designed specifically to meet these needs. Patient Access Curator automates insurance eligibility and coverage, scanning patient documentation for inaccurate information, and uses AI and robotic process automation to reduce manual errors. AI Advantage™ works to prevent denials before they happen, using predictive analytics to flag claims errors and alert staff to claims that fail to meet payer requirements. Improving staff performance by easing burnout The strain of manual processes doesn't just slow down operations. It's also a major cause of staff stress and burnout. Around half of healthcare staff report feeling burned out, costing the industry an estimated $4.6 billion each year. By taking repetitive tasks off busy employees' plates, AI can alleviate overwork and allow staff to focus on higher-value work, improving job satisfaction and productivity. In claims management, for example, AI Advantage, works in conjunction with ClaimSource®, to proactively identify claims with a high likelihood of denial prior to claim submission without staff intervention. This reduces the burden on staff while improving clean claim rates. How AI Advantage and Patient Access Curator improve patient care Experian Health's two flagship AI-based products go even further, offering new ways to use technology to improve patient care: Patient Access Curator uses AI and robotic process automation to streamline one of the most tedious parts of patient intake – verifying insurance eligibility and coverage. By automatically scanning patient records for errors and pulling up-to-date information from payer sources, it eliminates the guesswork and manual labor that bog down revenue cycle teams. The result is faster, more accurate eligibility verification and a smoother experience for both staff and patients. As Ken Kubisty, VP of Revenue Cycle at Exact Sciences, put it: “Within the first six months of implementing the Patient Access Curator, we added almost 15% in revenue per test because we were now getting eligibility correct and being able to do it very rapidly.”  On the back end, AI Advantage – Predictive Denials acts as an early warning system for denials, scanning claims before they go out the door to catch errors and flag risky submissions so they can be corrected in time. Built on advanced AI and machine learning, the platform evaluates claims using historical payment data and real-time payer behavior. Its counterpart, AI Advantage – Denial Triage, picks up where Predictive Denials leaves off, sorting rejected claims according to their potential for reimbursement and prioritizing them based on financial impact. Together, they help providers minimize denials, resulting in faster reimbursement and freeing up resources that can be redirected to patient care. Case study: See how AI Advantage helped Schneck Medical Center achieve a 4.6% average monthly decrease in denials in the first six months. The future of AI in healthcare: what's next? As a quick glance at any newsfeed will confirm, AI's role in healthcare is only going to expand. Predictive analytics will give staff increasingly powerful insights and recommendations to maximize reimbursements, while minimizing the burden on the workforce. AI's ability to continually learn and improve means providers that embrace AI will be better placed to make full use of their data and adapt to the trends and challenges that affect patient care. As expectations grow and resources shrink, AI is likely to be the only way to deliver the scalable, responsive, high-quality care patients deserve. Discover how solutions like AI Advantage and Patient Access Curator use artificial intelligence in healthcare to help reduce claim denials, improve patient access and more. AI Advantage Patient Access Curator

Medical billing errors are common problems that can lead to significant financial losses for healthcare organizations. While most medical billing errors are preventable, outdated systems, complex processes and human errors often result in delayed or denied claims. Faced with ever-increasing overhead costs, workforce challenges and growing volumes of data, healthcare leaders will need to implement modern medical billing software solutions to improve revenue cycle management (RCM) medical billing efficiencies, without adding costly headcount or overhead. This article reviews the role modern medical billing software plays in revenue cycle management and how RCM leaders can use it as a top defense to prevent costly claim delays and denials. What is medical billing software in revenue cycle management? Medical billing software is a critical tool healthcare organizations use to streamline patient billing and collections in revenue cycle management. Revenue cycle leaders know that outdated and complex billing processes can wreak havoc on the entire revenue cycle and waste valuable staff time. However, medical billing in revenue cycle management allows providers to optimize the entire revenue cycle — from pre-visit insurance verification and cost estimates through patient billing and collections. Automated medical billing processes in the revenue cycle can help improve efficiencies, reduce errors, and create more reliable collections processes. This allows healthcare organizations to deliver better patient care while protecting their bottom line. How software powered by artificial intelligence (AI) improves medical billing efficiency AI-powered software helps providers manage many types of complex revenue cycle billing processes — from claims management to collections. Providers that embrace AI often benefit from streamlined medical billing processes, fewer claim denials, real-time eligibility verification, better data insights and productivity boosts. For example, AI-powered software can streamline medical billing by automating repetitive tasks, like insurance verification checks, so providers can prevent and catch errors, speed up reimbursements and stretch strained resources. On the front end, with single-click AI-driven data capture technology, running multiple manual eligibility queries is no longer necessary. Now, with solutions like Patient Access Curator, patient details can be verified quickly and accurately. Patient Access Curator leverages AI and machine learning to automatically handle eligibility verification, coordination of benefits, Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers, insurance discovery and more, with just one click. This saves staff hours and reduces human errors that can lead to claims denials and costly delays later on. Ken Kubisty, VP of Revenue Cycle at Exact Sciences, shares how Patient Access Curator helped their organization reduce claim denial errors and added $75 million in insurance company collections. AI-driven predictive analytics solutions, like AI Advantage™, can also help staff identify claims that may be at risk of denial, so potential issues can be handled before submission — saving even more staff time. When admin overhead is minimized, there's less burnout and less stress. Staff can focus on higher-priority tasks, and healthcare organizations can see productivity increase overall. Preventing claims denials with better billing solutions Claims denials are on the rise with healthcare organizations being left on the hook for delayed or unpaid claims. In the State of Claims 2024 report, 38% of survey respondents said that at least one in ten claims is denied. Some organizations see claims denied more than 15% of the time. That's a lot of cost in reworks and lost revenue. Nearly half of providers say patient information errors are a primary cause of denied claims. Errors are common during pre-visit insurance verification due to error-prone manual processes, but can happen at any point during the collection process. Medical billing software helps providers reduce errors and submit cleaner claims right from the start and catch errors before they become costly problems. Here are some of the key ways medical billing software like Experian Health's Patient Access Curator solution helps providers head off claims denials before they happen.   Eligibility checks: Automatically verifies patient eligibility and updates records in real-time to ensure patient information is accurate before claims submission. Coordination of Benefits (COB) verification: Discovers and verifies secondary and tertiary insurance coverage to reduce the risk of COB-related denials while using AI-powered technology to seamlessly integrate with a provider's eligibility verification process. Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBIs): Updates MBIs to confirm patient records are correct and compliant with Medicare requirements while using AI-driven technology and automation to find and correct patient identifiers automatically. Demographics: Patient demographic information is corrected and updated using in-memory analytics and Experian Health's proprietary algorithm to accurately find and fix contact information. Insurance Discovery: Identifies and corrects missing or incorrect insurance information to ensure claims are submitted with the most accurate information available. Discover how Experian Health's revolutionary AI-powered revenue cycle solution is turning denial management into denial prevention. Patient Access Curator solves for missing or correct data in real-time at registration and scheduling, creating a smooth, clean claim process and lowering denials by double digits. Optimize efficiencies in claims management through AI Experian Health customers currently using ClaimSource® can now improve their claim management strategy — before claim submission and after denial. With AI Advantage™ Predictive Denials and Denial Triage, providers can leverage historical claims data and Experian's deep knowledge of payer rules to continuously adapt to an ever-changing payer rules landscape.AI Advantage's - Predictive Denials component reduces denial rates, detects payer changes and empowers staff to focus on highest-priority claims, while AI Advantage's - Denial Triage identifies denials with the highest reimbursement potential and uses AI to segment denials, eliminating guesswork for billers. Watch the video to learn more about the two components that make up AI Advantage, and how healthcare organizations can transform the reimbursement process and decrease claim denials for good. Medical billing software is only getting smarter and faster Upgrading outdated manual medical billing processes results in cleaner claims, improved staff efficiencies, better care and improved patient satisfaction. Today's AI-driven technology brings medical billing in RCM to the next level, enabling time-strapped providers to do even more with less. Now busy providers can streamline manual processes that used to take hours into just seconds. With this new technology, patient information is accurate when claims are submitted, eliminating the need for costly reworks and hits to the bottom line. As more providers adopt AI technology for RCM in medical billing and software solutions get more sophisticated, providers will see new success stories in its power to help healthcare organizations optimize the entire revenue cycle. Learn how tools like Patient Access Curator and AI Advantage can help healthcare organizations prevent claim denials and improve medical billing in RCM. Learn more Contact us

“Reducing denials upfront would improve our revenue, which could be channeled into current and future investments that support our mission.”—Joshua Gayman, Revenue Cycle Manager at UT Medical Center Challenge The University of Tennessee Medical Center (UT Medical Center) is a leading 710-bed acute care hospital with a rich history of exceptional patient care and award-winning services. During the pandemic, the hospital faced revenue losses of around $45 million that put serious strain on its capacity to invest in bigger and better facilities. UT Medical Center needed to find a strategy to recover some of this revenue by reducing claim denials at the point of patient registration. UT Medical Center relied on eligibility checks that often missed errors in patient registration, resulting in increased claims denials, costly reworks, and wasted staff time. The hospital urgently needed a solution to help staff identify and resolve potential patient registration errors in real time to prevent denials before they occur. Finding a more efficient way to capture accurate patient and benefits data would be essential. Proactively preventing claim denials would provide the hospital with a much-needed boost in cash collections and free up staff to focus on patient care. Solution To address its claims denials challenge, UT Medical Center partnered with Experian Health and implemented Registration QA, a solution designed to find and fix registration errors upfront. Now, when patients first arrive, front-end staff enter their data to verify insurance. If Registration QA finds an error, it alerts staff in real-time so they can resolve it within 72 hours. Alongside more than 400 alert rules curated by Experian Health, UT Medical Center also built custom alerts based on the organization's specific requirements, using demographics and benefits data. The tool easily integrates with existing workflows, and its configurable dashboard gives UT Medical Center Management detailed insights into department performance and allows staff to track trends and identify areas for improvement. This proactive approach to correcting errors significantly reduces the risk of downstream denials and helps patient registration staff take proper corrective actions for their errors without management intervention. More accurate patient registration is also better for patients, as fewer errors make for a smoother intake experience. Outcome UT Medical Center successfully optimized patient registration by using Registration QA to identify registration errors before and at the point of service, reducing denials and boosting revenue. In the 12 months after implementing Registration QA, UT Medical Center saw the following results: Now that registration errors can be identified before and at the point of service, UT Medical Center has seen initial denials drop from an average of $5 million per month in 2022 to just $1.7 million in 2023, representing a 66% decrease in average monthly initial denials value. Cash write-offs also decreased, dropping 57% from an average of $1 million to just over $400K, helping the organization keep bad debt low. Gayman notes that UT Medical Center's partnership with Experian Health was central to its success. Experian Health shared the organization's vision and provided weekly support to help realize it. They developed a customized curriculum to make sure staff were confident using Registration QA and offered insights into what was happening more widely in the industry, so UT Medical Center's team could benchmark their performance against similar organizations. Thanks to these savings, the hospital can increase its capacity to invest in new projects and deliver operational excellence, while improving patient satisfaction. Find out more about how Registration QA helps healthcare organizations minimize denials and increase cash flow through accurate patient registration. Learn more Contact us

“You know when the Patient Access Curator went live because you can see it in our stock price. It helped us drive a $100 million bottom-line improvement within two quarters.” —Ken Kubisty, Vice President of Revenue Cycle at Exact Sciences Challenge Exact Sciences is a prominent cancer diagnostics laboratory with an annual net revenue of around $2.6 billion, that's best known for its flagship cancer screening test, Cologuard. After a period of rapid growth demand for its test, Exact Sciences faced the difficult task of collecting accurate patient data and verifying insurance eligibility at scale. Anticipating a 25% growth in annual testing volumes, Ken Kubisty, Vice President of Revenue Cycle at Exact Sciences, says the organization “needed an automated, real-time solution" to capture accurate data from the start. The company had four specific objectives: Improve the accuracy of patient insurance data to reduce errors and denials. Streamline processes to handle rising testing volumes without increasing headcount. Reduce claim denials to bring in more revenue (especially those related to eligibility and timely filing). Ensure accurate identity verification in lab settings, where patient, physician and lab data aren't unified within a single data management system. Watch the webinar: Hear our pre-recorded session from our annual Experian Health High-Performance Summit 2024 (HPS), featuring Exact Sciences and Trinity Health, as they reveal how Patient Access Curator helped their organizations automate eligibility, reduce denials, and more, all with a single click. Solution In need of a single solution to solve multiple challenges, Exact Sciences turned to Experian Health's Patient Access Curator. This new product provided the team with a way to run inquiries for eligibility, Medicare beneficiary identifiers, coordination of benefits, insurance discovery and demographic data with a single click. Instead of juggling multiple products and vendors, registrars would be able to capture and verify patient data in a single transaction. Through automation and machine learning, Patient Access Curator could deliver results in less than 30 seconds and help submit clean claims the first time – reducing the risk of denials even as volumes increased. Experian Health's implementation experts configured the tool to Exact Sciences' needs, integrating over 4,000 payer plans nationwide and customizing parameters for real-time eligibility checks and data validation. Experian Health also delivered staff training to support the transition to the new system. Watch the video: See how Experian Health's Patient Access Curator streamlines patient access and billing, addressing claim denials, data quality and real-time corrections to boost your business's bottom line. Outcome Thanks to Patient Access Curator, Exact Sciences achieved the following results: 15% increase in revenue per test due to accurate eligibility and fewer denials 4x business volume without increasing headcount 50% reduction in denials and major improvement in timely filings $100 million added to the bottom line in 6 months Ken Kubisty, VP of Revenue Cycle at Exact Sciences, shares how Patient Access Curator improved eligibility processes, reduced errors and more. Overall, Kubisty credits Experian Health's Patient Access Curator for helping Exact Sciences overcome critical pain points resulting from data errors and eligibility issues. Solving for bad data quality with real-time data correction freed staff from tedious manual work, ensuring faster, more accurate claims processing – all without growing headcount. After implementing Patient Access Curator, the company is ready to scale and handle growing volumes efficiently, say goodbye to late filing denials and scale smarter. For Kubisty, this highlights how technology drives efficiency and sustainable growth. Learn more about how Patient Access Curator helps patient access teams prevent claim denials by solving for bad data quality with real-time data correction. Learn more Contact us