The Hospitalist Revenue Cycle

We define “Revenue Cycle” as all administrative and clinical functions that contribute to the capture and collection of patient service revenue. In other words, Revenue Cycle is the complete spectrum of a patient account from its initial creation to final payment – plus the added dimension of Provider Credentialing.

About 50% of the income necessary to support the typical hospitalist program is derived from patient collections (the balance comes in the form of host facility financial support). The last thing that a hospitalist program needs is to provide patient services and not be paid due to internal inefficiencies. Patient care must remain the number one priority. But a highly effective revenue cycle function contributes to patient care in that program sustainability is enhanced. The Revenue Cycle is of great importance to hospitalist programs, and is impacted by the performance of Providers, Administrative Staff, and the Billing/Collections Team.