Defining end-to-end revenue cycle management for dentists: Deep dive

March 28th, 2023 | 7 min. read

As a dental practice or group, your ultimate goal is to provide quality care to your patients. But you also need to sustain a profitable business.

That's the purpose of end-to-end revenue cycle management in dentistry.

Providing a great patient experience while also maintaining healthy cash flow is a constant tug of war — with either patient experience or cash flow occasionally on the back burner. This is largely for three reasons:

Dental healthcare and dental business skill sets are completely different.
Every dental business must deal with the complex web of activities that require in-depth knowledge of regulations, coding, claims management, and accurate patient billing.
The tools to manage these activities, and the data involved, constantly change.

Inefficiencies anywhere in revenue cycle management lead to lost revenue, more errors and denials, and decreased patient satisfaction. That's where end-to-end revenue cycle management comes in.

RCM addresses all the business systems in a dental practice or group to speed up and improve incoming revenue, from appointment to final payment. RCM maximizes income by identifying, collecting, and managing revenue while also making these activities more efficient.

This comprehensive approach to managing the financial aspects of your dental business will improve your bottom line, streamline your operations, and enhance your patients' experience.

In this article, we'll explore what end-to-end revenue cycle management is, why it matters, and how to implement it in your dental practice or group. You will then understand how RCM services help you transform your dental practice or group to be fully optimized, financially.

What are the steps in revenue cycle management?

End-to-end revenue cycle management encompasses all the financial processes of a dental practice, from patient registration to payment posting and collections.

Let's break down the components of end-to-end revenue cycle management:

7 steps in end-to-end revenue cycle management

Patient registration: The revenue cycle begins when a patient requests an appointment. The team captures their personal and insurance information, makes sure everything provided by the patient is correct and is entered accurately for insurance verification and treatment planning, and schedules the appointment.
Insurance verification: Insurance verification is a critical step to ensure that your practice will be reimbursed for services. Having an accurate report of benefits enables you to help the patient understand their financial responsibility for services, and what their insurance policy covers — both essential to acceptance.
Presentation and acceptance of treatment: Your team presents necessary treatment to the patients, including the expected estimated insurance payment for their treatment. You’ll also communicate the patient’s financial responsibility, as well as your practice’s financial policy.

Claim submission: Coding and documentation are the core components of clean claim creation and submission. Accurate coding and documentation ensures that claims are processed correctly and reimbursed appropriately and without delay.
Insurance payment posting: Payment posting involves recording payments received, making proper adjustments, and applying them to the appropriate patient and provider(s).
AR management: AR management is the process of monitoring and managing claims to ensure that they are cleanly submitted, reworked, resolved, and denials appealed until they are paid and posted. AR management also includes pursuing unpaid claims until they are resolved.
Patient collections: The final step involves collecting the balance due from the patient after insurance claims are closed. Efficient patient billing also involves using technology to remove difficult or costly parts of the process. An effective RCM system sends automatic reminders, convenient payment links, and preferred payment options to maximize patient revenue.

Managing your revenue cycle from end-to-end seems like a lot to take on as a dental business — and it is. But services like DCS support you so that you will address the entire RCM process and remain patient-focused.

What services do end-to-end revenue cycle management companies offer?

Partnering with an end-to-end revenue cycle management service will elevate your dental business’ efficiency and cash flow.

Different RCM companies offer different services. At DCS, end-to-end RCM services include:

Provider credentialing. Our experts will streamline the application process for each individual provider and check that required documentation is complete and accurate for timely approval.
Insurance verification. Our experts will acquire the carrier’s basic PDF report for each scheduled patient 3 days before their appointment, complete the Standard insurance verification form for insurance companies that don’t provide basic PDF, and upload PDF/Standard insurance verification form to PMS documents.
Insurance billing. Our experts submit electronic attachments, post insurance checks and EFTs, take proper adjustments, reconcile deposit reports and posted payments, and correct missing patient information. AR management includes appealing denied claims, and analyzing and working insurance AR.
Patient billing. Our experts work with you to automate tools that issue payment links as soon as the balance is known (no manual processing), send outreaches for payment with email and text messages, and follow up automatically with friendly reminders.

These end-to-end revenue cycle management services address each step of the cycle, relieving your team of administrative burden, while also enabling your dental business to maximize the revenue you collect. Let’s get deeper into the benefits of using RCM services.

What are the benefits of using end-to-end revenue cycle management services?

Here are 5 big benefits you’ll see from outsourcing end-to-end revenue cycle management:

Increased efficiency. Your team’s efficiency is going to skyrocket because they have expert support they need to perform their jobs well. They adopt best practices and streamlined procedures by working in partnership with RCM experts.
Improved cash flow. You’ll collect more because experts are dedicated to your patient billing and insurance billing — your two sources of revenue. With these processes streamlined, you’ll collect more.
Reduced errors. With experts submitting your insurance claims, you’ll have a second pair of eyes helping your team avoid claim errors that lead to denials. And with your in-house team will be able to devote time to focus on patients, they won’t feel rushed — which will reduce the errors, especially important during patient registration.
Better patient experience. Your in-house team will be able to give their time back to in-office patients. By not being bogged down with billing tasks, they will create a great patient experience in the office.
Enhanced compliance. Staying up to date with insurance rules and regulations is time-consuming and difficult. But RCM experts specialize in challenging topics such as dental insurance. They will make sure your practice is compliant.

With expert revenue cycle management services, the dental team will improve the practice’s financial health and provide better care to their patients — it’s a win-win both professionally and personally.

Take your revenue cycle management to the next level by partnering with RCM experts

Your revenue cycle is what keeps your dental practice or group financially healthy.

By optimizing each component of the revenue cycle, practices, dental groups and DSOs increase revenue, improve cash flow, reduce errors and denials, increase efficiency and productivity, and provide a better patient experience.

End-to-end revenue cycle management services will remove a huge weight off your shoulders.

DCS is an RCM provider that will help you get cash flow you can count on, with cost-effective, expert support for your entire revenue cycle.

Patient-centered care is easy to provide with DCS services that are accurate and compliant. Schedule a call to learn more.

Dental billing resources