Are high AR days strangling your cardiology practice’s cash flow? The average cardiology practice has 55 to 65 AR days. This means 2 months of revenue sit uncollected. For a practice billing $3 million annually, that’s $500,000 in delayed cash. High AR days force expensive borrowing.
This guide reveals proven strategies to reduce AR days in cardiology billing. You’ll learn how to submit cleaner claims. We explain authorization management, preventing delays. You’ll discover follow-up techniques for accelerating payment. Stop waiting months for earned revenue and implement these strategies today.
Understanding AR Days
AR days measure how long money sits uncollected. Understanding this metric helps improve it.
How AR Days Work
Total accounts receivable divided by average daily charges equals AR days. If you have $500,000 in AR and bill $10,000 daily, you have 50 AR days. This means payment averages 50 days after service.
Cardiology Benchmarks
Best practice for cardiology is under 40 AR days. Average practices run 55 to 65 days. Poor performers exceed 70 days. Each additional day represents delayed cash flow. Reducing AR days improves financial health dramatically.
Why This Matters
Lower AR days mean faster cash flow. Money arrives sooner after service. This reduces borrowing needs. It improves practice liquidity. Lower AR also means less bad debt. Old AR becomes uncollectible quickly.
Submit Clean Claims Fast
Clean claim submission is the foundation of low AR days. Clean claims pay in 14 to 21 days. Dirty claims take 45 to 60 days.
What Makes Claims Dirty
Missing or incorrect patient information. Wrong insurance ID numbers. Invalid procedure codes. Missing or incorrect modifiers. Lack of required authorization. Each error delays payment by 30 to 45 days.
Verify Before Service
Verify insurance at every visit. Check eligibility in real-time. Confirm coverage is active. Verify authorization requirements. Collect accurate demographic information. Prevention is easier than correction.
Submit Within 24 Hours
Submit claims within 24 hours of service. Every day of delay extends AR days. Electronic submission is mandatory. Paper claims are too slow. Daily submission should be standard practice. This alone reduces AR days by 7 to 10.
Key AR Reduction Strategies
| Strategy | AR Day Reduction | Time to Implement | Difficulty Level |
| Submit within 24 hours | 7-10 days | Immediate | Easy |
| Clean claim rate 95%+ | 10-15 days | 30-60 days | Medium |
| Verify every visit | 5-8 days | Immediate | Easy |
| Follow up at 14 days | 8-12 days | Immediate | Easy |
| Collect patient portions | 10-15 days | Immediate | Medium |
| Auto-post payments | 3-5 days | 30 days | Medium |
Achieve High Clean Rates
Clean claim rate is the percentage of accepted first submissions. Target 95%+ clean claim rate.
Implement Claim Scrubbing
Use claim scrubbing software. It checks claims before submission. It catches common errors automatically. Scrubbing prevents rejections. This dramatically improves clean claim rates.
Create Coding Edits
Build coding edit rules. Check that the diagnosis supports the procedure. Verify required modifiers are present. Ensure time documentation exists. Edit rules catch errors before submission.
Train Billing Staff
Provide regular coding education. Update staff on annual code changes. Review common error patterns. Show examples of clean claims. Well-trained staff submits cleaner claims.
Authorization Management
Authorization delays extend AR days significantly. Proactive authorization management prevents delays.
Obtain Authorizations Early
Submit authorization requests 5 to 7 days before the procedure. Don’t wait until the last day. Early submission allows time for issues. Payers process authorizations in 3 to 5 days, typically. Build buffer into your timeline.
Track Authorization Status
Don’t assume authorizations are approved. Call the payer to confirm the status. Check every 2 business days. Document all communication. Get the authorization number immediately. Tracking prevents surprises.
Create Authorization Calendar
Use a calendar for authorization tracking. Mark submission dates. Note expected approval dates. Flag expirations. Assign staff responsibility for monitoring. Calendar prevents authorizations from being missed.
Aggressive AR Follow-Up
Proactive follow-up prevents AR from aging. Early intervention accelerates payment.
Start at 14 Days
Don’t wait 30 or 45 days. Start follow-up at 14 days after submission. Call the payer for claim status. Identify any issues early. Early intervention prevents aging.
Follow Age-Based Schedule
Claims 0 to 30 days need weekly monitoring. Claims 30 to 60 days need a twice-weekly follow-up. Claims 60 to 90 days need daily attention. Claims over 90 days need immediate escalation. Age-based schedules work.
Prioritize by Dollar Value
Focus on high-dollar claims first. A $10,000 catheterization deserves immediate attention. A $100 visit can wait briefly. Sort by claim value. Work on the highest value first.
Patient Payment Collection
Patient responsibility is growing. Effective collection reduces AR days significantly.
Estimate Patient Portions
Calculate patient responsibility before service. Use eligibility verification data. Estimate deductible and coinsurance amounts. Give patients advance notice. This allows payment preparation.
Collect at Service Time
Collect copays at every visit. Collect estimated deductible and coinsurance amounts. Use the credit card on file programs. Point-of-service collection doubles recovery rates. Money collected today reduces AR immediately.
Offer Payment Plans
Large patient balances need payment plans. Break amounts into monthly installments. Collect the first payment at the service. Set up automatic monthly charges. Payment plans increase total collections. Specialized Cardiology Billing Services from Dr. Biller RCM can help implement effective patient collection strategies.
Automate Payment Posting
Manual payment posting delays AR reduction. Automation speeds the process dramatically.
Electronic Remittance Advice
Set up ERA with all payers. Payments post automatically overnight. No manual data entry needed. ERA posting is 50% faster. It also eliminates posting errors.
Auto-Posting Rules
Configure automatic posting rules. Payments meeting criteria post automatically. Only exceptions need manual review. This speeds posting significantly. Staff handles exceptions only.
Daily Posting
Post payments daily, not weekly. Daily posting keeps AR current. It identifies problems quickly. Delayed posting extends AR unnecessarily. Make daily posting standard.
Handle Denials Quickly
Denied claims sitting unworked extend AR days. Quick denial resolution is critical.
Work Within 48 Hours
Review new denials within 48 hours. Categorize by the denial reason. Identify quick fixes versus appeals. Handle simple corrections immediately. Don’t let denials sit.
Resubmit Corrected Claims
Coding errors need simple correction. Fix the error and resubmit. Include a correction explanation. Corrected the claims process quickly. This recovers revenue within 30 days.
Appeal Complex Denials
Medical necessity denials need formal appeals. Gather supporting documentation. Write a clear appeal letter. Submit within 30 days. Track appeal status weekly.
Monitor Key Metrics
What gets measured improves. Track these metrics monthly.
Calculate AR Days
Calculate total AR days monthly. Track trend over time. Increasing AR signals problems. Decreasing AR shows improvement. This is your primary metric.
Track by Age Bucket
Break AR into age categories. 0 to 30 days should be 60% of the total. 31 to 60 days should be 20%. 61 to 90 days should be 10%. Over 90 should be under 10%.
Monitor Clean Claim Rate
Calculate the percentage accepted for the first submission. Target 95%+ clean rate. Lower rates extend AR days. Track monthly and investigate problems.
Conclusion
Reducing AR days in cardiology billing requires systematic approaches. Submit claims within 24 hours electronically. Achieve 95%+ clean claim rate. Obtain authorizations 5 to 7 days early. Start follow-up at 14 days. Collect patient portions at service. Automate payment posting. Work denials within 48 hours. Monitor AR days monthly. These strategies reduce AR from 60+ to under 40 days. This improves cash flow by $200,000+ annually.
FAQs
What are good AR days for cardiology?
Best practice is under 40 AR days. Average practices run 55 to 65 days. Each day below 40 represents excellent performance. Top performers maintain 35 to 38 days.
How quickly should claims be submitted?
Submit claims within 24 hours of service. Every day of delay extends AR days. Electronic submission is essential. Daily submission should be standard.
What is a good clean claim rate?
Target 95%+ clean claim rate. This means 95 out of 100 accept the first submission. Lower rates indicate problems. Clean claims pay 30 days faster.
When should the AR follow-up start?
Start follow-up at 14 days after submission. Don’t wait 30 or 45 days. Earlier intervention prevents aging. Early follow-up identifies issues quickly.
How do patient collections affect AR days?
Collecting patient portions at service dramatically reduces AR. Point-of-service collection doubles recovery rates. Upfront collection prevents aging patient AR.
