When it comes to the healthcare industry, there are lots of moving parts that help it all run correctly. This includes the actual personnel like doctors, surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, receptionists, hospital management, janitors and much more. The lesser known, but also important, parts of the healthcare industry are some of the tools and systems in place to keep the hospital running smoothly.

One of the most important aspects of the healthcare revenue cycle is that of the hospital chargemaster. In order to keep hospital revenues pure and to reduce overpayments/underpayments and violations, you must engage in proper chargemaster management.

What Exactly Is a Hospital Chargemaster?

A hospital chargemaster is essentially the master list of all of the services, products, fees, procudures, drugs, supplies and tests that a hospital has in its arsenal to help patients. Each one of these products/services has a price attached to it and the chargemaster keeps track of all of that and helps administrators, billing departments and patients to see the costs associated with each visit.

Once a patient has entered the hospital, the health care providers will document the services and procedures performed and the chargemaster will help to create a list of billed services that can then be sent to the patient or their healthcare insurance provider.

What Are the Challenges of Chargemaster Management?

There are many challenges that are associated with maintaining the accuracy of a hospital chargemaster. Some of the most common include going through a chargemaster review or charge cycle assessment and seeing that returns are not what you were expecting. Not only that, but the strain on your actual employee bandwidth can also be overwhelming since many times your labor sources are limited.

By utilizing software, the right technology providers, and a better understanding of chargemaster management best practices, you can ensure that it is compliant, accurate and distributing billing correctly.