Order intake is more than just the first step of your revenue cycle management (RCM) workflow—it’s the foundation for everything that follows. Any mistakes here can ripple through the entire revenue cycle, leading to billing delays, compliance risks, and strained provider relationships.
Unfortunately, despite the rise of digital portals, paper orders remain a persistent challenge. From handwritten notes on standard forms to combinations of printed documents and script pads, paper’s refusal to leave the scene introduces countless opportunities for error.
To add fuel to the fire, labor shortages and rising costs continue to plague organizations. Recruiting skilled workers is increasingly difficult, and manual data entry takes up useful time and drives up expenses.
These pressures make automation and AI a strategic necessity rather than a luxury.
Our partnership with PreciseMDX allows us to offer our clients yet another opportunity for RCM innovation within our suite of end-to-end services and solutions—here’s how.
Scribble to Digital: Automating Data Intake
Traditional approaches to digitizing paper orders—like basic scanning—aren’t enough. That’s where AI and automation come in. Instead of just creating digital images, AI transforms paper forms into actionable, validated data. It captures details such as patient information, test orders, and insurance details and applies your lab’s unique business rules to ensure accuracy.
This advanced process prevents common issues like:
- Missing test details
- Data inaccuracies
- Processing delays
With clean data right from the start, healthcare organizations can avoid billing rejections, speed up test reporting, and improve compliance.
What Makes AI a Game Changer?
It’s like adding the ultimate team member to your staff—one who never tires, maintains accuracy at all times, and scales effortlessly to handle fluctuating workloads.
During peak periods, when requisitions spike, human errors tend to increase. AI eliminates this concern by processing hundreds—or thousands—of forms with the same speed and precision.
Here’s a closer look at how AI enhances the order intake process:
- First, paper requisitions—whether handwritten or printed—are scanned into the system.
- Recognizing context comes next, as AI identifies specific areas for patient details, test orders, and insurance information rather than just reading text.
- Then, AI applies your organization’s unique logic rules to validate details like insurance eligibility and test codes for accuracy.
- Lastly, AI digitizes and integrates the data, making it ready for billing, reporting, or compliance checks in the next stage of the workflow.
This process isn’t just digitization; it’s contextualization and transformation that creates clean, actionable information.
Immediate and Long-Term Benefits
AI and automation make its impact felt right away. From the moment it’s implemented, AI eliminates common errors and reduces your chances of mistakes that often lead to billing issues or compliance problems down the line.
In the short term, healthcare organizations experience faster processing times as AI and automation handle forms in seconds—something that could take hours manually, especially during peak periods. With fewer resources needed for repetitive tasks, organizations see direct savings in labor costs while maintaining high standards of efficiency.
The long-term effects of AI are just as powerful. Clean, validated data at intake creates a ripple effect across the entire workflow. Billing rejections drop as claims rely on error-free information, while faster intake ensures quicker turnaround times for patient results and care decisions. Over time, organizations also benefit from smoother regulatory compliance, as digitized and validated records meet stringent standards with minimal oversight.
Unlock New Possibilities with SYNERGEN Health and Precise MDX
Through our partnership with PreciseMDX, SYNERGEN Health offers truly end-to-end revenue cycle management services and solutions and services that reduce costs and achieve long-term profitability.
Wondering how you could improve your operations? We offer a complimentary RCM assessment.
