Hospital Accounting System

When it comes to hospitals, hospital accounting is a kind of accounting system that gathers data from the past, transfers it to the future, and analyses it to assist & determine the financial status and operational performance of the institution. It is a subset of the general ledger accounting system of records. For hospital operations, important information is given in the form of statistics, which are both historical and prospective at the same time.

Accounting software for hospitals is used to keep track of the financial transactions of general, specialist, and government healthcare institutions. A hospital’s primary emphasis is on providing the best possible care for its patients, but it is also an enterprise that requires basic accounting services to remain in operation. Your hospital’s staff must be able to concentrate on delivering great patient care without being distracted by the continuous requirement to balance the accounts payable and receivable ledger. Use a hospital accounting system to keep track of the money in your healthcare institution, and a hospital management system to handle the rest of the day-to-day operations. The statistical data is as essential to the hospital’s internal administration as it is to outside parties. Accounting is just an information system in this context. This enables you to focus on what matters.

Why use myBillBook accounting software for hospital

The following are the most significant advantages of hospital accounting software:

Simplified Communication with Insurance Companies

The collection of payments for healthcare services by insurance companies is common, and healthcare facilities must often deal with them to collect their fees and recover their reimbursements. Medical billing software creates a claim based on the medical codes that have been provided by your company. Before the billing cycle can begin, patient files must be updated with the appropriate procedure codes, and your team has to ensure that this happens. If you have a claim, you may submit it to the patient or their insurance carrier for processing. Everything else is just a matter of sitting back and waiting for the money to arrive.

Unfortunately, when an insurance company is involved in an accident, they have a reputation for being slow to pay out claims to injured parties. This is assuming that the insurance company accepts the claim without first denying coverage for the incident in question. Late payments may accumulate in your accounts receivable, making it difficult to promptly update your hospital’s budget. Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) solutions make the payment processing process easier to handle, which makes the claims process less time-consuming. After those payments have been received, you’ll be pleased to see that your general ledger has been brought up to date.

Maintains a record of all non-profit accounts and charity donations received

Many non-profit hospitals rely on community contributions to provide top-notch treatment. It’s your job to keep tabs on how your company’s divisions are spending their funds. Donations may easily be entered into the hospital’s accounting software, which also generates receipts for the institution’s existing donors.

For-profit and non-profit healthcare organizations both conduct fundraising events to generate money for particular departments or causes inside the hospital. As soon as your hospital has precise contribution data, you may plan future fundraising efforts.

Accounting Information Can Be Easily accessed via Mobile Devices

It is critical to check on a bill while on the road to ensure that it is still in good standing. Smartphones and tablets that are integrated with cloud-based accounting software allow you to double-check the accuracy of your financial information. It is possible to get up-to-date information from the general ledger during a board meeting, and the information will be reliable as well as timely.

What is included in hospital accounting

Accrual and cash accounting

No matter when the provider is paid, accrual accounting acknowledges income and expenditures as received. An in-patient gets a service that the hospital pays them for. Expenses and revenue are recorded at that time in accrual accounting.

The primary benefit is accuracy since it provides a clear picture of what is happening throughout a quarter. For this reason, large companies typically use accrual accounting. The disadvantage is the need for sophisticated software to manage accounts payable and receivable.

Cash accounting is considerably easier. Receipts and expenditures are only recorded when, while this approach works in certain sectors, it doesn’t work well for many health care providers since payments may take months, if ever.

Reporting

Medical institutions, like other businesses, generate financial reports to show their success. The public, hospital trustees, and top management should get this information.

These reports may contain cash flows, balance sheets, income statements, and net asset changes. Charity care is also itemized by tax-exempt hospitals.

Depreciation

IT infrastructure, capital equipment, and commercial buildings are heavily used by healthcare providers. This method includes estimating the asset’s cost as well as its usable life.

The asset’s depreciation cost is thus spread across each accounting period. Land appreciation is not included in depreciation calculations.

In addition to GAAP, healthcare accountants must also follow several healthcare-specific concepts.

Payments and receivables related to medical services

Reimbursement for hospitals comes in various forms. Alternatively, they may be paid on a capitation basis. It pays regardless of service usage but is liable for overruns. Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Groups may also pay them per diem or on a case-by-case basis (MS-DRGs).

Most insurance companies only pay for a portion of the hospital’s services, leaving the rest unfunded. The complexity of billings, receivables and allowances is compounded when payers have their charge schedules.

Payer mixes and charge masters

Both public and private payers pay most providers. A big hospital’s accounting department may record income from hundreds of sources.  Transparency is essential when it comes to provider billing, and accountants are often consulted. Some hospitals utilize a chargemaster, fee-for-service list, or MS-DRGs to price. Payment mechanisms are linked to complicated networks that finance services. As a consequence, balance billing often surprises patients and the public.

Credit balances and outstanding checks

Accounts receivable credit buildup is a frequent occurrence for healthcare accountants. This occurs when the amount collected from payers and/or patients exceeds the amount due. One response is to write a check. However, providers like hospitals often have unpaid cheques owing to deceased or relocated clients. In certain states, unpaid checks must be returned to the state.