“Honesty is such a lonely word
Everyone is so untrue
Honesty is hardly ever heard
And mostly what I need from you”

                               -Billy Joel

As a healthcare consumer, I know it’s my responsibility to take care of myself.  I try to eat right, exercise, and avail myself of information and technologies that support good physical and mental health.  Still, despite my best efforts, as I age (last week I turned 53) I find that my body isn’t as resilient as it once was, and that some parts don’t work quite as well as they used to.  (Stop smirking - I didn’t mean that.)

I was in for an appointment with my primary care physician recently and began to ask him about information I had found on-line.  I almost laughed out loud as I watched him struggle to maintain his best “I think it’s great that you are seeking new information even if that information might come from quack sources that are more akin to superstitious alchemy than scientific medicine” face.

Seeing his barely concealed doubt and conceding that the web offers science and quackery in equal measure, I asked him about how to know the difference between what is true and what is not.  He said, “I would just run what you read by me or my team before doing anything too drastic.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

“That’s what the article said you would say,” I replied.  “The article also suggested you are an entrenched cog in the traditional healthcare wheel, conditioned to be adverse to any ideas that come from outside of ‘big pharma’ or Harvard Medical School.”

Wasn’t it Eisenhower who warned us to beware of the medical industrial complex?

Knowing what’s right and true in medical billing can feel equally enigmatic, especially in the world of MACRA and alternative payment models.  The Internet is chock full of RCM vendors making bold promises at low, low prices.  Whether the RCM cure-all is magical automation, off-shore rates, or a special blend of vitamins, essential oils, and fish urine, nothing can replace proven success, technological expertise, and hard work by knowledgeable professionals.

Sometimes that costs a little more.  It costs more to visit my PCP than to order crushed beetle wings from www.miraclehealth.com, but paying a little more than I prefer for the benefit of better medicine is superior to paying too little for unrealistic expectations.

The same may be true for your revenue cycle.

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