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Healthcare Management vocabulary · Billing and Coding

Accounts receivable

Meaning in healthcare management, with examples

nounCommon term

In healthcare management, accounts receivable means: Money that patients, insurers and other payers owe the hospital for care that has already been provided but not yet paid for.

In Turkish: alacaklar, ticari alacaklar, tahsil edilmemiş alacaklar

How it is used

Shortened to AR or A/R. Managers watch 'days in AR', the average number of days it takes to collect payment, and the 'aging' of unpaid accounts. High AR ties up cash that the hospital needs to pay salaries and suppliers.

Example sentences

  1. Accounts receivable over 90 days have doubled since the insurer changed its system.

  2. Reducing accounts receivable is the finance director's top priority this year.

Common collocations

  • days in accounts receivable
  • accounts receivable aging
  • reduce accounts receivable
  • accounts receivable team
  • billingThe work of recording the services a patient received, turning them into charges and sending bills or claims to patients and payers.
  • claimA formal request that a hospital or patient sends to an insurer or public payer, listing the care given and asking to be paid for it.
  • claim denialA payer's refusal to pay a claim, for example because approval was missing, the codes were wrong, documents were missing or the service is not covered.
  • revenueThe total money a hospital receives for its services, such as payments from insurers, public funds and patients, before any costs are taken away.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Billing and Coding

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.