Where Are Your Millions Stuck?
If your finance or HIM leadership team is reviewing aging DNFB numbers without a plan to cut them down then you’re likely sitting on unreleased revenue. We’ve seen hospitals hold more than $6 million in unbilled claims simply because discharge coding workflows were broken or buried in internal silos.
Charts are completed. Discharges are done. But the revenue? Stuck in limbo. This is the cash freeze no one talks about until your forecast misses.
What’s Really Causing the DNFB Bottleneck?
It’s rarely about coding capacity. Instead, DNFB piles up because:
- Clinical documentation is incomplete or unstructured
- CDI teams can’t resolve queries fast enough
- Coders lack discharge-specific workflows (ED vs psych vs inpatient)
- No real-time DNFB dashboard shows case status or revenue hold
The outcome? Days, even weeks of revenue locked inside EMR systems waiting for action.
What Our Teams Have Delivered for Hospital Partners
In just 30 days, here’s what a regional system achieved with Scionis RCM:
- $3.1M in uncoded charts released and billed
- 66% faster coding turnaround (5.6 → 1.9 days)
- 72% of discharges required no secondary queries after workflow realignment
- 58% reduction in overall DNFB backlog volume
- GDPR + HIPAA compliant documentation audit for all charts billed
Before vs After: Chart Lag to Claim Release
- Before: DNFB dashboard showed 320+ discharges older than 5 days with unclear status.
- After: Every uncoded discharge categorized query pending, provider delay, or coding complete.
- Result: 86% of charts moved to billing in under 48 hours post-coding.
Client Outcome Snapshot
A 250-bed acute care hospital with two coding teams and inconsistent CDI workflows had $6.4M in held revenue. Within 4 weeks of implementation, Scionis deployed a discharge-specific coding strategy, aligned queries to physician documentation timelines, and escalated unresolved delays daily. The hospital cleared more than half its backlog and booked over $3.1M in net new collections all while maintaining internal HIM continuity.
Final Takeaway
DNFB isn’t just a backlog it’s a liability. And until every discharge is final billed, your revenue is at risk. Scionis RCM delivers the oversight, structure, and specialty-aligned workflows hospitals need to move discharges to dollars fast, clean, and audit-ready.
