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Revenue Cycle & Billing

Clean Claim

A clean claim is a complete, accurate claim that contains all required information and passes payer edits, allowing it to be adjudicated and paid without rejection, denial, or additional follow-up. A high clean-claim rate is a key indicator of revenue-cycle efficiency.

What is a clean claim?

A clean claim is one that contains all required information, is accurate and properly coded, and passes the payer's edits so it can be adjudicated and paid without rejection, denial, or additional follow-up. In other words, it moves through processing on the first pass without needing rework.

The clean-claim rate, the share of claims that meet this standard, is a widely watched measure of how well the front end of the revenue cycle is functioning.

Why is a high clean-claim rate important?

Clean claims get paid faster and cost less to process, because each one that fails edits triggers manual correction, resubmission, and delayed cash. A high clean-claim rate therefore correlates directly with shorter accounts-receivable cycles and lower administrative burden.

For an ambulatory surgery center, achieving clean claims depends on accurate eligibility verification, authorization, coding, and charge capture before submission. Investing in getting claims right the first time is almost always cheaper than working the denials and rejections that result from errors.

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