Queue Control
(Stop the Bounce)
How to reduce aged AR delays by preventing accounts from bouncing between queues
Some aged AR doesn’t stall because it’s complicated.
It stalls because it keeps getting moved.
Intake says it belongs to claims.
Claims says it belongs to appeals.
Appeals says it needs records.
Records says it’s waiting for indexing.
And the account just bounces.
So your team follows up, gets a new answer, changes direction, and loses another week.
That bounce creates a special kind of fatigue.
You feel like you’re working, but the account never settles long enough to move forward.
A simple mindset shift helps:
In aged AR, your job is not only follow-up.
Sometimes your job is queue control.
What “queue control” means
Queue control means you actively make sure the account is sitting in the correct place with the correct owner.
Not “somewhere in process.”
The right queue.
Because if an account is in the wrong queue, time doesn’t pass — it disappears.
The hidden cost of bouncing
When accounts bounce, teams pay for it in four ways:
- Lost time between contacts
Each transfer creates a gap where nobody touches it. - Broken timelines
Turnaround clocks reset, or nobody can tell when they started. - Unclear ownership
Every follow-up becomes “try another department.” - Repeat work
People resend the same documents because they’re not sure what the new queue can see.
That is why some accounts age even when people are working hard.
Common bounce patterns in aged AR
You’ll recognize these:
- Intake ↔ Indexing: “We don’t see the docs yet.”
- Claims ↔ Appeals: “That’s not a claims issue anymore.”
- Provider services ↔ Back office: “We can’t access that screen.”
- Medical records ↔ Utilization: “Wrong department.”
- Denials ↔ Reprocessing: “Submit a corrected claim instead.”
None of these are “wrong” answers.
But if you accept them without locking a destination, the account keeps floating.
The queue control questions (simple and respectful)
Your goal is to stop ending calls with “try this other number.”
Instead, end with a confirmed destination.
Ask:
- “Which team/queue should own this right now?”
- “Can you transfer it, or tell me exactly how it gets routed there?”
- “What should I reference so the next rep can find it quickly?”
- “When should that team be expected to work it?”
These questions do two things:
- They reduce bounce.
- They build a cleaner record.
The “Lock the Destination” step
Queue control works best when you add one explicit step:
Before you end the touch, lock the destination.
That means you either:
- get the rep to route it, or
- get a clear instruction that will route it (and a name for the destination)
Examples of “locked destination” outcomes:
- “Assigned to Appeals Review Queue”
- “Routed to Indexing Team with reference #____”
- “Transferred to Reprocessing Unit”
- “Supervisor assigned case and set review timeline”
Without this, you don’t have progress. You have movement.
How to document queue control (Action-Ready Note style)
Queue control only helps if the note makes the routing clear.
Queue Control Note format:
- Current issue: what is blocked
- Where it was sitting: old queue/team (if known)
- Where it’s going: new queue/team
- How it will get there: routed by rep / case created / transfer / instruction
- Work date: expected timeframe
- Next step: what you’ll do if it doesn’t land
Example:
Issue: Appeal received but not assigned
Was: Intake queue (unassigned)
Going to: Appeals Review Queue
How: Rep created case #45678 and routed to appeals review
Work date: 5–7 business days
Next step: If still unassigned by 02/10, call provider line and reference case #45678
Now the next person doesn’t “try again.”
They continue the thread with a clear target.
The empathy side: bounce is demoralizing
Queue bounce is one of the biggest morale killers in AR.
It makes smart people feel powerless.
They do the work, but the system keeps moving the goalpost.
Queue control gives your team something solid:
a destination, an owner, and a timeline.
That’s what reduces the emotional drag.
A simple rollout idea
Pick your top 15 aged accounts this week and add one rule:
No call ends with “try another department” without a locked destination.
If the payer can’t transfer, you still log:
- which queue should own it
- how it gets routed
- when it should be worked
Even that alone will reduce bounce.
Aged AR needs persistence, yes.
But it also needs positioning.
When accounts stop bouncing and start sitting in the right place, progress gets a lot easier.
At Zybex, we help teams build practical workflows like this—so aged AR stops depending on memory and starts moving with proof. If you want the future posts in this series, sign up with your email using the form below.