Revenue Cycle Best Practices Outlined
Published: 2009-07-05 13:07:13
Author: Howard Anderson | Health Data Management | June 17, 2009
The Healthcare Financial Management Association this fall will release a detailed report on best practices for implementing efficient revenue cycle management that provides timely, useful information to patients. The report will outline the role that information technology can play.
The Standards of Excellence report is the latest component of Westchester, Ill.-based HFMA's eight-year Patient-Friendly Billing effort. Its findings will be based on two research efforts. Researchers are conducting in-depth interviews at 14 hospitals pinpointed for their excellent financial performance. Plus, they will conduct a national hospital survey in the coming weeks.
At HFMA's Annual National Institute in Seattle, two independent consultants involved in the project, Terry Rappuhn of Rappuhun Consulting and Claudia Birkenshaw of Modern Management Muse Inc., shared some preliminary conclusions based on interviews with 11 hospitals. Common themes discovered, they said, include:
* Many have a group of I.T. staff members devoted full-time to the revenue cycle.
* All have re-engineered revenue cycle processes.
* Most use point-of-service collections, asking patients for payments upfront.
* Many provide up-front pricing estimates.
The hospitals use a variety of technologies. For example, 25-bed Henry County Hospital in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, has a Web site that enables patients to pre-register, update insurance information, pay bills and review quality data. "They view technology as a critically valuable enabler," Birkenshaw said.
Full story
Published: 2009-07-05 13:07:13
Author: Howard Anderson | Health Data Management | June 17, 2009
The Healthcare Financial Management Association this fall will release a detailed report on best practices for implementing efficient revenue cycle management that provides timely, useful information to patients. The report will outline the role that information technology can play.
The Standards of Excellence report is the latest component of Westchester, Ill.-based HFMA's eight-year Patient-Friendly Billing effort. Its findings will be based on two research efforts. Researchers are conducting in-depth interviews at 14 hospitals pinpointed for their excellent financial performance. Plus, they will conduct a national hospital survey in the coming weeks.
At HFMA's Annual National Institute in Seattle, two independent consultants involved in the project, Terry Rappuhn of Rappuhun Consulting and Claudia Birkenshaw of Modern Management Muse Inc., shared some preliminary conclusions based on interviews with 11 hospitals. Common themes discovered, they said, include:
* Many have a group of I.T. staff members devoted full-time to the revenue cycle.
* All have re-engineered revenue cycle processes.
* Most use point-of-service collections, asking patients for payments upfront.
* Many provide up-front pricing estimates.
The hospitals use a variety of technologies. For example, 25-bed Henry County Hospital in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, has a Web site that enables patients to pre-register, update insurance information, pay bills and review quality data. "They view technology as a critically valuable enabler," Birkenshaw said.
Full story