Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/717576
A "Tedious" Billing Process Gets Streamlined Before going live with athenaCollector for Hospitals & Health Systems, the billing staff at Lost Rivers Medical Center (LRMC) spent a great deal of time submitting and tracking claims across multiple vendors. "It was tedious," recalls LeeAnn Betzer, Chief Financial Officer of LRMC. "It took ten steps and a lot of manpower to get one claim out the door." Betzer explained that staff needed to actively manage each claim through the submission process. "We would generate a bill, then it would go to a clearinghouse, then another clearinghouse," said Betzer. "It took one person to work all those areas on a daily basis because that claim would be stopped at each scrubber." "We were at the point of drowning," explained Betzer. "Our AR was extremely high at 108 days. It was definitely a concern. Out here in these small rural communities, you don't hire people with a billing background. You find people and you train them, which takes time and resources we didn't have because we were so far behind. We were at the point of either work harder or get smarter and improve processes." athenaCollector for Hospitals & Health Systems immediately streamlined the billing process. That's because athenahealth offers a complete revenue cycle solution that handles everything from claims submission and tracking to patient statements. "We've reclassified roles within the department based on the workflows in athenaCollector," said Betzer. "In fact, once we started working with athenahealth, I held off on hiring the two people I was considering. I felt the way athena buckets tasks, the staff that I had would be sufficient once we got through the trial and error of implementation." With a streamlined workflow and all the work that athenahealth handles on the hospital's behalf, Betzer said, "we are more project focused, organized, and understand who's responsible for what." The Rules Engine Eliminates Work With athenaCollector for Hospitals & Health Systems, LRMC is part of a continually updated network, ensuring that all payer and industry changes are automatically part of the revenue workflow. What's more, the Billing Rules Engine—a continually evolving database—saves billing staff time by automatically flagging any claim issues so they can be addressed before claims go out. "athenahealth minimizes the time we need to spend editing claims," Betzer said. "When we identify an issue and bring it to the attention of athenahealth, they update the Rules Engine, so everyone on the network benefits from the update and we don't have to address it again." A Smooth Implementation "Any implementation is hard," said Betzer. But with only a "few hiccups here and there, going live with athenaCollector went fairly smoothly. And the support was great." Lost Rivers Medical Center in Arco, Idaho is a 14-bed Critical Access Hospital. Before implementing athenaCollector® for Hospitals & Health Systems, it took tremendous time and effort to get claims out the door. With a network-based practice management solution from athenahealth®, they enjoy a streamlined billing process, faster payments, and much more efficient use of staff time. CASE STUDY Lost Rivers Medical Center Arco, ID Organization • Located in Arco, ID • Operates as a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) • 14 beds • 10 physicians Issues • Lengthy billing process • Too much time monitoring claims • Outdated systems Solution • athenaCollector for Hospitals & Health Systems Results * • Total cash flow at 111.9% of baseline after Q1 2016 • More efficient workflow • Robust support Critical Access Hospital Has Stronger Cash Flow, Better Productivity with Network-Based Billing Solution