Find out why online at the HFMA Virtual Healthcare Finance Conference and Career Fair January 12-13, 2010
Join over 1,000 healthcare finance professionals that have already registered by attending the HFMA Virtual Healthcare Finance Conference and Career Fair January 12-13, 2010. Registration is free, and you can earn up to 8 CPE credits and access 20 on-demand sessions— all free of charge and from the comfort of your office.
While you are there, visit our booth online to find out how with Emdeon, you can do more. Not only will you learn more about our end-to-end Revenue Cycle Management Solutions, but you can also chat with industry experts and learn more about best practices in revenue cycle management. Visiting our booth will also register you for a chance to win one of two Kindle DXs!
You don't need one more partner. You need one partner that does more.
New Solutions for the New Year
Discover Tips and Tools to Achieve Your Revenue Cycle Goals for 2010
The New Year is almost here, but are the 2010 resolutions that you have in mind for your healthcare organization “same old, same old”? With the turn of the calendar brings changes to health insurance plans, altered benefits and renewed deductibles. Are you repeating resolutions to improve cash flow, clean up your registration processes and better connect with patients on matters of payments and collections—just like last year?
Here are some solutions to help you achieve your 2010 revenue cycle resolutions.
Resolution: Help frontline staff improve efficiency and get more accurate information
Solution: Invest in training and incorporate intuitive, interactive tools to guide staff to success throughout the registration process
In 2010, invest in training so frontline staff can better perform registration procedures. As the industry continues to evolve to Consumer-Driven Health Plans (CDHPs), frontline staff must effectively obtain accurate, usable and thorough information from patients. With the constant rise in CDHPs, patients are acting more like payers making them responsible for a larger percentage of their healthcare costs. Getting the best, most complete patient data is core to increasing cash flow and the overall health of your revenue cycle. Prioritizing the training of frontline staff will ensure long term success. These core members of your team need the knowledge and skills to not only use the tools of technology but to effectively engage patients at the point of access.
Equipping frontline staff with proper tools to use throughout the registration process is also important in the New Year. Seek out the most current technology solutions for Patient Access, especially those with simple interfaces designed to logically and quickly guide the registration process to capture pertinent patient information. Consider integrated solutions so that information attained at the first patient encounter is not isolated, but instead connects seamlessly with other aspects of the revenue cycle and throughout the entire span of a patient’s care.
Resolution: Communicate better with patients about services, financial responsibility and billing and payment up-front
Solution: Create proactive payment responsibility estimates and incorporate clear, concise statements and collection options
To finally break through the barriers of communicating with patients about costs and payments associated with care in the New Year, providers must move to a more retail approach to communicating healthcare costs. While providers are ultimately in the business of administering healthcare, there’s no negating the importance of positively, proactively communicating with patients about their expected costs and your billing and payment practices. Informed patients are not only more likely to pay in a timely manner, but they are also more likely to trust your entire staff throughout their encounter.
Start the New Year off by keeping patients informed incorporating the most accurate, thorough cost estimation tools possible up-front. Likewise, find patient billing and payment solutions, in particular patient statements and online payment tools, that are easy to use and created with consumer recipients in mind to address the back-end of your revenue cycle. Because today’s administrative and financial information is highly likely to be patient-facing, all facets must be easy to read and understand so as not to overwhelm or intimidate patients, but to clearly communicate financial responsibility.
Resolution: Increase point-of-service collections, reduce AR days and improve cash flow
Solution: Use technology to give frontline staff confidence to collect and patients alternatives to pay conveniently
As already mentioned, the role of frontline staff has never been more important and the necessity of up-front collections is certainly a big reason why this is true. Just as patients need accurate estimates in order to pay confidently, staff must have accurate information in order to effectively request and capture those payments during the registration process. Some of the aforementioned technology assists staff with up-front collections which can contribute to increased cash flow and reduced AR days.
Also, by providing patients with consumer-oriented payment alternatives such as credit and debit card payments, payment plans and online billing and payment, you will also make great strides in acquiring payment faster, shortening your revenue cycle and reducing your cost to collect. Consumer-oriented payment alternatives make it simple for patients to pay their bills, keep track of their accounts and assess remaining financial responsibilities. Moving this way in 2010 not only helps your patients, but this also helps your healthcare organization with AR days reduced as collections are positively impacted.
Emdeon’s suite of solutions are designed to help you easily navigate 2010’s changes in health insurance plans, deductibles and benefits. We’re resolved to guide providers into the New Year and always seamlessly Simplifying the Business of Healthcare. As the calendar brings change, let it also bring changes in how you do business. Make this your opportunity to tap into Emdeon solutions for all of your revenue cycle resolutions. 
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U.S. Healthcare Efficiency Index™ Launched Primary Data Collection to Measure Current State of Electronic Adoption and Potential Cost Savings
Notable healthcare veterans and policy makers join Advisory Council
The Advisory Council for the U.S. Healthcare Efficiency Index™ (Index), founded by Emdeon, recently announced the launch of the National Data Collection Center for the primary research phase of the Index and the addition of new members.
The Index is an industry forum for monitoring business efficiency in healthcare and tracking the transition from a paper- and phone-based healthcare system to an electronic one. A primary goal of the Index is to raise awareness of potential savings and how those dollars could be better used to fund delivery of care or offset costs of longer-term healthcare reforms.
The first phase of the Index, launched in December 2008, focused on analyzing industry data available through research reports and other sources. Phase 1 of the Index identified an estimated $300 billion in potential savings over ten years for five basic medical claims-related transactions. The second phase, launched November 12, 2009, marks the beginning of primary data collection, beginning with major healthcare payers. Payers will submit data to the Index National Data Collection Center, through a secure, password protected web portal. The non-identifiable data will be sent to statisticians at Scheuren– Ruffner, where it will be aggregated and analyzed. Milliman, Inc., a global consulting and actuarial firm, will then validate the findings based on the methodology developed and approved by the Advisory Council. The findings will be published as part of the first National Progress Report on Healthcare Efficiency which is planned for release in early 2010.
Five transactions are currently being tracked to measure electronic adoption and to facilitate calculation of the associated cost savings:
• Eligibility Verification
• Claim Submission
• Claim Status
• Claim Payment
• Claim Remittance
While healthcare payers will be the first to contribute data, the process will later be opened up to providers and clearinghouses to provide a complete view of the industry. The administrative simplification provisions of current healthcare reform bills call for additional electronic business transactions such as claims attachments to be adopted by the industry, and the Index plans to expand to monitor adoption and measure savings in those areas as well.
Plans are already underway for later phases of the Index, including development of a Pharmacy Safety and Adherence Index. The organizations represented on the Advisory Council hope to collaborate on data collection to avoid duplication of research efforts and establish a single, industry-recognized source for healthcare efficiency metrics.
“This is a critical time as Congress struggles with how to design and fund healthcare reform. By serving as a central reference for tracking healthcare administrative efficiency, the Index provides a roadmap for additional healthcare cost savings that can help pay for reform. We are delighted to have such an experienced group of thought leaders join us in overseeing this important effort,” said Miriam Paramore, senior vice president of corporate strategy for Emdeon, the founding sponsor for the Index.
The Advisory Council is responsible for overseeing the effort, developing the data collection methodology and reporting on progress across the healthcare industry. Advisory Council members also play a role in shaping the healthcare reform dialogue. The following individuals have recently joined the Advisory Council:
• The Honorable Phil Johnston, President and CEO, Johnston Associates (Former Regional Administrator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and former Massachusetts State Representative)
• Robin Thomashauer, Executive Director, Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH)
• Tom Meyers, Executive Director, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)
• Eric Wallace, Executive Director, Linxus
• Fred Horowitz, Board of Directors, Secure EDI Health Group (representing the Cooperative Exchange)
• Richard Nelli, Chief Technology Officer of CareMedic Systems (representing the Cooperative Exchange)
• Gregory Fisher, Director of EDI Business Development, UnitedHealthcare
Development of the National Data Collection Center was conducted in partnership with members of the Advisory Council, as well as with the Vanderbilt Owen School of Management. Students in the Vanderbilt healthcare MBA program assisted in creation of the data collection model and in outreach to healthcare payers to get their input and participation in the initiative. Student teams will continue to participate in research analysis and model development for subsequent phases of the Index.
“As the rhetoric on healthcare reform gets louder, it’s important to find a common set of principles that address our most pressing needs. Reducing waste is something we can all agree on. I am happy to join the Index and shine light on the significant dollars that could be saved – to prevent cuts to programs or pay for other reforms,” new Advisory Council member Phil Johnston said.
As part of an awareness-building campaign, the Index website is now hosting a new discussion forum to encourage dialogue on administrative savings and healthcare reform. Visit the website to join the discussion.
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Case in Point: Clark & Daughtrey Medical Group Partners with Emdeon
A Quest to Refine Claims Management Leads to the Redefining of Business Operations
After a quarter century of leading business operations for medical practices, Noemi Rodriguez, MBA, CPC, is not easy to impress. With her advanced knowledge and experience managing people and processes, Rodriguez, who serves as Director of Business Operations for Lakeland’s Clark & Daughtrey Medical Group, is a consummate professional exceptionally discerning in the selection of product partners for revenue cycle management.
So, just what products would make Rodriguez start and end a partner search in one review and claim “where (have you) been all of my life… (it’s) like a marriage made in heaven!”? The cause of this response is Emdeon’s end-to-end Revenue Cycle Management Solutions and the resulting measurable improvements that have evoked such unbridled support.
In her quest to refine Clark & Daughtrey’s antiquated claims management system, Rodriguez first reviewed Emdeon Claim Master and quickly discovered this one application alone was capable of far more than she and her team imagined. When introduced to the accompanying suite of Revenue Cycle Management Solutions, Rodriguez made the decision to integrate a full array of Emdeon applications, thus redefining Clark & Daughtrey’s entire business operations.
Today Clark & Daughtrey, a multi-location, multispecialty, outpatient practice caring for upwards of 10,000 patients monthly, is benefactor of over seven months’ worth of not just improved, but renewed operations. In partnering with Emdeon, Rodriguez has found the progressive support the practice demands to handle its ever-altering and growing workflow.
This is a true success story, as the specific results and Rodriguez’s praise attests. The complete, compelling success story including details about challenges, goals and impressive outcomes can be found in the Clark & Daughtrey Case Study. Read all the stats and specifics about how Emdeon helped Clark & Daughtrey achieve:
- reduction of AR days
- staffing efficiencies, including elimination of FTEs
- improved cash flow
- strategies for long term success
You can experience your own Emdeon success story! Call us today at 877.EMDEON.6 (877.969.9666) to find case study-worthy solutions for your business operations.
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New Payers on Board
The largest health information network continues to grow
Emdeon connects you and 340,000 other providers to 1,200 payers, the nation’s largest health information network. We’re constantly adding new payers to this network, giving you even greater reach for real-time eligibility and benefits verification and electronic claims submission. View our complete payer list online to make sure you’re taking advantage of Emdeon’s connectivity. The more payer connections you access through our network, the quicker you can begin receiving accurate reimbursements, reducing write-offs, and improving first pass acceptance rates.
We have recently added the following payers:
•Americas 1st Choice Health Plans of South Carolina- Claims
•AmeriChoice of New Jersey (Medicaid New Jersey)- Claims
•Ancillary Care Services- Claims
•Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming- ERA
•Boulder Administration Services- Claims
•Brown and Toland Medical Group- Claims
•Capstone Health Plan- Claims
•Care Wisconsin Health Plan (Trizetto)- Claims
•Columbia United Providers- ERA
•First Administrators- Claims
•First Priority (Blue Cross Blue Shield New England Pennsylvania)- Claims
•Health Care District- Claims
•Healthy Palm Beaches- Claims
•InterCare Health Plans- Claims
•MDWIS (HIP)- Claims
•Medicaid South Carolina- Claims
•Medicaid South Carolina- ERA
•MedStar Family Choice- Claims
•Mennonite Mutual Aid Association and Affiliates (MMA)- Claims
•Mississippi Health Partners- Claims
•North Carolina Blue Cross- ERA
•North Carolina Medicaid- Claims
•Optimum Healthcare- Claims
•Personal Influence Administrators (PIA)- Claim Status Inquiry and Response
•Personal Influence Administrators (PIA)- Eligibility Inquiry and Response
•Preferred Care Partners Florida (Encounters)- Claims
•Providence of Oregon Health Plan- Claims
•SeeChange Health- Claims
•South Dakota Medicaid- ERA
•State Farm (Casualty and Property Claims)- Claims
•UMR Wausau- Eligibility Inquiry and Response
•WellPath- Claims
•WIN Healthcare (Woman’s Integrated Network)- Claims
•WRHN Beechstreet- Claims
•WRHN CCN- Claims
•WRHN First Health- Claims
•WRHN Great West- Claims
•WRHN Prime Health- Claims
•WRHN Wise Provider- Claims
•Yale University Health Plan- Claims
Don't miss out! View our complete payer list online today to take advantage of Emdeon's connectivity.
The Power of Print Meets the Power of Online
Get the best of both worlds for your patients with Emdeon Patient Connect
The American consumer's continued trust of online billing, payment and banking may mean that providers and hospitals can benefit greatly from giving their patients electronic payment options, but the importance of clear and concise paper statements cannot be underestimated. The use of multiple vendors for these needs can make the coordination of both processes a difficult task that eventually reduces the benefits that make online billing and payment valuable in the first place.
That's where Emdeon Patient Connect can help. The key to a successful plan is to utilize solutions across the entire patient billing and payment process that work together and share information to eliminate delays and encourage faster payments. Emdeon Patient Connect combines powerful online and paper billing options that work together to keep your patients informed of their responsibilities while facilitating increased self-pay collections and reduced administrative costs.
Emdeon ExpressBill Services delivers intelligent paper statements
As part of the Emdeon Patient Connect suite, Emdeon ExpressBill Services provides clear, concise patient statements that leverage your existing financial data. Emdeon ExpressBill Services encompasses the guidelines of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) PATIENT FRIENDLY BILLING® initiative and focuses on improving the quality of patient statements. Easy-to-read bills and statements educate patients on their financial responsibilities which can result in higher payment rates and fewer customer service calls.
Emdeon ExpressBill Services’ statements and invoices are designed to cut processing costs by shortening the time it takes to get a statement from you to your customer. Emdeon provides the very best in state-of-the-art bill printing so you can bypass conventional, time consuming folding, stuffing and stamping statements. Conveniently, Emdeon allows you to transmit billing information electronically to one of our process, print and mail centers.
Emdeon Patient Pay Online delivers comprehensive electronic billing and payment
Also part of the Emdeon Patient Connect suite of services, Emdeon Patient Pay Online provides comprehensive and secure online billing and payment management. Emdeon Patient Pay Online can yield faster collection of patient-owed amounts, improved cash flow and reduced billing costs with less effort and paperwork. Patient billing will be current, accurate and accessible, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
With Emdeon Patient Pay Online, patients receive email updates linking them to a secure section of their provider’s existing website where they can easily view, manage and pay their accounts online. Patients gain direct access to their account information allowing them to manage account preferences, update demographic information, email customer service staff with billing inquiries and access FAQs and other helpful information. By bringing billing and payment convenience to patients online, providers can reduce support calls, increase billing data accuracy, reduce A/R days and lower collection costs.
One partnership for better patient billing and payment
Our paper and online solutions for patient billing and payment are just the beginning of how we can help you save time and money every day. With Emdeon Patient Connect you get one integrated solution that covers your entire patient billing and payment cycle. With the improved clarity and accuracy of patient communications we can offer, many providers benefit from an increase in self-pay revenue and operational efficiencies. Let us show you how efficient and effective patient billing and payment can be!
To discover more about how we’re Simplifying the Business of Healthcare, contact us today at 877.EMDEON.6 (877.363.3666) or visit us online at www.emdeon.com/patientbilling.
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Visit Emdeon at a Tradeshow Near you
January February For more information and to view our full list of upcoming scheduled tradeshows, please visit us online. 
Emdeon exhibits at many tradeshows throughout the year where you can learn more about our full suite of Revenue Cycle Management Solutions and new products and features on the horizon. Come visit us at the following tradeshows:
• HFMA Virtual Conference: January 12-13 online
• Tri-State HFMA Winter Institute: January 20-22 in Tunica, MS
• MA/RI HFMA Revenue Cycle Meeting: January 22 in Foxborough, MA
• HFMA Region 11 Meeting: January 24-27 in Las Vegas, NV
• VA Chapter of HFMA Winter Conference: February 17-19 in Norfolk, VA
• CO Chapter of HFMA Compliance Conference: February 4-5 in Denver, CO
• Dixie Chapter of HFMA: February 16-19 in Charleston, SC
• WA/AK Chapter of HFMA/AAHAM: February 24-26 in Seattle, WA
