A large orthopedic group was bundling their payments for certain Element partnered with the clinicians and financial operators to create a technology workflow highlighting best practices throughout the entire patient bundled procedure. This included pre-assessments, patient intervention worklists and advanced reporting. The technology includes easy to access tracking and required touchpoints by Medicare. Element consultants partnered with clinicians to leverage their best practice for patient optimization on every bundled patient.
Our consultants met with staff members and discussed gaps in the financial communication process. They embedded themselves into multiple departments of the revenue cycle, including ER, Pre-Service, Financial Counseling and Elective Services. After discussing findings with leadership, we created an entirely new financial communication direction, one focused on education rather than collection, to improve financial conversations both at the time of service and before. All financial counselor and registration staff were then trained to implement the new directive.
Following our engagement, the PBM and Health Data were fully and successfully synchronized, with a “go-live” date scheduled for 1/1/16. We established an executive steering committee to manage ongoing enhancements and upgrades to our client’s new tools, and an initial pilot client group comprised of 20,000 lives reported overwhelmingly positive feedback as a direct result of our client’s new high-value data reporting abilities.
With 35% of our client’s patient payments occurring online and the remainder paper-based, Element Consultants started by using paper-based communication to drive messaging about quick and easy payment choices with an online focus. We then turned to their website to create a more friendly user experience by minimizing steps for payment with a combination of QR Codes, PayMyBill and Payment Plans. We segmented our client’s patient population and developed a targeted outreach program. Finally, the payment model, now based on measurable metrics, was tied directly to financial performance.
Our client, a major metropolitan academic medical center and public hospital, wanted to transform the infrastructure of their Human Resources organizations without weakening their customer focus and cost-effectiveness. They also wanted the new setup to give them more and better employee information. To get this transformation done, they needed help launching and managing PeopleSoft modules that included Human Resources, Base Benefits, Benefits Administration, Payroll, Time and Labor, eProfile, ePay, eBenefits and eRecruit. Element Consulting was brought in as the Program Director to manage the direction and scope of the entire project. This included project leadership, project staffing and technical resources to support the PeopleSoft HCM implementation as well as operations and support of Phase I Financial and Supply Chain implementation. Our program management of the PeopleSoft transformation was textbook. We met every client milestone, remaining on time and on budget for every phase. The success led to ongoing support of the project and additional project work.
Element partnered with the clinicians and financial operators to create a technology workflow highlighting best practices throughout the entire patient engagement. This included pre-assessments, patient intervention worklists, and advanced reporting. The technology included easy-to-access tracking and required touchpoints by Medicare. Element consultants partnered with clinicians to leverage their best practice for patient optimization on every bundled patient.
Delivering results for your success
Deep industry knowledge, meaningful insights and innovative ideas. That’s what we deliver. Check out the following examples.
Check out the following examples.
Case Studies
Bundling Payments
Getting a billing strategy to play nice with Medicare and commercial patient populations.
Bundling Payments
Background
procedures in their medicare and commercial populations. The group’s engagement included all care before and up to 90 days post visit. They had begun rapidly increasing market share in both populations and procedures. As a result, their existing billing technology, including patient tracking, became increasingly inadequate as they tried to meet future program needs and goals.Solution
Results
Implemented care management documentation, worklist and risk assessment tool. Tool links clinical data and financial outcomes for each bundled procedure. Driving users to proactively make clinical interventions during entire episode for only value driving activities. The technology was found to be so helpful, it was created for Medicare, commercial and combination Medicare/commercial patient populations.Patient Financial Communication Strategy
Better communication helps a large hospital system reduce debt and improve relationships.
Patient Financial Communication Strategy
Background
A large, multiple hospital system was having difficulty explaining outstanding balances to its patients. Communication was fragmented and confusing, leading to a significant rise in bad debt. With $700M in net patient revenue split between government programs and a commercial population, the system needed help.Solution
Results
After implementing the new communication process, our client received immediate, positive feedback from patients and staff as HCAHPS Patient Satisfaction financial understanding scores increased 10%. Element consultants also established reporting metrics to enable leadership to track progress of new communication practices and completed an HFMA webinar that reinforced their best practice communication strategy.Teaching Hospital Financial Improvement
“Lower our costs, increase our financial performance, but don’t touch our high level of care.”
Teaching Hospital Financial Improvement
Background
One of the most respected hospital teaching institutions in the country, with more than 12,000 cases and 38,000 case hours budgeted per year, faced lower net income from flat revenues and increasing costs. The organization had an urgent need for better financial performance while maintaining a very high level of patient care in its specialty areas.Solution
Element Consulting started with a bottom-line analysis of the organization to identify specific opportunities to lower costs and increase revenue. The results suggested that, with the right approach, a 10% increase in revenue and 8% ongoing reduction in expenses could be reached. Our consultants capitalized on opportunities that would yield the greatest estimated benefits and returns. To that end, they created Bottom-line Teams of client employees led by Element staff. These teams defined goals and re-engineered or outsourced costly processes, reducing or eliminating many internal expenses.Results
Our action plan significantly increased our client’s financial performance while maintaining the highest level of patient care. To ensure this, we established clear, repeatable processes that our client’s staff could follow for ongoing success. We achieved our goal of 10% increase in revenue and exceeded 8% reduction in expenses.PBM + Health Data Visualization
How we helped a large, successful PBM become more than a large, successful PBM.
PBM + Health Data Visualization
Background
In order to build their reputation and revenue potential, our PBM client wanted to offer a consultative reporting solution to their Carve-Out Clients. They needed a way to utilize their existing internal analytical capabilities to create a synchronization story by leveraging big data. And they needed to do it in a way that gave them a competitive advantage.Solution
Results
Healthcare Patient Experience and Value
An updated billing strategy does wonders for the patient payment experience.
Healthcare Patient Experience and Value
Background
Our healthcare client’s billing strategy had remained the same for some time, even though the patient consumer model was becoming more complex. As a result, patients were confused with the billing process. This slowed their payments so much, with total patient payment at $150M per year, our client’s bad debt had reached $51M.Solution
Results
Technology
Using our PeopleSoft expertise to transform the very core of HR.
Technology
Background
Solution
Results
Large Dataset Visualization
Getting a billing strategy to play nice with Medicare and commercial patient populations.
Large Dataset Visualization
Background
A large orthopedic group was bundling their payments for certain procedures in their medicare and commercial populations. The group’s engagement included all care before and up to 90 days post visit. They had begun rapidly increasing market share in both populations and procedures. As a result, their existing billing technology, including patient tracking, became increasingly inadequate as they tried to meet future program needs and goals.Solution
Results
The December, 2015 go-live date was met on budget, with all clinical success tracking measures completed and operating. The technology was found to be so helpful, it was created for Medicare, commercial and combination Medicare/commercial patient populations.
