Would you consider the capability to get paid faster and more completely while also reducing manual processes and the need for full-time staff to be a big deal? Of course you would. The evolving healthcare landscape demands that providers of all sizes find solutions to not only collect more revenue, but be more efficient in doing so. Any alternative that results in greater reimbursement and staff efficiencies is, simply put, a big deal.
That’s where Emdeon Payment Automation comes in. Providers nationwide are reaping the benefits from automated solutions for processing paper Remittance Advice (RA) and Explanation of Benefits (EOBs) for one streamlined workflow. We’re empowering providers to eliminate burdensome, manual processes related to paper with automation to post commercial insurance payments promptly and accurately.
Rather than just tell you of Emdeon Payment Automation’s powerful impact from our vantage point, we’d prefer to show you its benefits through a recently-released case study featuring a prominent medium-sized organization’s surprisingly simple and quick journey to big time benefits.
Download this compelling case-in-point to discover:
• The shortcomings of a bank’s EOB processing system and lockbox services
• How long it took and how many people were needed to post payments and correct Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) errors for this provider organization
• The many, measurable ways Emdeon Payment Automation improved the situation
• An executive’s firsthand account of Emdeon’s implementation process and support
• How long it took for the provider organization to break even on its investment in Emdeon’s solution
While this Emdeon Customer Success Story is a relevant read for any organization seeking a practical, simple-to-implement payment automation solution, it’s particularly fitting for providers that are:
• Still using an inordinately large dedicated staff to handle manual commercial payer payment processes
• Currently tied to a bank for payment process and lockbox support
• Struggling with posting errors and subsequent revisiting of items posted
• In need of higher first-pass yield, reduction of denials and all-around better data accuracy
• Looking for a simple-to-integrate, automated solution that will enhance efficiencies and bring big deal results
With Emdeon, achieving those big deal results can be a relatively small feat. We cover all the details to get you up and running with automated payment solutions promptly and offer integration to make workflows as seamless as possible. Click here to download the case study and learn more!
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11 Şubat 2013 Pazartesi
What's the Big Deal About Payment Automation?
What to Expect When You're Expecting (...A Bill, That Is!)
Tips for Teaching Patients What to Expect Before the Statement Arrives
It’s human nature to fear the unknown. The quake of uncertainty arises during many of life’s big challenges. Leaving home for the first time, getting married, having a family… receiving a hospital billing statement.
Yes, holding a billing statement from a healthcare provider can be a white-knuckled experience when the Total Amount Due puts an unexpected strain on the household budget.
Many professionals in the business of Accounts Receivable and collections in the healthcare industry report that people generally want to pay their bills but are hindered in doing so promptly or in full if their billing statements are complex or hard to read. Add the innately daunting details of a healthcare encounter to a billing statement, and it’s simple to understand why patients are so fearful come payment time.
Today, many providers have taken steps to make statements more approachable and understandable. They’re using better designs organized for easier review, incorporating colors to call out key information and tailoring language with the recipient in mind. Nonetheless, fears and confusion associated with billing remain. What’s a provider to do?
Here are some practical ideas to help educate patients about the billing process.
Show & Tell at Registration
Begin educating patients about their bills at the point of registration by familiarizing them with the statement layout. Display a poster-size version of a statement in the patient registration area with visual callouts highlighting key aspects of the design. If your facility has different statement templates for subsequent notices, display the entire statement series so patients are acquainted with what to expect.
Interactive Explanation Online
Extend this “show & tell” approach to your website. Create an easily accessed page that shows interactive first, second and final notice statements. Create clickable highlighted information to engage patients as you explain how to find essential balance information, due dates, etc.
Continuous Improvement Based on Feedback
In the latest report issued by the PATIENT FRIENDLY BILLING® Project Report “Case Studies in Customer Service”, the case study of Sharp Grossmont Hospital’s approach to improving patient statements serves as a motivating template for providers. The Sharp Grossmont team met regularly to identify and address the portions of patient statements that generated the most calls and questions. Over time, the organization redesigned its statements to reduce calls and empower patients to better understand their payment requirements and options.
Pre-Statement Communication
Don’t blindside patients, especially those facing large out-of-pocket balances. Make it standard practice to pull reports identifying these patients, and send them pre-statement correspondence to prepare and guide them regarding what’s to come. Call them directly and proactively offer financial counsel to help ease the payment process. Starting the conversation early will make it easier to stay in touch during the payment process.
Want to learn more about helping your patients better understand their financial responsibilities? Call 877.EMDEON.6 (877.363.3666) to learn more or visit us online.
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It's 10 O'Clock. Do You Know Where Your Patient Data Is?
If nothing is more important to a healthcare provider than caring for the well-being of patients, protecting patients’ personal information runs a very close second. Patient care is guided by the Hippocratic Oath but it is also heavily regulated by HIPAA mandates requiring that provider organizations keep a watchful eye to safeguard patient data too.
If your organization uses email to transmit patient billing files, you are likely subjecting precious data to potential compromise. The causes of possible data leakage through email are vast including human error, system hacking and unauthorized access. All around, transmitting patient billing files using email is a high risk procedure that comes with enormous consequences should the method fail.
That’s why Emdeon ExpressBill Services is designed to protect patient billing information throughout statement printing and mailing and especially when files are initially uploaded from the provider’s patient billing system.
The key to our data protection? Emdeon leverages a password-protected File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site which allows customers to transfer files to this secure site ensuring only the provider and Emdeon can access the files. This method is like an armed guard escort leading the file directly from one locked safe to the next reducing the risk of misdirected, leaked or intercepted data. Our eye on file security doesn’t stop there. After the files are uploaded, they are automatically scanned to evaluate data integrity and file completeness. Another bonus? Data can be sent 24 hours a day, seven days a week and customers have the flexibility to select whether file processing should start in real time or on a pre-determined schedule.
Keeping sensitive data protected and secure is at the core of Emdeon’s business. Did you know that Emdeon powers the single largest financial, administrative and clinical information exchange in the U.S. healthcare system? Recently, Emdeon opened the second of two new data centers that serve as the central nervous system for the largest and most powerful network in healthcare. With a Tier 3 infrastructure, these centers allow us to provide a single, interactive and standards-based transaction processing and analytics platform.
Take a comprehensive look at your patient billing data processes. Do you see any potential leaks in the system? Call 877.EMDEON.6 (877.363.3666) to learn more about Emdeon ExpressBill Services!
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7 Şubat 2013 Perşembe
British Teenager Loves her Grand Dad and Stamps
Reporter Ben James writes on the Plymouth, England's Herald website," If you asked an average teenage girl what their hobby is you may not expect them to say stamp collecting.But then Charlotte Smith is not an average teenager.""Some would wonder how a girl of only 15 finds her way into the world of philately in the first place, but Charlotte's reason lies close to her heart," pens James.
According to the article Charlotte, who is still too young to be a full member of the Plymouth Philately Society, accompanies her 78-year-old grandad John once a month.
"She is the youngest member with some others being more than 60 years her senior. But she says the age difference doesn't bother her Charlotte added: "It's not a problem at all. I get on with everyone really well, because they're all quite like my grandad; they're his friends," writes James in the piece.
"It's like one big family, really. It's a really good club and I'd recommend it to anybody, of any age."
Shown above, Charlotte Smith.
To read the entire article, click here.
Stamps - A Top Investment
The Advisor.ca website reports, "Few hobbies are persued as universally as stamp collection. Year after year, millions around the world build, become bored with,
and bequeath small fortunes in stamps before moving on to other
pursuits. But while dabblers come and go, only seasoned stamp
collectors—philatelists, if you prefer the technical term—know their
passion is among the top four investments of the 20th century, producing
double-digit returns annually."
Reporter Vikram Barhat pens, "Few alternative asset classes can match the portability and profitability of postage stamps. Nor has the long-term performance of any other class of collectibles been so closely monitored and painstakingly documented."
Barhat points out, "A 2009 study by two finance professors, Elroy Dimson at London Business School and Christophe Spaenjers at HEC Paris, tracked the investment performance of British collectible postage stamps between 1900 and 2008. Their study, Ex Post: The Investment Performance of Collectible Stamps, pegs annualized return on stamps at 7% in nominal terms, or 2.9% in real terms."
Shown above, a good philatelic investment - letter that was postmarked on the Titanic before it sank.
To read the entire article, click here.
All Volunteer Post Office
"Whether
it's the package that has to arrive at its destination on time or the
letter that needs the proper label, one California post office is sure
to deliver, even if they don't get paid," says NBC4 Los Angeles.Reporters Kathy Vara and Julie Brayton the post office is "the only one of its kind in the nation" and is staffed entirely by members of the Assistance League of San Pedro.
According to the article, "No one who works there has been paid for their work in 30 years. Instead, money from the U.S. Post Office that would have gone to the employees goes to fund charities in San Pedro. Their work connects people through the mail, but it also connects them to those in their own community."
Charities include Operation School Bell, which provides school clothes, shoes and supplies to thousands of low income children as well as low-cost dental care for needy children.
To learn more and to watch a video, click here.
Inauguration Day Cover
The U.S. Postal Service is offering an official
commemorative souvenir cover marking the inauguration of President
Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.The Inauguration Day Official Commemorative Souvenir Cover is available for $9.95 and can be ordered at usps.com/stamps or by dialing 800-STAMP-24 and referencing item #788721.
The collectible envelope includes:
•Color portraits of President Obama and Vice President Biden.
•A White House illustration and typography printed in gold.
•A randomly-selected, affixed Four Flags Forever stamp.
•The official Inauguration Day color postmark incorporating the presidential seal.
•A clear protective sleeve for keepsake preservation.
The souvenir cover will also be available at select Post Offices beginning January 21, 2013.
