Accelerating Cash Flow and Business Office Efficiency

“We're always looking to save the institution money, be more effeicient, bring our accounts recievable days down, and to use technology to make those things happen.”
- Linda Morris
Director of the Nanticoke Health Services business office
Customer
Nanticoke Health Services
Seaford, DE
Challenge
Improving business office efficiency while providing more patient-centered care.
Products
Assurance Reimbursement Management™
Clearance Patient Access Suite
Results
- Accelerated cash flow by $1 million within 30 days
- Transitioned from two full-time billers to five staff members trained on all aspects of working a claim
- Approaching 12% reduction in AR days
- Established KPI of 5 minutes or less patient time from registration to next service area
The Customer:
No stranger to leveraging technology in pursuit of improved business operations and clinical care, Nanticoke Health Services (NHS) earned “Most Wired” recognition from Hospitals & Health Networks in 2015 and 2016. The comprehensive care system, consisting of 99-bed Nanticoke Memorial Hospital (NMH) and a network of 40 employed physicians and providers, continues its quest for excellence grounded in healthcare’s Triple Aim of enhancing population health services, maximizing care quality and patient experience, and lowering costs. NMH was the first hospital in Delaware to receive a 4-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and continues to hold that rating today.
The Challenge: Improving Operational Efficiencies
NHS is one of four Delaware health systems participating in eBrightHealth ACO, a Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organization. While the affiliated ACO providers work in concert with Medicare to deliver better, more coordinated service and care to patients, it’s also in its financial interest to continuously explore ways to improve operational efficiencies.
“We’re always looking to save the institution money, be more efficient, bring our accounts receivable days down, and to use technology to make those things happen,” says Linda Morris, Director of the NHS business office.
Morris and her staff of 14 knew that automating revenue cycle management could help in a number of areas: creating custom claim edits to satisfy payer requests; gaining at-a-glance dashboard access to remittance status to determine the reasons behind denied or rejected claims; and helping to generate cleaner claims that contributed to many payments received within 30 days.
Because NHS serves a retirement-friendly community near the Atlantic coastline, the health system needed to prepare for a future influx of Medicareeligible patients with the ability to do Medicare direct entry billing (MDE). NHS expects Medicare to account for a rising share of its payer mix above the current 68% level.