Outsourcing: A strategic option for optimizing revenue and patient satisfaction

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on healthcare organizations, transforming the delivery of patient care and redefining the patient experience. The increase in high-risk inpatients and the ban on elective surgery and healthcare visits accelerated telemedicine as lockdown measures forced a contactless patient experience. By outsourcing specific revenue cycle services, providers can focus on patient outcomes with the confidence that their business partner provides the expertise to increase revenue and reduce costs.

BC: Studies show that the pandemic continues to negatively impact the financial health of our hospitals. Already operating on paper-thin margins, ensuring an efficient and effective revenue cycle is critical to financial stability. A shortage of skilled employees, squeezed budgets, compliance regulations and conflicting priorities drive providers to look outside their organization for the revenue cycle expertise required to achieve better financial and operational outcomes. 

At Savista, we deploy a team of highly experienced advisory specialists to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the provider’s current processes. The review pinpoints gaps in the revenue cycle, identifies revenue leakage, highlights inefficiencies and outlines opportunities for improvement. We then provide services if the provider needs additional support. This optimization results in greater efficiencies, a shorter revenue cycle, increased collections and a reduction in denials. 
 

BC: Inefficient revenue cycle operations negatively impact a provider’s ability to deliver on their mission – ensuring quality care for patients. Partnering with a revenue cycle services organization with proven results has a profound effect on a provider’s bottom line, including:

• Scalable Resources: Eliminates the administrative burden of hiring, training, retaining and managing a diverse complement of team members. The partner delivers a scalable workforce that is vetted, experienced and provides best-in-class services using established protocols and processes. 
• Predictable Revenue: Utilizes partner colleagues to perform highly complex revenue cycle functions to replace the fixed cost of wages with an expense line providing a predictable operating budget and financial stability. 
• Risk Mitigation: Ensures compliance with all federal, state and payor regulations. Partners leverage their vast expertise and relationship networks to proactively navigate uncertainties, ensure compliance and mitigate the risk of lost revenue.
• Reputation Management: Relieves staff of non-patient-related tasks allowing them more time to focus on providing quality patient care that has a direct correlation with improved outcomes, patient satisfaction and quality scores. 
   

BC: Choosing a revenue cycle services vendor is a critical decision that should not be based on price alone. An outsourced partner’s success is intimately tied to the provider’s success, and it is imperative that a successful partner:

• Encompass a proactive, client-centered approach with the organization’s leadership team that encourages open and regular communication and is poised to create a custom solution that recognizes their unique culture and needs. 
• Exemplify the depth and breadth of knowledge that comes with delivering services to a diverse portfolio of healthcare organizations. This extensive level of experience enables the vendor to be nimble and proactively address both internal and external issues without compromising the continuity of quality services.
• Validate their results are based on best practices, supported by metrics and driven by innovation. 
• Demonstrate scalability and flexibility to work with a provider’s technology and processes to meet the provider’s unique revenue cycle needs.

Ultimately, the decision to partner with a vendor is based on confidence and competence. Will the proposed vendor commit to a partnership based on mutual trust and collaboration and does it have the expertise and flexibility to achieve your operational and financial goals? 
 

BC: An ideal outsourced revenue cycle engagement utilizes high-quality, experienced staff that adopts the culture, values and technology of the client and is transparent to the patient. The partner's staffs’ expertise in registration, financial clearance, billing and collection best practices helps guide an educated and informed dialogue with patients where questions are answered the first time and problems are solved expeditiously. 

This delivery of high-quality customer service improves patient satisfaction, builds loyalty to the healthcare organization, and increases financial stability long-term.
 

To learn more, visit www.SavistaRCM.com.