In a session at the Becker's Hospital Review Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 18, Rebecca Black, vice president of revenue cycle at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta, discussed how electronic medical records could be best utilized within a hospital's revenue cycle.
An EMR for the revenue cycle is a central repository to capture all elements of communication. It supports a facility's right to receive full and accurate payment and protects the right to keep those dollars during post-service audit review. "An electronic medical record for the revenue cycle will capture phone calls, emails, faxes and other forms of communication with patients to support full and accurate payment. This will protect the hospital's revenue stream," said Ms. Black.
St. Joseph's implemented an EMR for its revenue cycle in December 2009. As of March 2012, the hospital saw an additional $458,816 of cash flow from payments. Ms. Black demonstrated the importance of standardized communication in the revenue cycle by comparing many hospitals' current documentation processes with potential documentation processes.
Most current hospital documentation includes:
• Hand-written notes
• Typed info from websites
• Voicemail messages
• Recollection from memory
An improved state of documentation could include:
• Recorded phone call or voicemail
• Capture webpage with date/time
• Fax confirmation with date/time
• Record of notification to another party
• Full audit trail
• Easy-to-retrieve documentation for future audits
Many hospitals' current state of documentation involves information that is subjective, deniable or disputable, whereas improved documentation produces information that is objective, undeniable and undisputable.
The method for hospitals to improve their documentation is a technology-based solution. The solution would document all communication on the business side of patient care with patients, payors, physicians and providers. "The records should be archived in a central repository and automatically indexed to the patient account for processing, routing and retrieval," said Ms. Black.
Solving communication storage problems not only enables the hospital to collect payments and work with patients on payment plans but it also increases patient satisfaction. "There are links between the revenue cycle or billing experience and patient satisfaction with clinical procedures at a hospital," said Ms. Black.
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An EMR for the revenue cycle is a central repository to capture all elements of communication. It supports a facility's right to receive full and accurate payment and protects the right to keep those dollars during post-service audit review. "An electronic medical record for the revenue cycle will capture phone calls, emails, faxes and other forms of communication with patients to support full and accurate payment. This will protect the hospital's revenue stream," said Ms. Black.
St. Joseph's implemented an EMR for its revenue cycle in December 2009. As of March 2012, the hospital saw an additional $458,816 of cash flow from payments. Ms. Black demonstrated the importance of standardized communication in the revenue cycle by comparing many hospitals' current documentation processes with potential documentation processes.
Most current hospital documentation includes:
• Hand-written notes
• Typed info from websites
• Voicemail messages
• Recollection from memory
An improved state of documentation could include:
• Recorded phone call or voicemail
• Capture webpage with date/time
• Fax confirmation with date/time
• Record of notification to another party
• Full audit trail
• Easy-to-retrieve documentation for future audits
Many hospitals' current state of documentation involves information that is subjective, deniable or disputable, whereas improved documentation produces information that is objective, undeniable and undisputable.
The method for hospitals to improve their documentation is a technology-based solution. The solution would document all communication on the business side of patient care with patients, payors, physicians and providers. "The records should be archived in a central repository and automatically indexed to the patient account for processing, routing and retrieval," said Ms. Black.
Solving communication storage problems not only enables the hospital to collect payments and work with patients on payment plans but it also increases patient satisfaction. "There are links between the revenue cycle or billing experience and patient satisfaction with clinical procedures at a hospital," said Ms. Black.
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