A better hospital revenue cycle begins at registration

The registration process is often a critical area that is ripe for improvement and one that can have a significant impact in both patient satisfaction and the hospital's bottom line. Inaccurate information can lead to registration data errors, claim payment delays or denials and write-offs. A recent Press-Gainey survey revealed the top two factors that contribute to a patient's positive view of their health care experience: the speed of registration and the cheerfulness of the employees.

However, hospital registrars need to deal with an enormous level of complexity at the registration point: Determining the right insurance code, verifying insurance eligibility, providing and estimate of the cost, collecting patient co-pays, and so many other processes that have a direct impact on the hospital’s ability to get a timely payment for the services it provides.

Not surprisingly, technology providers are trying to respond to these challenges with ever increasingly powerful registration systems. One such solution, Automated Intelligent Guidance, allows registrar to be interactively guided through all the complex processes and to bring information together from previously disparate applications. Think of Automated Intelligent Guidance as having the best, most experienced, most knowledgeable registrar working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at every registration point.

In the complex, dynamic, payer environment, change is a constant. Allowing registration experts to quickly modify and add new rules easily and graphically with little to no assistance from the IT department eliminates the time-consuming delays that are associated with application re-programming and re-certification. It also allows the implementation of new or changed processes, policies, rules, regulations and procedures in minutes rather than days or weeks.

Healthcare technology providers can enhance their existing products by embedding this functionality into their existing applications, and for healthcare facilities of any size implementing such a solution allows to increase revenue often during the first month the system is deployed. Claims that would previously have been delayed - or written off - are now paid promptly. And this has to be a critical deciding factor: A solution that will pay for itself many times over and, most importantly, the benefits can be realized during the first fiscal year, not years down the road!

Oscar Gonzalez is the Marketing Manager for the Cincom Intelligent Business Applications group. For over 10 years he has helped develop solutions for customers in the financial services and healthcare markets both in Europe and the USA . Oscar is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, NAHAM and HFMA. He can be reached on on his cell (UK) 07976722197 or via email at ogonzalez@cincom.com