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AUDIOCONFERENCE ON CD OR AUDIO ARCHIVE

Sponsored by Patient Access Resource Center

presented on October 26, 2007

Increase cash flow, reduce your outstanding A/R and enlist your most effective resource for upfront collections!

Healthcare providers have a new ally in the fight to collect the revenue to which their organizations are entitled – one that has been right under their noses all along. Registration and scheduling staff – the first point of contact for most patients – have the best opportunity to collect co-pays, deductibles, and co-insurances. A dedicated upfront collections program allows these front-line employees to increase early cash collection through targeted and yet discreet methods, as well as establish various patient payment options to make revenue collection more efficient.

Improve performance in your bottom line

Listen to this 90-minute audio conference “Upfront Collections: Keys to develop and execute a winning program.”  Our speakers, a healthcare consultant and a hospital administrator, illustrate methods to develop an upfront collections program, train registration/admitting staff to combat patient objections, and persuade the executives in your organization to buy in to the benefits of such an undertaking. This program will show you how to improve and enhance an existing program by teaching inventive and effective strategies. If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll get all the tools you need!

At the end of this audioconference, you and your staff will be able to:

• Explain why an upfront collections program is beneficial
• Define several techniques to train staff
• Identify how the program affects key A/R indicators
• Set realistic goals
• Implement an effective upfront collections program in your hospital
• Convey the value of upfront collections and how it positively affects other hospital initiatives

AGENDA

• The importance of upfront collections
  • Reduction of outstanding A/R
  • Cash in hand sooner
  • Decrease follow-up bills
  • Better customer relations
• The challenges of upfront collections
  • Buy-in from administration and staff
  • Patient buy-in
  • Training considerations 
• Successes and failures of setting up these types of policies
  • Develop internal controls to monitor cash
  • Control access points in the organization
  • Cooperation of clinical staff 
• Setting realistic goals
  • Monetary goals
  • Front-line expectations
• Case Study: Mary Rutan Hospital
  • Strategies to start an upfront collections program
  • Training and retraining employees to ensure program success
    • Asking for money
    • Giving employees the tools to collect and to determine patient liabilities
    • Retraining
  • Setting cash upfront goals and evaluating cash upfront incentives
  • How cash upfront affects receivables
• Q & A

BONUS TOOLS

In addition to the expertise and advice presented during this audioconference, you'll also receive a slide presentation of the program materials and these valuable tools:

1. Role play scenarios
2. Scripts for preparing employees to counter customer objections
3. Collection techniques and tips to collect at the time of service
4. Self-pay checklist
5. Co-pay pop –up window
6. Advice on what to say (and not to say) when asking for money
7. How credit cards to enhance up-front collections

These materials are provided with PDF links.

MEET THE SPEAKERS

John Kivimaki is director of Patient Accounts at Mary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine, Ohio. Kivimaki has contributed many articles on PFS management and collections. At the 2006 HFMA ANI, his presentation “How to develop a Cash Up-Front program” was selected as one of the top ten presentations of the conference. In 1993, Kivimaki was selected as “Receivables Manager of the Year” by Zimmerman and Associates. This award recognized the most innovative financial managers in the healthcare industry.

T. T. "Mitch" Mitchell is president of T. T. Mitchell Consulting, Inc, based in the Syracuse, NY area, and has been in healthcare for almost 25 years. Seventeen of those years were at management levels. He's been regional director in a physician billing company, cash accountant at a federally qualified health center, business office manager of one hospital and director of patient accounting at another.

WHO SHOULD LISTEN?

• PFS managers
• Patient access managers
• Revenue cycle directors
• Billing professionals
• VPs of Finance
• CFOs
• Ambulatory care professionals
• Compliance officers

NEW PARTICIPATION OPTION: Audio Archive

In addition to the regular participation options for HCPro audioconferences— audio CD—we are pleased to offer a new option, an audio archive. An audio archive allows you to download the program and play it back at your convenience on your computer or MP3 player. Purchase a CD, or audio archive of the program and listen when you can. It's also a perfect training tool for new staff or as a refresher for veteran staff.

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