Sarah Mountford, CPC, RCC, FRBMA, who serves as Vice President of Client Services at Zotec, was recently elected as President of the Board for the Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA) for the years 2019/2020.
With nearly two decades of experience, Mountford is a veteran of health care revenue cycle management in radiology. She is an active member of the RBMA, most recently receiving The President's Award for going above and beyond to promote an atmosphere that enhances networking and "Progress Through Sharing.” In her new role as Board President, Ms. Mountford will lead and support board members, and oversee all programs, events and activities for the RBMA.
To read more on Mountford's appointment click here.
We sat down with Mountoford to ask her a few questions on strategic initiatives, vendor relationships, patient engagement and more.
Q: What is a strategic initiative you are working on that you are excited about?
I’m working with our IT team on a combined approach for one of our clients and their EMR vendor to improve how we mutually onboard new employees. The goal is to have new employees have a single enrollment process that would grant them access to the clients native systems, the EMR system, and to the billing applications that they need access to. The complication is getting multiple systems to “talk” to each other and share data. The end result should simplify onboarding new employees (which can be a complex process) and streamline their training. We anticipate an increase in client satisfaction with this initiative, and decreases in our staff time to set up user accounts. This model is scalable and can be deployed across our entire organization.
Q: Tell us the latest meaningful thing you learned from one of your clients.
I was in a meeting yesterday with providers and hospital administration who were trying to cope with a patient’s sudden and unexpected collapse in their infusion center. A physician who doesn’t normally run codes and provide CPR was the first responder trying to save the patient’s life. She was unsuccessful. The physician, staff and administration were all visibly upset. It was a good reminder that everything we are doing is to support the care of our patients.
Q: What types of outside partnerships can most benefit hospitals and health systems?
I think that healthcare needs more smart technology and data scientists. Partnering with companies who can bring better technology improves efficiency, decreases costs and improves patient care. Health systems house some of the most valuable data in our country – and having the technology and people who can mine that data makes for meaningful results.
Q: What is the most important thing providers should consider when establishing vendor relationships?
Find partners that share your vision and can push you towards meaningful change and the best possible results.
Q: Healthcare takes a lot of heat for not innovating quickly. What's your take on this?
I think Healthcare takes a lot of heat for being costly too. Investing in innovation can be costly, but I think finding the cures for diseases like cancer and alzheimer’s is worth it – as long as we can find a way to make those treatments available to the many people who need it, and not just those who can easily afford it.
Q: What are some engagement strategies that can help providers meet changing patient expectations?
I think many patients want a relationship with their provider. They want to feel heard, like they were listened to, and understood. If a provider is too focused on taking notes in their EMR or talks over their patient, then they’ve missed an opportunity to connect. Making a connection takes time, though, and oftentimes providers feel pushed to move on, see the next patient. When patients feel like they weren’t listened to, they doubt the quality of their care, and are more likely to vent their frustration on social media.
Q: How can providers leverage mobile technology for patient engagement?
I love text messaging for e-statements and appointment reminders because my mobile is always with me. I don’t check my personal email account all that often…
Patient portals are great – but there are so many of them. One for my primary care doctor, another for my specialist. There isn’t much point in having an EMR if it isn’t accessible across all of my providers, so they can all see my lab results and medication list. Developing shared medical records is critical to improving patient care but is a challenge when there are over 1,000 different systems. It would take legislative involvement to force a standard communication format between them, much like we have with HL7 and mandated claim file formats. Why isn’t there an app that I can have on my phone with all of my medical records? Then if I was at a new doctor’s office, I could just share my MR with the new doctor, on the spot.