The COVID-19 pandemic caused many hospitals to limit testing and procedures to what is critically needed. Countless hospitals cancelled or delayed elective procedures to ensure enough space for sick patients, causing hospitals to lose millions of dollars per day just staying open.
The time has come to start ramping up non-essential services and staffing levels. Organizations need an IT financial solution that is connected, integrated and supports cost management. The integration of clinical and financial data within a single platform enables robust response and strong recovery. Seamless billing driven by clinical data can improve financial outcomes. An integrated platform supports value-based and episodic billing processes.
What does recovery look like?
Despite the public health emergency, all financial elements still work together seamlessly for crisis recovery for Wise Health System (Decatur, Texas). COVID-19 impacted our organization significantly, especially when we closed elective services which was 75% of our daily business. We had a significant financial impact. To keep the impact minimal, we chose to utilize our partnership with Allscripts financially and clinically.
We kept very close eyes on our daily revenue, claims and cash coming in to anticipate when we expected that decrease in flow. Almost immediately we looked at reducing staff hours in conjunction with creating a pandemic pay program. Regardless of the hours cut, we guaranteed that our hourly staff would receive at least 48 hours of pay.
Keeping the organization ahead of the curve
We did a decent job of managing cash flow by immediately looking at the services provided prior to elective procedures being cut for payers to consider for payment. We focused heavily on the nThrive report which provides reporting capabilities that help you monitorconsistent problems and forecast Medicare cash flow. We took advantage of the extra time that we had to hit that report so once we came out of the pandemic and electives services were back on the table we were fixing the root cause of the issue.
Organizations need an expert revenue cycle partner to help them simplify financial functions that deliver end-to-end patient data transparency. Learn more about how an integrated solution can help at www.allscripts.com/community.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on Allscripts’ website.
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.