The South Carolina Hospital Association has partnered with Nashville, Tenn.-based nTelagent, Inc. in an effort to reduce bad debt and increase front-end collections for member hospitals.
The SCHA will use nTelagent's Self-Pay Management System, an accounts receivable solution designed to improve upfront and overall cash flow, receivables and profitability for healthcare providers by reducing bad debt and improving the revenue cycle process for self-pay patients.
A recent report estimates that South Carolina hospitals provided more than $500 million in uncompensated care in fiscal year 2007, a number representing both charity care and bad debt.
SPMS is designed to allow SCHA members more consistent administration of charity care policies. Using available demographic information, SPMS automatically identifies truly needy patients, alerts the registrar to discounting and charity care options when applicable and standardizes policies and procedures in the reporting of charity care numbers.
"Like most hospitals, our facilities here in South Carolina are facing the challenge of managing self-pay accounts. For many providers, these are uncharted waters, and they simply do not have the technology, or appropriately trained staff, in place to deal with these accounts, which can result in unnecessary bad debt for the hospital," said Tommy Cockrell, chief operating officer of SCHA. "The Self-Pay Management System is a one-of-a-kind tool that will help both patients and providers in our communities, as we work to ensure hospitals receive appropriate compensation for services so they can continue to provide exceptional community benefits."
SCHA is a private, not-for-profit organization made up of some 100 member hospitals and health systems and about 900 personal members associated with its institutional members. The organization works to improve access, quality and cost-effectiveness of healthcare for South Carolinians.
All SCHA members will have access to the nTelagent's SPMS.
The average implementation period is estimated at between four and six weeks, and use fees will be based on the volume of patient registrations.
"We are excited to partner with the South Carolina Hospital Association and its members, as we work to give them the tools and processes they need to make better decisions concerning self-pay patient accounts," said Earl T. Winter, chairman and CEO of nTelagent. "By making this aspect of their business easier, providers can focus on delivering top-quality care and offering much-needed community benefits. SPMS will lead to improved patient relations, because everything is handled on the front end, where patients are made aware of their financial responsibilities from the start."