Collecting in Healthcare Monthly Journal Source: The Academy of Healthcare Revenue
More Providers Exploring Remote Programs for Business Office Staff
A top concern for many revenue cycle leaders is the productivity and performance of their staff members. Leaders continually seek new methods for optimizing staff members’ workflow and providing the necessary tools to staff, enabling them to effectively and efficiently complete vital revenue cycle processes. One strategy gaining prominence in the healthcare industry is remote programs, which can allow billers, coders, medical transcriptionists, and insurance verification staff members to work from home or other remote locations. Oftentimes, staff members who work from home improve their performance and productivity, as staff focus more attention to completing tasks, and the distractions typically found in busy office environments are eliminated.
One organization that has implemented a remote program for staff members in its patient access, HIM, and PFS departments is West Virginia University (WVU) Hospitals, a three-hospital health system headquartered in Morgantown, West Virginia. In 2006, PFS leaders decided to begin an initiative to allow some billers to work from home. Previous to this initiative in the PFS department, HIM had successfully implemented remote coding and medical transcription programs. In addition, WVU Hospitals recently implemented a document imaging system, allowing all medical records to be scanned and stored in an electronic database.
The success of WVU Hospitals’ remote coding program “has opened the eyes of the organization, that we really can go down this path of home-based workers, and it really can have a significant impact on employee satisfaction and employee retention,” said Melissa Martin, WVU Hospitals’ Director of Health Information Management.
PFS leaders worked closely with IT staff to implement the functionalities necessary to enable billers to work from home. In addition, leaders developed policies and procedures for remote billers, as well as methods to monitor and track remote workers’ productivity and performance. The policies covered issues including who would be responsible for providing office supplies, how remote staff would be paid in the event that WVU Hospitals’ network was down for an extended period of time, and more. A work-from-home agreement was then drafted for remote staff to sign, which clearly outlines all policies and procedures for staff to follow.
WVU Hospitals currently has three billing staff members working from home: a workers’ compensation, a Medicaid, and a physician biller. After implementing the remote billing program, WVU Hospitals’ leaders found that productivity for the three staff members increased by almost 20 percent. This ultimately helped to improve overall revenue cycle performance; for instance, workers’ compensation A/R days decreased from 66 days in 2005 to 41 days by the end of 2006, nearly a 40 percent reduction.
Remote programs for revenue cycle processes have typically been associated with coding and transcription functions; however, as the experience of West Virginia University Hospitals illustrates, remote programs can also be a successful strategy in PFS as well. If considering the implementation of a remote program initiative, leaders must ensure that all necessary technologies are in place to make the remote program a success, and develop policies and procedures that clearly define expectations for remote workers, including performance and productivity standards and work area requirements (e.g., a private office space). Offering staff members the option to work from home can be an effective recruiting and retention tool, because remote workers typically have greater levels of satisfaction and productivity.
The Academy of Healthcare Revenue
The Academy of Healthcare Revenue is a membership-based community that provides healthcare leaders with objective research focused specifically on the healthcare revenue cycle. Members receive an unlimited supply of all research--including benchmarking and best practice reports, implementation tools, monthly journals, attendance to virtual conferences, and more--designed to enable them to improve their revenue cycle processes and financial health from within. Furthermore, The Academy's membership offering is tailored to team members throughout the revenue cycle, from executive leadership to patient access, coding, billing and collections, and clinical staff, helping to drive process improvement efforts revenue cycle-wide. Collecting in Healthcare is one of four journals written by The Academy of Healthcare Revenue monthly.
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Media Contact Andrea Morrill
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