HFMA's New PATIENT FRIENDLY BILLING® Report Offers Strategies for Achieving Revenue Cycle Excellence

• Press Release
• Source: HFMA
• On 10:00 am EST, Friday November 6, 2009

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Revenue cycle excellence can be achieved by all hospitals and health systems, regardless of an organization’s financial means or patient mix, according to the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s latest PATIENT FRIENDLY BILLING® Project report, Strategies for a High-Performance Revenue Cycle. The 37-page report was released today at HFMA’s Revenue Cycle Strategies Conference in Chicago.

Based on visits to high-performing sites across the nation and interviews with executives and revenue cycle staff, the report identifies three traits shared by high performers: an organizational culture that elevates the importance of the revenue cycle, mastery of areas that are important to organizational circumstances, and the ability to accelerate improvements.

Strategies for a High-Performance Revenue Cycle features detailed research findings, guidance for senior executives and revenue cycle leadership, and numerous case studies demonstrating practical applications of high-performance strategies.

“We know that hospital leaders are committed to the principles of Patient Friendly Billing, but they need to know which revenue cycle practices matter the most,” said HFMA President and CEO Richard L. Clarke, DHA, FHFMA. “This report highlights the practices frequently found at high-performing revenue cycle hospitals—and how they differ from the rest of the industry.”

Oaklawn Hospital, Marshall, Mich., is among the 14 hospitals that shared their expertise with Patient Friendly Billing report leaders through onsite visits and extensive interviews. “Over five years ago, Oaklawn began integrating its adaptation of HFMA’s Patient Friendly Billing Initiative best practices into our organizational goals. Over those years, it has played a significant role in improving our organizational performance and enhancing our patient satisfaction. We recently were recognized with HFMA’s High Performance in Revenue Cycle Award, in part, due to this foresight,” said Rob Covert, President & CEO, Oaklawn Hospital.

Joseph Fifer, Vice President, Hospital Finance at Spectrum Health added “Determining the value proposition for patients and the organization is a critical factor in every decision we make. Hospitals highlighted in this report, that deploy the practices from previous Patient Friendly Billing reports, satisfy this standard by demonstrating tangible and better results.”

More information about the project, including a 16-page executive summary of the report, is available at the Patient Friendly Billing web site, www.patientfriendlybilling.org.

About the Patient Friendly Billing Project

Established in 2000 and led by the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), the Patient Friendly Billing project began as a collaborative endeavor spearheaded by HFMA to promote clear, concise, and correct patient-friendly financial communications. For nearly a decade, the project has provided the nation’s hospitals and health systems with information, educational programming, and practical tools to aid efforts in streamlining financial communications and optimizing billing and payment functions. Most recently, the Patient Friendly Billing project has started exploring best practices for the revenue cycle. Previous notable reports include Reconstructing Hospital Pricing Systems (2007), Consumerism in Health Care—Achieve a Consumer-Oriented Revenue Cycle (2006), and Hospitals Share Insights to Improve Financial Policies for Uninsured and Underinsured Patients (2005).

About HFMA

The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) provides the resources healthcare organizations need to achieve sound fiscal health in order to provide excellent patient care. With over 35,000 members, HFMA is the nation's leading membership organization of healthcare finance executives and leaders. We provide education, analysis, and guidance; we lead change and innovative thinking; and we create practical tools and solutions that help our members get results. Addressing capital access to improved patient care to technology advancement, HFMA is an indispensable resource on healthcare finance issues. www.hfma.org

PATIENT FRIENDLY BILLING ® is a proprietary trademark of Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Karen Metropulos
HFMA
(800) 252-HFMA, ext. 329