SUCCESS STORY:CAPITAL REGION

MEDICAL CENTER

Capital Region Medical Center Success Story 2015

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Summary

The ChallengeCapital Region Medical Center had long outsourced much of its patient billing to an Extended

Business Office (EBO). But as the percentage of patient payments at the medical center began

to steadily increase, outsourcing became a costly option. Additionally, the manual processes

associated with the outsourced workflow consumed too much valuable staff time.

The Solution Capital Region Medical Center selected Patientco’s cloud-based patient revenue cycle

platform to bring a majority of its patient payment processes back in-house to improve financial

performance.

The Results Patientco’s patient revenue cycle platform enabled Capital Region Medical Center to enhance

staff efficiency, as well as to achieve improvements to point-of-service and online payments,

leading to an overall increase in cash revenue of 17 percent in the first year.

Provider: Capital Region Medical Center

Type: Community Hospital and Health System

Size: 114 beds

Region: Jefferson City, MO

HIS: Meditech

Capital Region Medical Center Success Story 2015

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Overview

Capital Region Medical Center (CRMC), an affiliate hospital of University of Missouri Health Care, includes a

114-bed full service hospital in Jefferson City, MO, a comprehensive

cancer program at Goldschmidt Cancer Center, an expansive clinic system

covering eight counties and the community’s only hospital based inpatient

rehabilitation center.

With the largest provider network in the local service area,

CRMC operates over 30 clinics, including urgent care centers

and specialty and family physician practices. Throughout the

organization, CRMC is committed to its mission, which is to

improve health and promote wellness to the communities it

serves.

Today, almost one out of every four dollars of healthcare revenue is paid

by patients . CRMC recognized they needed a new solution to prepare for

proactively managing this increased patient financial responsibility. The

hospital now leverages Patientco’s cloud-based patient revenue cycle

platform to provide an easier payment experience for patients, simplify

patient payment processes throughout the hospital and optimize the

organization’s financial performance.

Throughout the organization, CRMC is committed to its mission, which is to improve health and promote wellness to the communities it serves.

Capital Region Medical Center Success Story 2015

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ChallengeWhen CRMC converted to a new IT system several years ago, it

engaged an Extended Business Office (EBO) to tackle a rise in

accounts receivable (A/R) days associated with the conversion, as well

as to improve revenue collection. While the EBO was successful in

collecting patient payments, it did lack some key features the medical

center needed, like robust online payment capabilities, stronger

reporting characteristics and efficient reconciliation. In fact, the manual

processes associated with capturing online data, re-entering credit

card information and payment posting became increasingly time-

consuming for in-house staff.

Additionally, like many community medical centers, CRMC was

experiencing a growing volume of patient payments. The EBO couldn’t

offer a comprehensive technology platform to handle all patient

payments throughout the hospital, and the cost to manually process

patient payments grew. These factors led CRMC to look for a more

efficient, effective and patient-focused strategy to manage their patient

revenue cycle. For CRMC, this strategy was to bring the patient revenue

cycle in-house and use technology to maximize effectiveness.

Online Payment Capabilities

Needs

Stronger Reporting Characteristics

Automated Reconciliation

Capital Region Medical Center Success Story 2015

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Challenge

Ease of platform activation and use among staff, along with multiple payment options for patients, were must-haves to support CRMC’s evolving patient payment strategy.

When Debby Froebel, Director of Revenue Cycle at CRMC, began the

process of looking for a technology to support the new strategy, she

developed a list of priorities she wanted the technology to achieve.

Among them were ease of activation and use among clients and

internal staff. Additionally finding a solution that communicated with

their Meditech HIS and required virtually no support from CRMC’s

already overextended IT department was a must.

To improve the overall care experience, Froebel

also wanted a solution that could make it easy for

patients to communicate with the hospital and help

them understand their payment responsibilities.

She and her team were looking for ways to simplify

patient statements and provide patients with

multiple convenient payment options—including the ability to access,

manage and pay bills online or at the point of service.

Rounding out her list of priorities, Froebel and her staff sought a complete

back-office solution—one that has daily reports, provides automated

reconciliation, and has the ability to auto-post to patient accounts in

Meditech. CRMC wanted to streamline cumbersome business office

processes and free up internal staff to focus on patient engagement

and quality customer service.

Low IT Support

Multiple Patient-Friendly Payment Options

Complete Back- Office Automation

Priorities

Capital Region Medical Center Success Story 2015

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Solution + ResultsCRMC ultimately chose Patientco’s patient revenue cycle platform.

The cloud-based technology platform was launched at CRMC in a

matter of weeks with very little IT involvement or support. By partnering

with Patientco, CRMC was able to quickly transition to in-house

payment processing through the payment platform, helping boost

staff satisfaction, increase payments–even at the point of service–and

enhance patient experience.

“By working with Patientco, we have been able to

increase payments at the point of service and bring

a majority of our patient payment processes back

in-house,” Froebel notes. “Additionally, time saved

on previously manual workflows allows our staff to

spend more time engaging patients on the financial

aspect of their care journey. By ensuring they

understand their healthcare expenses, we can help improve the overall

care experience.”

ResultsThanks to the comprehensive functionality and ease of the Patientco

technology platform, the hospital only had to hire 2 additional staff

members to exceed the amount of patient payments collected by the

10-person team employed by the Extended Business Office. In fact, in

the first year after Patientco was activated, Capital Region realized the

following results:

“ By working with Patientco, we have

been able to increase payments at the

point of service and bring a majority of

our patient payment processes back

in-house,” Froebel notes.

Capital Region Medical Center Success Story 2015

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Results

+ Increased revenue. CRMC’s overall cash revenue increased

by 17 percent. By giving patients a choice over when and how to

pay—by cash, check or credit card via phone, mail, online, or in

person— more patients choose to pay their bills and have indicated

they feel more engaged and confident in their quality of care.

+ Improved ED patient payments. The percentage of ED

patients making a payment increased from .019 percent to 2.64

percent and skyrocketed payments from $750 per month to $6,800

per month. Staff now carry card-swipe-equipped tablets connected

to Patientco in the hospital’s ED, allowing patients to make fast,

convenient credit card payments.

+ Enhanced patient experience. CRMC created a better

financial experience for its patients overall. Patients now have more

convenient, flexible payment options and clearer understanding

of their financial responsibility due to statement designs based on

market research leveraging elements such as icons, clearer layout,

simplified language and color psychology.

+ Secure patient communication. CRMC has enabled

patients to easily manage, pay and securely communicate with their

providers about healthcare costs, resolve issues, provide additional

insurance information and request payment plans through a Health

Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant

portal.

17% Increase in Cash Revenue

Patient payments in the ED increased

by eight times

Enhanced Patient Experience

Secure Patient Communication

Capital Region Medical Center Success Story 2015

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ResultsIn addition, the hospital is using the daily reporting data from Patientco

creatively to support friendly staff contests based on patient payment

volume and sign-ups to leverage the solution. Employees receive

recognition and other awards for facilitating payments and other

activities that align with the medical center’s goals.

By leveraging Patientco’s patient revenue cycle platform, CRMC did

more than just improve workflows for its staff and enhance its bottom

line. It also created a better financial experience for its patients through

easy-to-understand statements, improved communication and a wide

range of convenient payment options. Ultimately, CRMC was able to

strengthen their bottom line, improve patient and staff satisfaction and

enhance workflow efficiencies, bettering the medical center as a whole.

About Capital Region Medical CenterCapital Region Medical Center is a 114-bed community hospital offering a continuum of care that includes prenatal and maternity, emergency services, orthopedic care, surgery, cardiovascular care and home health services. In addition to being a full-service hospital, Capital Region Medical Center operates an extensive clinic system from urgent care centers to specialty physician practices and is home to Jefferson City’s only comprehensive cancer center, the Goldschmidt Cancer Center. Capital Region Medical Center always strives to live its mission: to improve the health and promote wellness of the people and communities we serve. For more information, visit: crmc.org

About PatientcoPatientco is the leading provider of cloud-based patient revenue cycle technology that empowers providers to optimize payments and increase business office efficiency through consumer-centric technology. Patientco goes beyond basic payment capture to connect every patient payment event throughout the continuum of care—delivering unrivaled visibility into and control over the patient revenue cycle. The result is improved cash flow, reduced A/R days, cost-saving efficiencies and increased patient and provider satisfaction. For more information, visit https://www.patientco.com/.