Getting paid, H1N1 style
Posted on November 4, 2009 at 12:47 pmEmdeon’s eRx Network will now help retail pharmacies get reimbursed for administering the H1N1 vaccine through electronic pharmacy claims to health insurers.
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nTelagent announces product’s new engine
Posted on October 27, 2009 at 10:45 amRevenue cycle management company nTelagent announced the new Registration Interface Engine behind its Retail Application for Healthcare. The company said the engine lets hospitals implement nTelagent’s point-of-service collection system in a few days.
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Passport Health adds eCashiering
Posted on October 15, 2009 at 7:19 amPassport Health Communications has enhanced its payment processing services with an eCashering solution that adds electronic check payment processing, payment plans and Internet and phone payments to Passport’s services for front-end patient payment collection.
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Oklahoma deal for nTelagent
Posted on July 28, 2009 at 3:12 pmThe Nashville-based health care IT developer has inked a deal to make its products available to Oklahoma hospitals via that state’s hospital association.
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Emdeon getting ready for the worst…
Posted on July 14, 2009 at 10:10 amAnd by that we mean a new disaster preparedness program. The payment cycle solution company announcd today that it’s recently acquired eRx Networks will participate in the Rx Response Pharmacy Status Reporting Tool which allows providers, consumers and managers access to critical services in a time of disaster.
Rx Response was developed in 2007 to help ensure the availability of medicine to patients during a severe public health emergency. Rx Response acts as a single point of contact for the entire pharmaceutical supply system and federal and state emergency management officials to communicate pharmaceutical needs and other issues which may impact the supply system. The Pharmacy Status Reporting Tool was first activated during the Kentucky ice storm of January 2009 with much success.
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Passport’s new partner
Posted on July 13, 2009 at 11:42 amPassport Health Communications announced this morning that it has entered into a new strategic partnership with New Paltz, New York-based Bluemark, LLC.
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The list of revenue cycle management companies partnering with Passport Health Communications, Inc. continues to grow with the addition of Bluemark LLC. The companies have entered a business partnership agreement to help health care providers increase revenue by decreasing bad debt and uncompensated care.
Technology and services from Bluemark and Passport drastically reduce or eliminate the costs associated with health care providers giving care to patients who cannot pay by determining which patients are eligible for state Medicaid programs or qualify for charity care or other assistance. Web-based charity care assessment technology from Bluemark alongside Passport’s eligibility verification and self-pay review provides a complete financial assessment for every patient. Passport’s address verification, credit scoring and credit card processing can also be utilized before the patient is treated to increase patient payments and eliminate potential bad debt.
According to Passport CEO Scott MacKenzie, approximately 10 percent of patients who are treated as self-pay are actually covered by or qualify for Medicaid. A hospital with an average daily volume of 1,000 patients and average claim value of $400 can conceivably capture an additional $14.6 million in annual revenue just by screening self-pay patients and identifying the 10 percent with Medicaid eligibility.
More about Bluemark
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Emdeon Q1 up 131%
Posted on June 16, 2009 at 11:05 pm
The Nashville-based health care payment processor is proving its recession-resistant business model as it prepares to go public with the ticker symbol EM.
Filing an amended S-1 with first-quarter numbers, the company says revenues rose 4.5 percent to $220 million, operating margins grew from 10.8 percent to more than 13 percent and net income that more than doubled to $3.3 million. Both main business segments posted steady growth rates and, helped by 150 job cuts since last June, management has kept spending in check.
One sidenote: Barclays Capital and Jefferies have Emdeon’s underwriting team, replacing Merrill Lynch and Banc of America Securities.
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Passport spreading via kiosks
Posted on May 19, 2009 at 10:45 amPassport Health Communications has joined forces with Ohio-based NCR Corp. to combine their offerings.
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Health care information technology and services company Passport Health Communications, Inc. and self-service patient registration leader NCR Corporation will integrate their respective revenue cycle management products and services for health care providers across the U.S.
NCR and Passport will develop and define a standard, integrated solution for hospitals and other facilities that automatically verifies insurance eligibility when patients register at the NCR MediKiosk™ or NCR Patient Portal. Passport’s credit card processing services can also be integrated to help providers facilitate patient collections.
“Patient access kiosks and self-service Web portals are in demand because they increase speed, accuracy and efficiency and create more patient-friendly processes,” said Passport Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Jeff Drake. “Together, Passport and NCR can enhance the efficiency of the registration process for both the patient and provider.”
While the number of affiliated companies in Passport’s business partnership program continues to grow, Passport has to date not made its services widely available via kiosks or patient Web portals. Passport chose to pursue a partnership with NCR because of NCR’s strength in the self-service market and its complementary reputation for reliable, innovative technology with good support.
“Increasing the efficacy and efficiency of front office activities can have a direct impact on improving revenue cycle. Integrating with Passport increases the benefit NCR solutions can have in this critical area,” said Raj Toleti, general manager, NCR Healthcare.
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Pay up now - you’ll get less direct mail from us
Posted on May 12, 2009 at 10:46 pmCall center manager Sitel rolls out a new service to collect small debts earlier in the billing process.
One of Sitel’s large, consumer-focused clients recently implemented this new solution and cut the average cost per customer by nearly 50 percent and increased collections by approximately $7 million. The client also experienced reduction in roll rates.
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Waiting for the day when Amazon can recommend a medical procedure we might enjoy
Posted on April 28, 2009 at 2:00 pmContinuing the trend of a more retail-styled health care world, revenue cycle management outfit nTelagent has added a new Web-based feature, the “healthcare cash register,” to its Self-Pay Management System.
The feature is designed to allow patients to both post payments online, negotiate payment terms with providers and set up payment plan through which recurring payments are automatically posted to patient accounts.
The full announcement is here.
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Interested in… well, interest
Posted on March 16, 2009 at 2:26 pmAn Indiana company pushing its new Medicaid payment system appeals to governors in 14 states (ours included) asking them to “lead a reform of Medicaid’s national payment system,” presumably with its product involved.
The Haley Group’s system takes two approaches: The first stretches the Medicaid payment cycle, the second would have docs take a pay cut to get their money more quickly. And we all know docs are always up for that.
“With 12.5 million people unemployed and in danger of losing their healthcare coverage and homes, we can no longer afford to pay healthcare providers in two weeks, as we do with both Medicaid and Medicare,” David Haley, CEO of Haley Group, states. “A 30-day payment cycle, like the government uses for most vendors and all Social Security recipients, would enable the government to collect interest on the additional 16 days of cash flow created.”
In addition to interest accrued from a 30-day payment cycle, Encentiv’s patent-pending payment system provides the government extra revenue by enabling healthcare providers to choose a two-day payment cycle. In exchange for Encentiv’s two-day payment cycle, healthcare providers would forgo 2% of their payment. Encentiv would put healthcare providers on a near-cash transaction basis and give them unprecedented cash flow.
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BancTec to serve as sponsor at Medical Banking Institute
Posted on March 9, 2009 at 12:36 pmFrom a release:
BancTec, a global provider of advanced, high volume document and payment processing services and solutions, will once again partner with other industry leaders in an effort to improve health costs, quality and access by serving as the Educational Grantor Sponsor at the 7th Annual Medical Banking Institute, to be held March 11-13 in Nashville, TN.
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Revenue cycle manager partners with Ga. group
Posted on February 24, 2009 at 9:41 amNashville-based health care IT firm nTelagent has signed an agreement to offer its retail payment product to members of the Georgia Hospital Association.
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nTelagent signs Carolina contract
Posted on January 27, 2009 at 2:14 pmnTelagent has contracted to provide its payment management system to a 300-bed hospital in South Carolina, where it earned the stamp of approval from the state hospital association last year. The company also says other group endorsement deals are in the works.
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Heads up, local hospital companies
Posted on January 25, 2009 at 9:53 pmIf they take their cue from The Land of 10,000 Lakes, a number of AGs may soon have issues with your billing department.
“Allina has dug a deeper financial hole for patients facing tough economic times by charging usurious interest rates of up to 18 percent on medical bills,” AG Lori Swanson in a statement.
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