Revenue Cycle Can Be a Significant Contributor to the Patient Experience

DALLAS, April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Hospitals interested in improving the total patient experience should include revenue cycle processes in organizational initiatives, according to a new white paper published by The Beryl Institute. The report suggests that good customer service displayed with patients throughout the revenue cycle is often more easily recognized by patients than quality healthcare and can lead to increased patient satisfaction.

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A typical hospital revenue cycle includes the coding of services, verification of insurance, third-party payer contract, financial counseling, billing, payment or follow-up and collections.  According to the paper, the perspective of the patient experience has expanded with an industry-wide emphasis on scores on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. The patient experience now includes every area in which the patient interacts with a healthcare organization, from the patient's first contact to schedule an appointment to the patient's interaction with the hospital's finance department after discharge.

The white paper, a joint effort between The Beryl Institute and Revenue Cycle Partners, suggests several steps healthcare leaders can take to help positively influence the patient experience, including:

• Teach employees interpersonal skills
• Educate employees on the organization's patient experience initiatives
• Establish patient loyalty as an organizational goal
• Use technology properly at all points along the care continuum
• Ensure outsourced business providers understand the mission to improve the patient experience

"Healthcare organizations must recognize that efforts to improve patient encounters – whether in quality, safety or experience – require an investment in action and commitment throughout the entire organization, not just in the clinical setting," said Jason Wolf, executive director of The Beryl Institute.  "Improving the patient experience is a systemic issue. This white paper offers a broader perspective on where patient perceptions can be impacted and encourages cross-departmental conversations on how improvement efforts can impact both financial performance and outcomes."

The white paper, titled, "The Revenue Cycle: An Essential Component in Improving Patient Experience," is available for download at www.theberylinstitute.org. Learn more about this white paper and other leading patient experience information at The Beryl Institute Patient Experience Conference on April 13-15, 2011.

About The Beryl Institute:

The Beryl Institute serves as the professional home for stakeholders who recognize that the patient experience is an essential element in the execution and evaluation of health care performance. The Institute is committed to improving the patient experience, by serving as a reliable resource for shared information and proven practices, a dynamic incubator of leading research and new ideas and an interactive connector of effective leaders and dedicated practitioners. The Institute is uniquely positioned to develop and publicize cutting-edge concepts focused on improving the patient experience, touching thousands of healthcare executives and patients.

The Beryl Institute defines the patient experience as the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization's culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.

You can follow The Beryl Institute on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter (@berylinstitute) or visit The Beryl Institute website, www.theberylinstitute.org.

About Revenue Cycle Partners:

Revenue Cycle Partners, a division of Avadyne Health, has been a leading provider of account resolution services for over a decade, developing a reputation for improving both the top and bottom line financial performance of the hospitals they serve. Revenue Cycle Partners offers cost-effective services for timely, customer-focused resolution of self-pay accounts. By investing in the latest call center technology and training, and employing a seasoned team of hospital finance executives and patient service representatives, Revenue Cycle Partners facilitates positive and responsive interaction between patients/guarantors that not only improves cash-flow, but positively impacts quality scores. To learn more about Revenue Cycle Partners, please visit www.revenuecyclepartners.com.

SOURCE The Beryl Institute