NTelagent?s Self-Pay Management System Shifts Healthcare Collections to the Front End

Nashville, Tenn.-based nTelagent, Inc., a next-generation revenue cycle company, has reported that its proprietary, web-based, front-end solution, the Self-Pay Management System (SPMS), helps hospitals and other healthcare service providers upend the status quo in revenue cycle processes by consistently moving workflow to the front end of the service continuum. Using non-credit scoring data, SPMS provides registrars and financial counselors with interactive scripts that integrate patient demographic information with each provider’s unique business policies and rules, for use with patients at pre-registration and at the point of service.

“Healthcare decision-makers and hospital CFOs across the country are looking for advanced yet easy-to-implement solutions to deal with the increasing number of self-pay accounts,” said Earl T. Winter, chairman and CEO of nTelagent, Inc. “Many providers are simply relying on collection agencies and early-out solutions, in lieu of appropriately modifying the front end of their revenue cycle process. This isn’t good enough. Providers need to change how they operate, beginning with pre-service and point-of-service patient interactions.”

Historically, providers have focused on billing, denial management and collection activities post-service. But with the growing number of patients who are now paying all or a portion of their own bill, the process must be altered, as providers can no longer rely solely on reimbursements from private or government insurance organizations.

To learn more, download the just published Issue Brief titled “Changing the Status Quo: Moving Collections to the Front End of the Healthcare Revenue Cycle” at www.ntelagent.com.

“In the case of self-pay patients, the best practice is to determine financial responsibility from the outset,” continued Winter. “Organizations that are unwilling or ill-equipped to implement this practice run the risk of no longer being financially viable. Simply put, the status quo is no longer a viable option.”

For healthcare service providers, just a few of the primary benefits of implementing SPMS and focusing on upfront collections include the following:

Better management of bad debt and accurate documentation of charity care
Improved business office operations and an automated financial registration process
Improved revenue capture and cash flow
Fewer billing errors and decreased insurance denials
Reduction in employee turnover due to increase in employee self-confidence and value
Better customer relations because all parties are informed of responsibilities at the front end, so there are no “surprises” when the final bill comes
Protection of patient’s rights by applying the proper recovery strategies to each person’s capacity to pay

For patients, SPMS ensures that all accounts are treated in a consistent, non-discriminatory manner, irrespective of a patient’s financial profile, insurance status or healthcare condition. In addition, SPMS’s online interface automatically identifies charity care as well as appropriate third-party payors such as federal, state and local governments. SPMS also indentifies and acts on behalf of patients who are eligible for, but not yet enrolled, in entitlement programs (e.g., Medicaid). Finally, SPMS ensures that fair and consistent discounts are offered to truly needy patients, by taking into account an individual’s capacity to pay, total account balance and type of service.

Nashville-based nTelagent, Inc., a next-generation revenue cycle company, has developed a proprietary technology platform, the Self-Pay Management System (SPMS), that is revolutionizing the accounts receivable processes for hospitals, physician practices and all other healthcare service providers, in both inpatient and outpatient settings. For providers, SPMS improves upfront and overall cash flow, receivables and profitability by reducing bad debt and improving the revenue cycle process for self-pay patients. The company’s turnkey technologies enable providers to consistently move workflow to the front end of the revenue cycle, both pre-service and at the point of service. Using non-credit scoring data, the SPMS provides registrars and financial counselors with interactive scripts that integrate patient demographic information with each provider’s unique business policies and rules. The system also automatically identifies discounting and charity care options when applicable, ensuring that patient financial accounting — for both insured and uninsured patients — is handled appropriately and in a non-discriminatory manner.