Year over year, Saint Luke’s increased its net revenue by 13% and net collections by 14%.
Saint Luke’s Surgicenter (Saint Luke’s) has been partnered with in2itive Business Solutions (in2itive) for 9 of it's 13 years in business. The Surgicenter handles approximately 900 cases per month conducted by more than 60 surgeons, covering a wide range of treatment services including orthopedics, pain, ophthalmology, general surgery, and urology.
Saint Luke's has a patient-centric philosophy that drives their delivery of high-quality, value-based care. Their physicians and support staff are committed to making each patient’s experience one of complete satisfaction and ease, with personalized treatment options ranging from inpatient surgical care to advanced diagnostics and comprehensive outpatient services.
Challenges & Opportunities
The healthcare industry and specifically Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) have changed dramatically over the past decade. ASCs are now approved to preform complex procedures that have increased the difficulty of the billing process.
At Saint Luke’s, changes in the billing landscape caused management to consider partnering with an outside agency specializing in ASC billing. They believed that outsourcing their coding, billing, and revenue management would be a wise financial decision, in addition to one that alleviated some of their key stressors.
When they were considering who to partner with for these services, Saint Luke’s wanted a team-focused group of experts capable of providing the high level of customer service that their patients had become accustomed to. With so many patients and a massive caseload, regular and clear communication between Saint Luke’s and their revenue cycle management team would be vital.
Saint Luke’s challenges were multifold. First, they needed to process their entire workload quickly and efficiently in order to be compensated promptly. Secondly, they wanted a partner company that could work with their existing office staff, administrators, and software systems to submit claims quickly. Finally, Saint Luke’s was looking for experts to follow-up with patients and insurance carriers efficiently and professionally. Their partner would have to maintain consistent communication with all parties to ensure a smooth claim submission and payment process.
What in2itive Did to Help
After consulting with us at in2itive, Saint Luke’s decided our team of experts was exactly the right partner to execute their revenue cycle skillfully.
When Saint Luke’s brought in2itive on board, they were provided with a team of seasoned medical billers, each person doing their part to seamlessly bill and collect maximum revenue for more than 10,000 cases per year.
Client Services Manager - to oversee in2itive's staff of medical billers and implement continued process improvement based on Saint Luke's feedback.
Revenue Cycle Specialist - to follow up on denials/rejections daily and submit appeals/reconsiderations as appropriate.
Billing Specialist - to key and electronically bill charges.
Accounts Receivable Specialist - to post and balance all payments daily.
Patient Account Representative - to work with your patients to collect their balances and set up and monitor a payment plans as appropriate.
Workers' Compensation Specialist - to quickly develop relationships with claims adjusters and firmly negotiate favorable payments.
Saint Luke’s front office staff and administrators worked with our team to get claims out the door quickly so the center could be compensated faster. This required continuous follow-up and frequent communication with many groups involved in the process. Thanks to these efforts, the center regularly has a net collection percentage of over 100.
With such a large caseload — including many workers’ compensation cases — it was crucial that Saint Luke’s process each within 60-90 business days to maintain a healthy revenue cycle. In turn, we collaborated to design efficient workflows. At intake, the Saint Luke’s team entered the Workers’ Comp fax number into the file. Our team contacts the Claim Representative immediately to keep claims moving. in2itive provides Saint Luke’s with a monthly overview report detailing their financial performance and caseload specifics in a single snapshot.
Because in2itive delivers on their promises, the front office team at Saint Luke’s doesn’t have to worry or spend valuable time on billing and follow-up communication. This trust gives the staff at Saint Luke’s peace of mind to focus on their core mission of patient care.
Results
in2itive continues to do right by their customer and maximize Saint Luke's revenue. In a year-over-year comparison between 2018 and 2019, in2itive was able to turn a 5% increase in case volume into a 13% increase in net revenue, and a 14% increase in net collections.
We are proud that Saint Luke’s has chosen in2itive as their partner for this critical piece of their business. The job is big and, at times, daunting, but the partnership formed between the two companies makes us optimistic for continued success. in2itive does what it takes to deliver impeccable service to our clients and their patients. Our ongoing goal is to be a seamless extension of our clients’ billing offices.
As evidenced in our work with Saint Luke’s, it takes a team to make the appropriate business changes needed to improve and grow. At in2itive, our role is to support and enable great medical facilities so they can continue to focus on excellent patient care and customer service. The in2itive team is constantly committed to providing exceptional billing services, revenue management, and claims processing.
