ATLANTA, May 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Craneware,
Inc., the market leader in automated revenue integrity
solutions, and Fairview Southdale Hospital, a multi-specialty
hospital in the Fairview Health Services network, will help patient
access professionals understand and prepare for the impact of
healthcare reform on front-end revenue cycle processes at the
National Association of Healthcare Access Management (NAHAM) 37th
Annual Educational Conference and Exposition, May 24-27 in San
Antonio, Texas.
During the presentation, "Healthcare Reform: Upfront Collection
Strategies to Adapt to a Changing Payor Mix," on May 27, Kelley
Blair, senior vice president of Professional Services and
Sales Support at Craneware, and Jena
Anderberg, South Region director, business services at
Fairview, will highlight the
important role of upfront collections as patients become more
responsible for costs as well as discuss new challenges presented
by payor models such as ACOs. Blair and Anderberg will also discuss
the role of technology and strategies for adapting to the changes
in the payor landscape to reduce bad debt and ensure defensible,
transparent pricing practices.
"Technology constraints combined with difficulties in estimating
charges correctly and getting buy-in from staff to ask for payments
from patients are significant barriers that health facilities must
address in the collections arena," said Blair. "Hospitals are
facing more payment issues now that consumers are required to pay a
larger amount of their healthcare costs upfront."
Industry research shows that consumers are now responsible for a
larger percentage of the costs for their care with more than 30
million covered by high deductible plans. According to the Kaiser
Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust, 23
percent of employers stated they planned to increase premium shares
that their workers have to pay in 2010.
As part of Fairview Health Services, Fairview Southdale Hospital
has already begun to incorporate ACO-style payment structures into
their contracts with private insurers. Anderberg will discuss the
complexity of this new payor system and how her organization is
preparing. Anderberg explained, "We are speaking with patients
prior to or when they are at the hospital to educate them regarding
their financial responsibilities associated with their care. In
addition, we are able to provide patients with the opportunity to
pay their estimated out-of-pocket expenses or prior balances during
those same conversations."
About Fairview Health Services
Fairview Health Services has eight hospitals that serve rural,
urban and suburban communities in the Minneapolis area, and is one of the Top 10
Health Systems in the United
States, according to Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals:
Health System Quality/Efficiency Benchmarks study.
About Craneware
Craneware (AIM: CRW.L, OTC: CRWRY) is the leader in automated
revenue integrity solutions that improve financial performance for
healthcare organizations. Craneware's market-driven, SaaS solutions
help hospitals and other healthcare providers more effectively
price, charge and code for services and supplies associated with
patient care. This optimizes reimbursement, increases operational
efficiency and minimizes compliance risk. By partnering with
Craneware, clients achieve the visibility required to identify,
address and prevent revenue leakage. To learn more, visit
craneware.com and stoptheleakage.com.
SOURCE Craneware, Inc.