February 14, 2007 —
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A world-renowned surgical practice discovers measurable operational advantages with globalcentara ProviderSM
Challenge
Surgical Associates of Texas, based in Houston, TX, faced a decline in practice incomes due to an outdated, DOS-based practice management system, multiple manual business processes and continued fixed operating costs.
Solution
Analysis of current revenue cycle and implementation of globalcentara Provider™ to establish best practices, streamline administrative operation, enhance collections, reduce A/R cycle and improve cash flow.
Situation
The physician partners of Surgical Associates of Texas (SAT), led by world-renowned cardiovascular pioneer Denton A. Cooley M.D., comprise one of the most experienced cardiovascular surgery teams in the world, having performed over 100,000 open heart surgeries and 800 heart transplants.
This busy, high volume team of specialists affiliated with the Texas Heart Institute in St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital receives referrals from around the world, treating patients requiring a high level of surgical skill and experience not readily available elsewhere.
Like most physicians in the country, however – and many surgeons in particular – SAT was experiencing a declining trend in net income. This trend was the catalyst that sparked a review of their internal processes, system needs and staffing allocations in search of a viable and economical business solution.
In 2004, SAT engaged Global Healthcare Alliance (Global) to assess their situation and recommend an outsourcing solution to improve the practice’s profitability.
The globalcentara ProviderSM solution
Global responded with a series of technological, procedural and personnel recommendations based on the information that was gathered during a thorough practice assessment of Surgical Associates of Texas.
Global’s initial practice assessment of SAT’s business processes included:
• Policy and Procedure Review
• Review the current billing system’s limitations
• Assessment of workflow process; key personnel roles and responsibilities
• Financial metrics
• Develop and outline practice goals and objectives
• Review aging and denial reports
• Identify reporting and benchmark metrics
SAT’s practice administrator, Bill Taylor, insists that Surgical Associates of Texas was seeking more than a technology purchase, and Global delivered. “We knew we needed a new billing system,” says Taylor. “Our program was outdated, and would not be supported by the vendor long-term. Beyond that, it did not give us real-time metrics with which to make informed business decisions. But few medical billing companies offer the personalized service approach Global employed to determine the best outsourcing solution for our practice. We needed not only state of the art technology, but a partner that understood our unique challenges.”
SAT made the decision to implement globalcentara ProviderSM, the complete medical billing service solution that combines personalized customer service with a dedicated Global billing manager and the award winning1 web-based practice management system, globalcentaraSM. The result was increased efficiency, accuracy and effectiveness of their daily billing and collections.
“Few medical billing companies offer the personalized service approach Global employed to determine the best outsourcing solution for our practice”
-Bill Taylor, Administrator
As a web-based technology, globalcentaraSM can be accessed from any location 24/7 to view the practice information and claim status in real-time. In addition, it has a built-in intelligent claims engine that reviews all claims and identifies billing errors down to the line item prior to submission, meaning fewer rejected and resubmitted claims. “Submitting consistently clean claims facilitates prompt and correct payment by payors,” says Taylor, “and we receive our reimbursements more timely.”
globalcentara ProviderSM has allowed SAT to retrain and redeploy valued, long-tenured staff to increase their impact and contribute to overall practice profitability.“ Before we partnered with Global Healthcare Alliance we noticed a declining trend in our net income,” says SAT cardiovascular surgeon Dr. David Ott. “Global’s recommended solutions have continued to increase our efficiency and improve the net income of our practice.” In addition, globalcentara ProviderSM has broadened access to the knowledge base regarding claims submission and billing beyond a single employee or small group of employees, ensuring continuity for the foreseeable future.
“Global’s recommended solutions have continued to increase our efficiency and improve the net income of our practice”
- David Ott, MD
The success of globalcentara ProviderSM has resulted in significant benefits for Surgical Associates of Texas. By outsourcing their medical billing to Global Healthcare Alliance, SAT has seen a decrease in overhead expenses, lower days in A/R, and an increase in net income. “These results are what we expected for this client, and they reflect what we typically see in similar situations,” says Global’s MSO director Belinda Ratcliff. “Our practice management system combined with the oversight of a dedicated billing manager and a team of experienced, tenured and specialized billing support staff allows our clients to reach their optimal business efficiency and increase their overall reimbursements.”
Measurable Results
Surgical Associates of Texas reports:
• 40% savings in operating costs
• 40% reduction of A/R days
• Decrease in claims rejections
• Improved customer service
• Access to real-time information 24/7
• Realignment of key personnel
One of SAT’s key surgeons sums up the engagement quite simply: “Global Healthcare Alliance has continued to increase our efficiency, and I recommend their service to any practice that seeks to increase their net income.”
1globalcentaraSM received two prestigious TETHIE awards in 2005: First place for “Technology for the Improvement of Claims Processing” and best of show for “Technology of the Year”. The awards were presented December 8, 2005 in Washington, D.C. at The Emerging Technology and Healthcare Innovations Congress.
Contact Global Healthcare Alliance
For more information on how Global Healthcare Alliance can help you to improve your operation through its award winning combination of technology and service, contact us today for a demo or call us at 800-457-9269.
