athenista spotlight: Meet Chris Cousins
With more than 14 years in the business, Chris Cousins joined athenahealth's Client Operations team last September after an impressive tenure with Sentara Healthcare in Norfolk, Virginia, where he was responsible for the full revenue cycle of the Sentara Medical Group. While directing operations at Sentara Medical Group, the revenue cycle saw a 63% decrease in DAR, 50% reduction in bad debt, and 30% reduction of A/R greater than 90 days. From Sentara, Chris joined PayerPath as a member of the leadership team, building and managing their professional services organization. Following the sale of the PayerPath to Misys Healthcare, Chris remained with Misys, managing their client services team.
athenaPulse: Jonathan Bush said that athenahealth was very lucky to "get you off the market." That sounds like a big compliment.
Chris Cousins: Thank you. I am thrilled to be at athenahealth. I've been fortunate in my career to work for organizations where the core mission consists of creating a better way of delivering health care. In my short tenure here at athenahealth, I can truly see that mission resonating throughout.
aP: What is your role at athenahealth?
CC: My job is to make sure our Southern Region clients are happy and satisfied with athenahealth's services and that they are optimizing what athenaNet offers as a revenue cycle tool. I view myself and my team of account managers as our client's strategic partner. We work together with clients to help them meet their performance objectives.
aP: What does your day-to-day look like?
CC: I reside in Richmond, Virginia, which makes it easy for me to visit clients in the Southern Region. Getting to know our clients and their needs is at the core of my job. I travel to athenahealth's headquarters twice a month to work with my account managers and meet with other team members. As you may know, the hallmark of any organization is the people and I have been super impressed with athenahealth's staff. The culture of the organization is incredible.
aP: What is the biggest challenge you see in your new position?
CC: To ensure that as we grow our customer base in the Southern Region, we continue to foster a model that creates service excellence. When clients join athenahealth, we offer them a value proposition. Our goal is to deliver on that value proposition. As Jonathan Bush continually says, we need to do what we say we'll do - deliver on our promise of improved collections, cleaner claims, faster payments, less bad debt, and fewer underpayments or zero pays. Realizing that value proposition is a big part of my job. Our clients are facing challenging times. Malpractice insurance is up, payers are pushing to lower reimbursement amounts and their rules are becoming more complicated. It is our job to help our clients navigate the ever complex revenue cycle pathway.
aP: What has been your experience to date with athenahealth's clients?
CC: Our clients are true partners with us - which makes it so much easier to succeed. My first experience meeting clients was at athenahealth's User Conference this past October. I was amazed at the level of energy and the positive interaction between clients and athenahealth staff. I haven't seen that kind of connection anywhere else.
aP: For our Southern Region clients who don't know you personally, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
CC: Sure. I was born in Northern, Virginia. I went to high school in Cape Cod, Massachusetts and completed my undergraduate work in New England. After working for some time, I decided to move back home to the south, where I also undertook my graduate work. Growing up around the water, I love being close to the beaches of Virginia and North Carolina. I now live in Richmond, Virginia with my wife and daughter (10 years old) and son (9 years old). When I'm not working, I enjoy participating in water sports, occasionally getting in a round or two of golfing and spending time with my family.
