Enhancing Revenue Cycle Efficiencies and Helping Reduce Denials

Hunstville Hospital Physician Network consists of over 600 providers serving the region of North Alabama and Southern Tennessee. The Heart Center is one of the largest and experienced cardiovascular centers in the nation that is nationally recognized by U.S. News & World Report and is also rated as one of the Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospitals in America for superior clinical outcomes.

With a keen interest in reducing A/R days and increasing revenue cycle efficiencies, Huntsville Hospital went live with athenaIDX Practice Management solution in the Summer of 2023. Soon after activating the system, they started to see a reduction of lag days and faster payer payments. This case study explores the challenges faced by Huntsville Hospital and the subsequent solutions and results achieved through the implementation of the athenaIDX™ solution.

Overcoming operational challenges with a unified practice management system

Huntsville Hospital faced several challenges within its operations, prompting the need for strategic improvements. These challenges included centralizing the business office while delineating between facility and professional charges, reducing duplicate work, minimizing rejections of untimed claims, expanding reporting options, decreasing outstanding accounts receivable days, and streamlining existing processes to enhance efficiency. To address these issues comprehensively, the hospital aimed to consolidate its operations into a single Practice Management system, athenaIDX. This initiative encompassed integrating systems, optimizing workflows, and eliminating manual work efforts to achieve greater operational cohesion and effectiveness.

The athenaIDX implementation comprised the deployment of various modules, including the Access Management Suite, Patient Financials Suite, and athenaEDI suite. These modules were tailored to address the specific challenges faced by Huntsville Hospital, offering comprehensive solutions for revenue cycle management and operational efficiency.

Huntsville approached the implementation of athenaIDX with an emphasis on expediency. Recognizing their urgency, they enlisted our services to execute the implementation within a notably condensed timeframe of six months, aligning with their fiscal year-end objective.

Due to Huntsville’s exceptional dedication, engagement, and commitment, the implementation was a big success. Their proactive collaboration played a pivotal role in achieving the expedited timeline. In addition, by sticking to the established standards and keeping customizations to a minimum, they helped keep the whole process smooth and stable, resulting in a notably stable go-live.

Achieving healthier revenue cycle improvements with proven results

Following the implementation of the athenaIDX solution, Huntsville Hospital witnessed significant improvements in its revenue cycle performance within the first six months:

• 28% Reduction in A/R Days: Huntsville Hospital achieved a notable reduction in days in accounts receivable, indicating enhanced cash flow and financial stability.
   
• 48% Decrease in Claim Lag Days: The implementation of the solution resulted in a substantial decrease in claim lag days for the Huntsville Heart Center, indicating faster payer payments and improved revenue cycle efficiency.
   
• Reduced Denial Rates: Huntsville Hospital experienced reduced eligibility and registration denial rates, indicating improved claims accuracy and higher reimbursement rates.
   
• Sustained Clean Claim Rate: The hospital maintained a clean claim rate of 90%, with a slight improvement, indicating efficient claims processing and reduced rework.

The successful implementation of the athenaIDX Practice Management solution enabled Huntsville Hospital to overcome its revenue cycle challenges effectively. By centralizing business office operations, streamlining workflows, and leveraging advanced reporting capabilities, the hospital achieved significant improvements in A/R days, claim lag days, and overall revenue cycle efficiency.

These results underscore the importance of adopting integrated and tailored solutions to optimize revenue cycle management and ensure financial stability in healthcare organizations.

Learn more about how athenaIDX can improve your organization’s revenue cycle challenges.