Come up with a plan to bring AR days back in line. It will take cooperation from the medical staff, the clinical departments, health information management, the business office, and many others, so include how you will involve these departments in devising a solution.
Present your comments in a 1–2 page paper explaining how you will proceed.
Please see attached document with Assignment in depth. PLEASE READ IT
Scenario Summary
It is the second Monday night in October and it is now 3 a.m. You cannot sleep.
You are the CFO of Marysville General Hospital, a 300-bed community hospital in the Midwest. Your hospital board meets at noon on the second Tuesday of each month. You have a truly awful report to give the board, and you are dreading it more than anything else you’ve done in your 15-year career as a hospital senior manager.
The target for days in accounts receivable (which the board and CEO set some years ago) is 55 days. When AR days are at 55, cash flow to the hospital is strong and you can meet all monthly obligations while putting some money away into investments for the hospital’s future.
It has been several years now since the hospital has seen its AR at 55 days. There have been many factors, but AR has been in the 70–80 day range for some time now. Last month it crept up over 90 days, and this month you have the painful task of reporting to the board and CEO that the hospital is carrying 100 days in accounts receivable.
You must come up with a plan to bring AR days back in line, and you will not be able to accomplish that alone. It will take cooperation from the medical staff, the clinical departments, health information management, the business office, and many others. But it must happen and it must happen soon, or your community could actually lose its hospital.
Your Role/Assignment
Come up with a plan to bring AR days back in line. It will take cooperation from the medical staff, the clinical departments, health information management, the business office, and many others, so include how you will involve these departments in devising a solution.
As you prepare your process improvement plan, keep the following in mind.
What further data collection will you conduct before beginning to write your plan?
What will be the elements of your plan?
For each element, who will be the key players and what will be their roles?
What resources outside of senior management will you engage?
How will you present your plan at the board meeting?
And how will you know that your plan has been effective?
CHARACTERS
Bill Walker | Mack Wilson | Dr. John Evans | Katrina Eaton | Martina Jackson |
Linda Freed | You | Brian Billings | Nancy Stritmatter | Becky Santos |
The Situation
At the board meeting, you give your financial report. You actually have a small profit to show for the month on the income statement, but as you are going over that report in the board packet, you notice that all six board members have already turned past the income statement to the accounts receivable report. One board member actually has his mouth open, jaw dropped, and another is looking at you over his glasses. This is not good.
Your board members are community representatives; they care about the hospital, and they know how important the hospital is to the town of 35,000 people. They are all very worried. They know what has happened to other communities when their hospitals have failed financially. Everyone in this room has a tremendous stake in the survival and success of the hospital.
After you give the accounts receivable report, there is a prolonged silence. You wish somebody would just yell at you and get it over with, but that does not happen.
How to solve
the CFO of Marysville General Hospital Nursing Assignment Help
To address the issue of high accounts receivable (AR) days at Marysville General Hospital, a comprehensive plan involving various departments needs to be developed. The goal of this plan is to bring AR days back in line with the target of 55 days. The involvement and cooperation of the medical staff, clinical departments, health information management, and the business office, among others, is crucial for the success of this plan.
To begin with, before writing the plan, further data collection should be conducted. This will help in understanding the underlying causes of the high AR days and identifying specific areas for improvement. This data collection can involve analyzing the billing and collection processes, identifying bottlenecks, and assessing the efficiency of the existing systems.
The plan to bring AR days back in line should consist of several key elements. These may include:
1. Process Improvement: Streamlining the billing and collection processes, implementing best practices, and utilizing technology solutions for automation and efficiency.
2. Staff Education and Training: Ensuring that all staff involved in the billing and collection processes are knowledgeable about relevant policies, procedures, and regulations. Providing training on proper documentation, coding, and billing practices will help reduce errors and denials.
3. Collaboration with Medical Staff and Clinical Departments: Engaging the medical staff and clinical departments in the process improvement initiatives is essential. This can be achieved through regular meetings and discussions to address issues related to documentation and coding accuracy, timely submission of medical records, and cooperation in responding to payer queries.
4. Health Information Management (HIM) Department Involvement: The HIM department plays a crucial role in medical record documentation and coding accuracy. Collaborating with the HIM department to review and improve coding practices, ensure timely record completion, and facilitate effective communication with payers can help reduce AR days.
5. Business Office Management: Close coordination with the business office, including the CFO and the business office manager, is necessary to ensure accurate and timely billing, efficient follow-up on outstanding claims, and effective collection strategies. Developing clear communication channels and implementing performance monitoring mechanisms will be essential.
In addition to involving internal departments, seeking external resources can also aid in improving AR days. This may include consulting with revenue cycle management experts, attending workshops or conferences to learn about industry best practices, and benchmarking against peer institutions.
Presenting the plan at the board meeting is a critical step to gain support and approval. The plan should be clearly communicated, highlighting the key findings from the data analysis, the proposed solutions, and the expected outcomes. Visual aids, such as graphs or charts, can be used to present the current state and the projected improvements.
To assess the effectiveness of the plan, key performance indicators (KPIs) should be established. These may include tracking AR days on a monthly basis, monitoring the collection rate, evaluating the denial and rejection rates, and measuring the impact on cash flow. Regular reporting to senior management and the board will help in evaluating the progress and making necessary adjustments to the plan.
In conclusion, addressing the issue of high AR days requires a collaborative approach involving multiple departments and stakeholders. By analyzing data, developing a comprehensive plan, involving key players, utilizing external resources, and monitoring performance, Marysville General Hospital can successfully bring its AR days back in line with the target.
