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Making a Difference...
By Keith Truax, Senior Revenue Cycle Strategist, SearchAmerica
As I meet and work with healthcare organizations around the country, I am often reminded of how important what we do on the business side of healthcare is. When I think back in time to my first financial position in healthcare, I quickly realized that we are truly blessed. We don’t have the skills and talents to provide direct health care to a patient, that has been reserved for those with that calling, but we do have the business skills and talents to ensure that physicians, nurses and all direct care professionals can continue to focus on providing the level of care that is needed.
Early in my healthcare career I realized when organizational decisions are contemplated that purely focus exclusively on either the medical or the business aspects, the outcome most often misses the mark. Balancing both sides of the equation is what works best. It requires business and medical professionals to consistently work together.
A Balancing Act of Teamwork
Another balance that is equally important in our line of work is between
mission and margin. Healthcare organizations have a unique mission,
different than any other industry in our economy. This is even more
apparent with the degree of not-for-profit and faith-based healthcare
organizations, as they are the largest segment within the hospital and
clinical industry. Serving their communities in a compassionate manner with
a higher calling is a good summation of the mission statements I have run
across. But this compassion would quickly disappear if the bottom line was
ignored or not paid it’s appropriate due. In my humble opinion, those
organizations that have found that right balance are the ones truly
living up to the mission and optimizing the margin.
Unfortunately, many healthcare organizations have not been able to strike this balance. Why? Well, it goes back to perspective. Those that have achieved the mission/margin balance have deliberately chosen to align their actions with their missions.
Charity Programs Change Lives –
My Tale
From my personal experience (and many of you reading this have stories
that come to mind as well), this mission aspect of our business makes a
difference in numerous lives each and every day. In all of my engagements
with healthcare organizations across the country, I’ve heard a variety of
reasons for providing or not providing charity care respective to an
organization’s mission. These reasons range from “well they’re just trying
to not pay” to “they didn’t comply with our policy, so they were declined”
to “we give enough charity”. Well, I was one of those people at one time.
For those that have never been humbled to that degree, I can tell you it is
an experience I would not wish upon anyone. But it also taught me a
valuable life lesson. No matter how successful, we are not exempt from
significant personal and professional challenges in our lives.
I was and still am appreciative for those in healthcare that showed compassion. They had an impact on my life that I will never forget. Based on that experience, I have intentionally turned my gratitude into a lifelong calling to financially support those organizations. Today, my job is to help healthcare organizations live up to their missions and still improve the bottom line. How could I ask for anything better?
It Has Never Been Easier
By providing charity care for your respective communities, you are
making a difference in more lives than most probably ever realize. A Chief
of Medical Staff once told me that more than seventy percent of health
issues are psychosomatically related. If this is true, just imagine the
associated health benefits with letting patients know they have been
approved for charity, if they qualify, at the point of service (POS) or even
before.
Today’s financial clearing solutions are designed to help you achieve your mission and margin goals. For example, they can automate the charity screening process to make “fast-track charity” a reality for your organization and permit you to live up to your mission. On the margin side, focused collection can also become a reality for your organization and permit you to optimize your margin.
As you can probably tell, I just call it like I see it. I’ve seen the mission/margin balance become a reality in a number of healthcare organizations; but even more importantly, I’ve seen it first hand. That’s all the proof I need to know it works and makes a difference.
If you’d like to learn more about how your hospital can make a difference, please feel free to contact me. Please join me and we can make some great things come to reality – sooner than later.
Finally, don’t forget to thank your staff today; it’s their day–to-day efforts that make it happen.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Innovations '10 for Healthcare IT
Siemens Customer
Education Symposium
Gaylord Palms Hotel and Conference Center
Orlando, FL
August 8 - 11, 2010
Maryland AAHAM Chapter
Clarion Hotel,
Ocean City, MD
September 14 - 16th, 2010
NAHAM-NE
Holiday Inn
Stamford, CT
October 18 - 19th, 2010
2010 HFMA Region 9 Conference
Sheraton New Orleans Hotel
New Orleans, LA
November 14 - 16, 2010
Webinars
Predict Cash Collections with ConfidenceJuly 29, 2010 1:00pm CST
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