Turnaround Services

Ailing hospitals that struggle with financial and operational performance problems must find ways of balancing cost reduction and revenue enhancement. This balancing should be done in a way that addresses the negative cash flow situation without compromising patient safety and satisfaction concerns. However, since no two situations are exactly alike, it is critically important for management to begin by recognizing the existence of problems, accept that external assistance may be needed, and identify the cause of these problems. CHC’s customized turnaround services help to address a wide array of crises, so that the hospital can take quick and corrective measures.

Apart from bottom-line results, CHC also focuses on the hospital’s employees, patients, and the surrounding community that depend heavily on the continued success of the facility. If a clinic is unable to address financial and performance problems on its own, it becomes a candidate for a guided turnaround. For many hospitals in this situation, CHC comes in to help. We collaborate and work with community hospitals of all sizes, ensuring that the tailored approach we adopt is based on the hospital?s needs, and tactics and strategies with demonstrable success. We begin with an operational assessment that helps us to understand existing business processes and reveals the vulnerability of the organization. Based on the findings of the operational assessment, we develop a detailed action plan.

The Hospital Board’s Role in a Turnaround

In working with community hospitals, we have seen patterns that increase the chances of recovery and success. One key component is the hospital must have a well-functioning board. We often recommend infusing the hospital board with diversity to bring a breath of fresh air that can inject needed change. Another step we often recommend is tackling board member conflicts of interest that could otherwise hinder any attempt at a turnaround. We also insist that hospitals recruit individuals with a deep understanding of healthcare and some level of governance education. Depending on the situation at hand, it may even be necessary for the board to select a new CEO.

Key Turnaround Services Components

Operational Assessment

To identify what is ailing a hospital and recommend suitable solutions to address the problems, we will need to conduct an operational assessment. This involves examining and reviewing the strategy, staffing, operations, revenue cycle, provision chain, medical staff issues, and facility leadership. Operational assessments make it possible for us to understand how the hospital is currently running; and ways it could be improved.

Coding Audits and Chargemaster Compliance

Turnaround services also includes identifying opportunities toward keeping the chargemaster code compliant and competitively priced. Medical records coding as well as the charge description master (CDM), or chargemaster, codes should be reviewed regularly to identify and correct any potential issues and ensure codes are current and being utilized appropriately. Our experts know the revenue cycle is a complex function and search for all points that may be broken.

Health Plan Contract Evaluation

With the continual fiscal pressures from governmental reimbursement programs, the need to have positive relationships with commercial health plans is oftentimes essential to providing a positive margin from operations. We look at and review health plan contracts to ensure that the plan contracts are functioning as intended. By comparing each contract to the chargemaster, we can determine whether the hospital is collecting an appropriate amount from each payer. Depending on the situation, some of these contracts may need to be renegotiated or chargemaster updated to protect the interests of the hospital.

Supply Chain

Historically, community hospitals are hit the hardest by provision costs because many don?t wield the purchasing power of larger facilities and systems, but with the support and guidance of CHC Supply Trust, community hospitals can achieve the same preferred pricing typically reserved for their larger counterparts.

Productivity

The management of labor in the hospital environment is a process that truly requires day-to-day oversight by the hospital leadership team. Salary, wages and benefits are the most significant operating expenses for a hospital trying to improve financial performance. CHC Consulting’s approach for productivity, customized for rural and community hospitals, brings just what?s needed to make staffing effective for quality care delivery.

Revenue Cycle

When it comes to receiving payment for services rendered, hospitals face declining reimbursement rates, which mean hospitals collect only a fraction of what is due. Second, higher health insurance deductibles shift payment responsibility to consumers who may not be able to pay, which in turn forces hospitals to write off more unpaid bills. These ongoing challenges make it critically important for hospitals to identify, monitor and collect each and every dollar they are due. The good news: optimizing revenue cycle processes end-to-end can deliver bottom-line results.

Information Technology

By updating and enhancing the use of technology in various processes, hospitals can improve patient safety, optimize staff productivity, reduce medical errors, improve the quality of health care delivery, and enjoy better interaction with patients. Our approach also keeps the cost of advanced technology as low as possible.