Boston WorkStation Helps North Kansas City Hospital Expedite the Revenue Cycle

Boston, MA, April 01, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Automation Software Helps Reduce Bad Debt and Errors on Medicare Claims;
Expedite Payment Post and Price Adjustments

Boston Software Systems™ (www.bossoft.com) today announced that North Kansas City Hospital, a 451-bed, state-of-the-art facility on a 69-acre campus in North Kansas City, MO, has implemented Boston WorkStation™ to help automate several manual tasks throughout the finance department.

For the past year, Tom Marquis, application analyst with the patient accounts department of North Kansas City Hospital, has been automating many of the time-consuming manual tasks that make up the workflow in his department. This has resulted in a dramatic time savings and increased data accuracy, which contribute to a smoother revenue cycle.

Marquis is using Boston WorkStation™ from Boston Software Systems to leverage the advantages of automation for improved workflow and a better bottom line. The patient accounts area of the finance department is a significant juncture for data that is directly related to the revenue process. For manual tasks, automation not only speeds the outcome, it ensures the accuracy of data. Any improvements to the workflow in patient accounts are bound to have a positive impact on the revenue cycle.

“Boston WorkStation helps us automate time-consuming tasks and is doing about eight staff-hours worth of work a day,” said Marquis.

Here are just some of the tasks that North Kansas City Hospital has successfully automated:

Reduce Bad Debt

To more efficiently process accounts on payment plans, Marquis developed a process that will automatically send plans that are in default to the bad debt category. Accounts in this category go to a report which Boston WorkStation runs unattended every Monday. Boston WorkStation then scrubs the report to remove the pre-collection agency and sends the accounts to the bad debt category. Additionally, a note is automatically put on the account indicating its bad debt status so that customer service staff is aware of the outcome in real time.

“Automating the process of moving accounts into an actionable category allows staff to redirect their time in a more valuable and profitable way,” said Marquis.

Automate Payment Posting

Marquis uses Boston WorkStation to automatically post private pay payments. Boston WorkStation automatically runs through a file of payments the bank sends and posts the payments into McKesson STAR. Automating this task saves an average of two staff hours per day, and has increased the accuracy to 100%.

Automate Price Adjustments

Updating the Financial Index Master (FIM) and Service Index Master (SIM) can be manually-intensive projects, taking two to three days and requiring accounts be put on hold while prices are adjusted. Using Boston WorkStation to update the FIM/SIM pricing, Marquis is able to complete the upload in a few hours with reduced inconvenience from accounts on hold and increase accuracy throughout the system.

Reduce Errors on Medicare Claims

Marquis uses Boston WorkStation to hold Medicare accounts as they discharge and then to take them off hold when the update has been installed to ensure they get the correct edits. Getting claims right the first time reduces the staff workload, ensures the hospital sends more accurate claims and improves the revenue cycle process.

“Hospitals spend too much time on manual, time consuming tasks, which slow down clinical and financial workflows. North Kansas City is another proof point that information technology can advance the efficiency, accuracy and effectiveness of the hospital’s operations to better meet patients’ needs,” said Steve Cohen, executive vice president of Boston Software Systems.

About Boston WorkStation™
Boston WorkStation is a workflow automation and integration technology that provides an environment for on-demand process innovation and development. Boston WorkStation allows organizations to automate common tasks throughout the organization including revenue cycle projects, interactions with Web sites, integrating new applications, systems and devices, and electronically monitoring and managing user activity.

About Boston Software Systems
Boston Software Systems is the leading standard for workflow automation and system integration software, enabling organizations to streamline complex business processes and improve productivity. Hundreds of organizations worldwide respond to regulatory and business initiatives by using Boston WorkStation technology to automate and improve processes throughout a variety of departments. Customers include more than 50 HCA hospitals, Mayo hospitals, Stanford Medical Center, CHRISTUS Health, Lutheran Health Network and Catholic Health Initiatives. Boston Software Systems partners with leading application, technology and system vendors such as McKesson, Siemens, 3M, NCR, Emdeon and The SSI Group. For more information, please visit the company’s Web site at www.bostonworkstation.com or call 866.653.5105.

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Boston Software Systems, Boston WorkStation are trademarks of Boston Software Systems, Inc.