Modernizing The Revenue Cycle Management System
By Wendy Grafius, contributing writer
Healthcare system combines proven infrastructure with Optum’s analytics and technology to create cutting edge RCM and medical record services
By Wendy Grafius, contributing writer
Dignity Health, the nation’s fifth largest healthcare system, and Optum, a leading IT health services company, have combined resources to form Optum360, a business venture aimed at simplifying billing, increasing cost transparency for patients, and modernizing administration for physicians, hospitals, and payers. By combining Dignity Health’s proven infrastructure with Optum’s analytics and technology, Optum360 will offer cutting edge revenue cycle management and medical record services for larger hospitals and healthcare systems.
With 1700 Dignity Health employees and 1300 Optum employees, Optum360 will initially be the exclusive provider of revenue cycle management for Dignity Health’s physicians, care centers, and hospitals with plans for future partnerships with other major health systems. “Dignity Health has always been committed to simplifying the billing process and helping our patients understand their health benefits,” said Michael Blaszyk, senior executive VP and CFO for Dignity Health. “With Optum360, we are taking these efforts to the next level by implementing Optum’s proven technology. We are excited to bring these resources to the patients we serve as well as to the broader healthcare marketplace.”
Optum360’s unique approach will provide information from the patient’s point of view for easier understanding of insurance benefits and the payment process. The combination of technology with customer service will improve patient experience by offering streamlined admissions and online/mobile resources such as financial statements, benefits information, and health management tools. “The healthcare billing process is too often a source of stress during a time when healing should be the primary focus,” said Lloyd Dean, president and CEO of Dignity Health. “Our goal is nothing less than to modernize the revenue cycle so that it is intuitive and easy to manage, and allows patients and providers alike to focus their attention on healing.”
Intrinsic to Optum360 is simplicity and improved communication for providers and payers, making for better relationships. Tools for ICD-10 coding applications, documentation improvement, integrated financial records, utilization management, and claims management will all help providers receive timely reimbursements. And Optum360’s technology will help payers to easily understand treatment plans, streamlining approvals and claim judgments so that services are appropriately cleared for payment. “Optum360 is singularly focused on helping care providers nationwide transform the registration, billing, and payment system so it works better for them and their patients,” said Larry Renfro, CEO of Optum.
San Francisco-based Dignity Health was founded in 1986 and is the largest hospital system in California. With more than 300 care centers in 21 states, Dignity Health is dedicated to “providing compassionate, high-quality, affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved”. With close to 10,000 doctors and 56,000 employees, the healthcare system donated $1.6 billion in charitable care last year.
SOURCE: Dignity Health
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