Crowe introduces Crowe Outpatient Charge Capture Analytics

CHICAGO (Oct. 1, 2013) - Crowe Horwath LLP, one of the largest public accounting and consulting firms in the U.S., has introduced Crowe Outpatient Charge Capture Analytics, a clinical documentation management program designed specifically for a hospital's outpatient services. The program helps hospitals identify ways to quickly increase net revenue from outpatient services and implement changes to sustain those improvements in the long term.

"Hospitals are under immense financial pressure, so they need to ensure that they are being reimbursed for all clinical services provided. Crowe Outpatient Charge Capture Analytics can help hospitals identify additional outpatient revenue in areas that are typically challenging to secure appropriate reimbursements for services," said Brian Sanderson, managing partner of Crowe Healthcare Services.

For example, a recent Crowe implementation of Crowe Outpatient Charge Capture Analytics in a three-hospital community health system resulted in an increase of $3.2 million in revenue from the emergency room, cardiology, radiology, outpatient infusion, pharmacy and surgery departments.

Crowe Outpatient Charge Capture Analytics works in three phases:

• Assess: Crowe assesses the organization's current outpatient charge capture process to determine actions that the clinical staff is performing but not capturing for billing purposes, which is known as revenue leakage. This can occur when the clinical staff does not have the knowledge to bill for certain actions or the billing or documentation tools are not available to the staff. According to Sanderson, by using the firm's proprietary charge capture analytics, technology tools and benchmarks, Crowe is able to complete the assessment phase in only four weeks instead of the 12 to 16 week period that is common in the marketplace.
• Implement:  After a review with the hospital's financial team of the findings from the first phase, customized charge capture initiatives are agreed on and implemented. These may include programing new or more specific charges into the software, improving documentation methodology or training the clinical staff on proper documentation and coding.
• Track results:  An 18-month tracking system compares the actual results of each charge capture initiative to benchmark results. The outcomes are reported to the hospital monthly. If the actual results are not meeting the benchmark standards, Crowe takes corrective action, such as adjusting billing systems or providing additional education to the staff. "The tracking phase allows us to adjust the program to fit each hospital's individual issues, making sure it provides lasting, viable results," said Sanderson.

Sanderson noted that some products exist that aim to improve individual areas of the outpatient charge capture process but fail to fully identify all opportunities for increasing net revenue. "We used our extensive healthcare experience to develop proprietary technology and align it with process-improvement methods. This holistic approach goes far beyond coding reviews to focus on identifying revenue opportunities and process improvements that can be sustained in the long term," he said.

For more information on the Crowe Outpatient Charge Capture Analytics, please visit: www.crowehorwath.com/chargecapture-nr.

About Crowe Horwath
Crowe Horwath LLP (www.crowehorwath.com) is one of the largest public accounting and consulting firms in the United States. Under its core purpose of "Building Value with Values^®," Crowe uses its deep industry expertise to provide audit services to public and private entities, while also helping clients reach their goals with tax, advisory, risk and performance services. With offices coast to coast and 2,700 personnel, Crowe is recognized by many organizations as one of the country's best places to work. Crowe serves clients worldwide as an independent member of Crowe Horwath International, one of the largest global accounting networks in the world, consisting of more than 150 independent accounting and advisory services firms in more than 100 countries around the world.

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