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Success Stories of a Matured RMD: University Healthcare Completes $10M Year! 2008-01-15 For the RMD at University Healthcare in Augusta, GA, 2007 was a good year... a VERY good year. After year end calculations, the RMD brought in additional revenue of over $10M – after expenses! The RMD was implemented in April 2004 and under the leadership of Bobbie McAdams, the team has matured, progressed, and continues to progress, in opportunities that benefit the hospital. Bobbie McAdams credits IRM’s CBR database with much of their success. The team utilizes the CBR database for more than just tracking Medicare - they also utilize it to track insurance plans and other projects for metrics tracking. Any account that is worked and results in a payment, or is expected to result in additional payment, is captured within the database. This method allows the RMD to follow accounts through observations and metrics which assists the auditors in staying focused. That focus and consistent use of tools available to them increases revenue. While data has been captured in the past, the use of the CBR database has made trending and reporting better. A combination of process improvement, code-based reimbursement, and cash collections attributed to the phenomenal year, with cash collections being at the top of that list. For example, the month of March was just under $1M for cash collections, with money coming in from managed care payment discrepancies and appeals, and more expected from the appeals process. As cash collections have increased and contributed, process improvement projects have done so as well. Process improvement projects that the team worked through 2007 include: Labor and Delivery which added $45,500 per month for 12 months; a one-time incident for $38,000 in charges; a nursery charge captured in 2007 that nets out to $34,000 and surgery pacemaker charges for $117,000 per month which will continue to track into 2008. One-time finds and a change in charging practices due to process improvement projects can make a big difference as well. Another major factor that all RMDs can take to the proverbial bank is that it pays to be a known and trusted department within your facility. Because the RMD at University Healthcare has become just that – a trusted department that gets the job done - they are working more accounts and a larger variety of projects than ever based on referrals from within. When trends are identified through their audits of medical records and bills, they immediately begin working with the impacted departments to review findings and move towards process improvement. These connections with other departments have proven to be very positive in that those departments now contact the RMD to assist with their projects related to services. Along with continuing the successful trends that the RMD has in place, the team will be looking at process improvements related to denials in 2008. They have just purchased a denial software package and are very excited about being able to track and trend all denials. Never before have they been able to see this information and it is very powerful. They have already established denial workgroups to look at denials related to coordination of benefits and plan to implement another workgroup for pre-certification denials. This is just another example of a project that provides them an opportunity to continue working with departments on their front-end processes that will result in financial gain. 2008 is looking to be another successful year with even more projects and opportunities. Congratulations to University for all their hard work and perseverance!

2008 Schedule of Events Announced for TCG 2008-01-01 The 2008 schedule of audio conferences is now available. The Coding Group is dedicated to meeting the coding education and training needs of the healthcare industry by offering comprehensive coder education. Be sure to check The Coding Group's website for more information and to register throughout the year. www.IRM-TCG.com 760.448.1022

Memorial Medical Center Joins the Million Dollar Club! 2007-12-15 One year ago, Memorial Medical Center, a critical access hospital client in Port Lavaca, TX, implemented their revenue management department. In their first ten months, the team exceeded their first year goal and pushed past the $1,000,000 mark in November 2007. Congratulations to Memorial Medical Center’s RMD for all their hard work!

Intermountain Healthcare’s Urban North Region Joins the Million Dollar Club! 2007-11-15 The Urban North Region’s Revenue Integrity Department of Intermountain Healthcare in Utah is the newest member of the Million Dollar Club at IRM. The Region implemented the in late July, 2007 and achieved this very important milestone on October 24. Chris Martinelli, Manager, recruited two impressive teams, and that is apparent from their hard work. Congratulations to the entire Intermountain team!