Frequently Asked Questions

What is the financial impact of building a revenue management department?
Specific numbers cannot be precisely forecast until an Evaluation is completed. However, the historical results consistently demonstrate average increases on net patient revenues of 2% - 4%.

How does IRM charge for services?
All services are a fixed fee either by project (Evaluation, consulting, or special project) or by month (RMD Development and Support). IRM does not employ contingency-based payment arrangements.

How do expenses compare with benefits?
IRM’S RMD clients generally experience expenses that range between 10% and 20% of increases in net incremental revenue generated. Larger organizations inevitably benefit more from economies of scale.

How long does it take to conduct an Evaluation?
The Evaluation process can be completed in as little as 45 days and includes 2 ½ days onsite.

How many personnel will it take to staff the RMD?
The numbers will vary depending on the volume of billed charges, net payments and payer mix. Existing RMDs average between 12 – 14 members. However, it is important to note that the RMD’s staff can be added incrementally which both lowers the initial outlay and then provides the increased income to support subsequent development. Nevertheless, the most relevant number is that each RMD associate, again on average, will generate between $300K and $500K net each year to the organization’s bottom line.

How does one explain to executive management and/or the Board of Directors that 3% - 4% of net patient revenue has been left on the table in previous years?
Two basic conditions have influenced healthcare financial management over the past 20 years. Firstly, the emphasis has been on cost containment and in particular on fewer FTE’s. Moreover, training budgets are frequently high on the cutback list. By contrast, in a more traditional, non-healthcare business setting a typical CEO would recruit and hire as many $500K a year bottom-liners as possible and then make certain that they are properly trained. Secondly, existing models have not acknowledged the clinical nature of revenue and as a result most organizations have attempted to manage revenue through primarily administrative processes. We believe that to attain best practice results, both the mindset and the model must change. We have repeatedly seen that when a sufficient number of quality personnel are deployed within an outstanding business model, provided with top-notch professional training, and equipped with mission specific software applications, the outcomes are nothing short of extraordinary.