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Press Release
As Economy Tumbles, Georgia Hospital Association Partners With nTelagent to Better Serve Self-Pay Patients
Members Gain Access to nTelagent’s Self-Pay Management System to Ensure Patient Accounts Are Automatically Screened for Medical Discounts, Government/Social Service Assistance and Charity Care Eligibility
February 24, 2009 (Nashville, Tenn.) --- According to a recent survey* conducted by the Georgia Hospital Association (GHA), hospitals across the state are feeling the effects of the sagging economy – from rising bad debt and charity care, to staff and service reductions. To better serve the increasing numbers of self-pay patients and tackle mounting bad debt, GHA members now have access to the tools and technology they need, thanks to a new partnership between Nashville-based nTelagent, Inc. and the GHA’s wholly owned subsidiary Georgia Hospital Health Services (GHHS).
nTelagent has developed the web-based Self-Pay Management System (SPMS), called the “retail application for the healthcare industry.” Similar to applications used in the retail industry at the point of sale, SPMS provides healthcare registrars and financial counselors with interactive scripts, telling them exactly what to do and what to say to each patient regarding financial responsibilities at the point of service. By integrating patient demographic information with a provider’s own business rules, SPMS gives registrars the tools they need to discuss and offer to the patient pricing of services, discounting, payment terms, and charity and government programs if appropriate. Moving workflow to the front end, nTelagent helps providers to remain financially viable by improving upfront and overall cash flow and reducing bad debt.
Through GHHS, over 170 hospitals and health entities will have access to SPMS at discounted pricing. The average implementation period is from four to six weeks, and usage fees are based on the volume of patient registrations.
“Adding nTelagent to the GHHS family of endorsed vendors will give our member hospitals a proven resource for decreasing bad debt and improving patient relations. We’ve seen how SPMS can help providers to effectively close the gap on unpaid accounts receivable at point of service, while giving patients the peace of mind of knowing their financial responsibilities on the front end of care,” said Glenn E. Pearson, FACHE, executive director of GHHS.
For patients with a low capacity to pay for their care, the company’s predictive modeling technologies provide an online interface at the point of service that identifies charity care as well as appropriate third-party payors such as federal, state and local governments. SPMS identifies and acts on behalf of patients who are eligible for but not yet enrolled in entitlement programs such as Medicaid and Social Security Disability Insurance, providing outreach and advocacy services to facilitate their enrollment.
“With the increasingly tough economic conditions, many patients are finding themselves uninsured or underinsured, unable to afford COBRA or other self-insurance plans after layoffs. nTelagent’s system allows healthcare service providers to give self-pay patients the financial information they need at the point of service. For instance, they might qualify for charity care or social services assistance, a hefty discount for upfront payment, or a manageable payment plan. SPMS helps both the patient and the provider in this strained environment, where we’re all concerned about the financial viability of our hospitals,” said Earl T. Winter, chairman and CEO of nTelagent.
*See complete survey results at http://www.gha.org/Publications/EconomySurvey.pdf.
About GeorgiaHospital Health Services
Georgia Hospital Health Services, Inc. (GHHS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Georgia Hospital Association. The Georgia Hospital Association is a nonprofit trade association made up of member health systems, hospitals and individuals in administrative and decision-making positions within those institutions. GHHS was founded in 1989 for the purpose of partnering with companies to provide products and services at a discounted rate and/or with added benefits to member institutions. GHHS will also create programs and services that will meet a need that is not currently available through an established vendor offering. GHHS evaluates all of its potential vendor partners through a due diligence process and will only partner with those companies and programs that are of a high quality, provide the exceptional benefit to members and fit within GHA’s strategic plan.
About nTelagent, Inc.
nTelagent, Inc. has developed The Retail Application for the healthcare industry, called the Self-Pay Management System (SPMS). Similar to applications used in the retail industry at the point of sale, the company’s proprietary, automated system tells healthcare registrars and financial counselors exactly what to do and what to say to each patient at the point of service regarding financial responsibilities. Moving workflow to the front end of the revenue cycle, nTelagent helps providers ensure a better patient experience through clearer communication and better handling of patient accounts, while improving upfront and overall cash flow, receivables and profitability by reducing bad debt. Using non-credit scoring data, SPMS provides interactive scripts that integrate patient demographic information with each provider’s business policies and rules. The system allows for price transparency and automatically identifies discounting options, social services eligibility and charity care options when applicable, ensuring that patient financial accounting—for both insured and uninsured patients—is handled appropriately and consistently. Visit www.ntelagent.com for more information
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