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Press Release
nTelagent Releases Next-Generation Insurance Verification Tool
Hospitals and other providers eschewing headache-inducing paper-based reports and wasted time on the telephone for nTelagent’s point-and-click insurance verification tool
March 10, 2009 (Nashville, Tenn.) --- As the healthcare industry looks to eliminate inefficiencies and reduce costs – all while improving patient care and satisfaction – one step remains especially frustrating, error-prone and time-consuming for many healthcare service providers: insurance verification. (Just say the words and watch the faces of patient access staff cringe.) In general, current products available in the marketplace today verify insurance only and don’t provide benefit information in a usable format for the registrar or financial counselor. Although delivered electronically, many require the staff member to print a cumbersome 15-page report (or more) to try and determine benefits.
To streamline and simplify the insurance verification process, Nashville-based nTelagent, Inc. has released its web-based, next-generation insurance verification tool, which provides real-time insurance and benefit information at the point of service. The insurance verification tool is the latest feature added to nTelagent’s Self-Pay Management System, known as the “retail application” for the healthcare industry. 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.
“I’ll put it this way: Our insurance verification tool is making healthcare CFOs, business office managers and front-office staff very happy. In fact, after seeing how simple and efficient our system is, many providers are dropping their current insurance verification vendors and are signing up for nTelagent’s Self-Pay Management System on the spot. We knew there was a need for a better way of doing things, and the response from the marketplace continues to validate this,” said Earl T. Winter, nTelagent’s chairman and CEO.
nTelagent’s insurance verification tool is an integrated solution for hospitals and other providers, combining insurance information with a patient’s demographic information and a provider’s unique business policies – all in real-time. The result is a clear, accurate explanation of the patient’s benefits and what is owed at point of service (i.e., co-pays, deductibles, co-insurance), delivered right to the staff member’s computer screen.
“We’re continually told that there’s nothing like this in the marketplace. nTelagent’s powerful system doesn’t just provide information for the sake of information; we actually provide our clients with actionable items, telling registrars and financial counselors exactly how to handle each patient account. Patients are happier as well, because accounts are all managed in an accurate, consistent manner,” continued Winter.
Because of inefficient processes at the point of service, many providers continue to miss out on collections opportunities. For example, nTelagent’s recent aged trial balance (ATB) analyses of healthcare service providers across the country showed that approximately 65 percent of all bad debt is the result of insured patients, not uninsured patients. This is due to the frequent non-collection of upfront payments such as co-pays, co-insurance, deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. With SPMS implemented, providers have the tools and technology they need to accurately determine and collect out-of-pocket payments on the front end.
SPMS also allows for price transparency and point-and-click payment processing, as well as automatically identifies discounting options, social services eligibility and charity care options when applicable. 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.
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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