PBRC Mobile Helps Drive Revenue Uplift

 

Overview

PowerBilling & Revenue Collection (PBRC) is an enterprise- level patient billing system specifically designed for the health industry, delivering functionality superior to both generic billing solutions and departmental billing solutions. PBRC has been implemented across Eastern Health, consolidating sixteen billing systems into one, providing a total view of patient services and all Patient Accounts Billing, Receipting and Collections.

PBRC connects to your existing operational systems, gathering service data to support real- time hospital billing, and automating the billing process. Eastern Health has worked with PowerHealth to launch the first implementation of PBRC Mobile, a tool which provides the functionality required to capture billing details on the move, with a simple click and approve process.

 

Customer Snapshot

Eastern Health (EH) is one of Melbourne’s largest metropolitan public health services with a turnover of over $1.1 billion per annum.

They provide a range of emergency, surgical, medical and general healthcare services, including maternity, palliative care, mental health, drug and alcohol, residential care, community health and statewide specialist services to people and communities that are diverse in culture, age, socio-economic status, population and health care needs.

 

Project Snapshot

The implementation of PBRC across the Eastern Health network represented a fantastic opportunity to streamline billing processes and create an enterprise wide billing system, bringing about positive change for both patients and staff.

At project closure, PBRC is managing the billing for the full patient journey across the Emergency Department, Inpatient and Outpatient, Theatre and Prosthetic billing, Pharmacy, Allied Health, Transition Care, Ambulatory Care, Pathology, Medical Imaging and Cardiology services.

Not to rest on their laurels,  Eastern Health recognised more opportunities for improvements in billing existed. 

From a clinical perspective;

• Consultants did not have easy access to real time information about a patient’s election to be treated as public or private
• A ward round sheet to record services that should be billed was not necessarily an easy and convenient method for a consultant
• Consultants are not made aware of changes in patient’s election which may mean they do not capture services for all private inpatients consultations

From a financial perspective;

• Missed Opportunity - Consultants do not record every service provided to a non-public patient for billing, leading to a loss of revenue for the speciality, consultant and hospital
• Manual Data Entry - There is typically a lengthy delay between service delivery and the ward round sheet due to manual data entry into the billing system, leading to a elongated ‘time to pay’
• Delay in Doctor payments - Where there is a delay between service delivery and billing, there is a flow on delay in the distribution of funds under the Private Practice Arrangement to SPFs, consultants and revenue services

 

Project Outcome

Eastern Health worked with PowerHealth recognising that the ability to capture services accurately at the time of consultation requires mobility, to develop and launch the market first initiative, PBRC Mobile.

Eastern Health is 2 years into its PBRC mobile journey. Specific realised benefits include:

• Consultants who use PBRC mobile on average record 50% more services than consultants who do not
• For every service recorded using PBRC mobile, there is a shorter working capital time
• Whenever a service is entered in PBRC Mobile it is immediately available inside PBRC for authorisation, validation, or claiming depending on the organisation’s chosen data flow.

 

Other Project Outcomes include;

• Patient History Knowledge - This is the first time consultants have been able to view ‘patient history’ of billing to inform the right service for the consultation they just delivered (i.e. is it a new or review); providing the ability to select a more accurate item number for billing
• Efficient Accurate Service Capture - The delivery of PBRC Mobile is through a hand held electronic device offering clinicians mobile functionality to capture services accurately at the time of consultation.
• Information Confidence -  PBRC Mobile uses the same data store as PBRC itself. This means that as data flows in from upstream clinical systems it is immediately available for consultants to view in PBRC Mobile.
• Administration Efficiencies - The ease and convenience of PBRC mobile has already created administration efficiencies. Reducing data entry and paperwork has been welcomed by all.
• Increased Governance - Created accountability, traceability and audit functionality
• Financial gains – Including;
  • Increased revenue by maximising timely billing. A mixture of private/public billing can be lodged with ease
  • Improved cashflow by accelerating the approval and billing process
  • Created efficiencies to ensure all services are captured and charged

 

Conclusion

PBRC Mobile is a strategic value add to Eastern Health’s PBRC implementation, and has provided the opportunity to:

• Improve user experience for consultants and administration through the billing process
• Create uplift revenue from bedside services billing and
• Reduce operational costs for finance departments

 

“We are excited to have worked with the team at PowerHealth to be the first to offer our clinicians mobile functionality to capture services accurately at the time of consultation. The system links to a single source of truth, which means patient records are always up to date, creating an increased level of billing control for Clinicians”

Marina Hocking, Project Manager, Single Billing System, Eastern Health.