Relationships, results, and revenue

Heart Failure Survival Center of America (HFSCA) is on a mission to help its cardiology patients not only survive, but thrive. In order to achieve this goal, the practice itself needs to thrive. But when Kim Moody was first paired with HFSCA as its dedicated athenahealth Customer Success Manager, she discovered a practice that wasn’t optimizing the tools at its disposal, and as such, wasn’t as profitable as it could be. Insights gained from the team’s weekly performance meetings with Moody have proven invaluable for the practice’s success. With her master’s in business administration and experience partnering with practices of similar size and specialty, Moody was able to help HFSCA increase profitability and efficiency.

Personalized support enhances revenue and patient experience

Moody made sure the HFSCA team was taking advantage of the tools at their disposal, connecting each HFSCA team member with free and easy resources like trainings on athenahealth’s Learning Portal. She also set up specialized one-on-one trainings with athenahealth’s Coaching and Training Services, which offers free sessions to all customers. These trainings empowered the team to work faster and smarter, and they report that patient interactions improved as a result.

The practice was also struggling with inefficient outsourcing of coding and authorization management processes. Recognizing the challenges similar practices have with these processes and digging into the numbers to determine the most cost-effective solution, Moody suggested that the athenahealth Medical Coding Service and athenahealth Authorization Management Service could really help. “We were really stressed to our limit,” said operations manager Tracy Rymer. “The solutions that Kim found for us have been very viable.”

Moody helped the HFSCA team get up to speed with the additional services and see results quickly. The practice’s denials rate has improved significantly, with payer yield increasing 29 percent. In a year over year review, the practice has seen a 30 percent increase in collections. HFSCA’s X-ray technician also no longer has to manage coding, freeing up more time to focus on patient care. This reallocation of resources helps the practice grow long-term, according to Rymer.

Amy Hammer, office staff, is enthused about being able to dedicate more time to enhancing patient care. “My clean-up time has been less, so I’ve been able to concentrate more on a newer service we’re doing – chronic care management,” Hammer said. “I’m able to invest more time in other areas, and then we’re able to grow more.”

Now that revenue is increasing significantly and the practice is on a growth trajectory, Moody continues to check in with the team every week to provide the personalized support they need to achieve their goals. “Kim is, hands down, our gal,” said clinic manager Sarah Ehlert. “She stays on us, likes to problem-solve, and she digs until she finds a solution for us. That is exactly what we needed.”