Business office consolidation
Reduce cost to collect. Improve revenue and experiences. Optimize virtual team productivity.
Given healthcare’s narrowing margins, increasing revenue instability, and rising technological complexity, operating disparate revenue cycle operations within a single health system may no longer be a viable strategy. Many systems are instead consolidating down to a single “virtual” office. To consolidate successfully and realize a durable, long-term return on the investment, careful planning and strategic partnerships are key.
"Xtend helped us successfully consolidate from nine offices to one. Their revenue cycle expertise was critical before, during, and after the change, ensuring we could achieve and maintain the intended benefits for our patients, staff, and community – including a rate of return on the project of nearly 130%."
– CFO, Advocate Health Care
The benefits
If your system is experiencing any or all of the following challenges, revenue cycle office consolidation is worth exploring.
| Challenge | How consolidation/virtualization can help |
|---|---|
| High cost to collect | Reduced overhead and improved efficiency drive down costs. |
| Confusing, frustrating, time-consuming patient experience | Simple, central point of contact for all types of financial guidance helps improve satisfaction. |
| Slow claim processing and/or high denial rates | Higher staff accountability and more efficient and measurable processes enhance accuracy and turnaround times. |
| Inconsistent, incompatible technologies | Technology consolidation and standardization ensure faster, more seamless workflows. |
| Limited management-level oversight and visibility | More transparency between management and staff ensures smooth information flow in all directions. |
| Staff discontent and/or disengagement | Staff engagement improves thanks to enhanced collaboration, more opportunities to share best practices, greater cross-team exposure and training, and clearer career paths. |
| Lack of integration across acquired organizations | Centralization simplifies future growth and acquisitions. |
How Xtend Healthcare can help
A consolidation is a significant undertaking, impacting all of your key stakeholders. Below are important issues to consider and how we can help with each. Our contributions go well beyond consulting support. We have the expertise and bench strength to set your strategy and — should you need it — the seasoned staff to dedicate to your office, for as long as you need us.
Executive approval
With data and forecasts tailored to your situation, we can calculate a CBO consolidation ROI for internal stakeholder review and approval.
Cash flow
Collaborating with you, we can design and implement a workflow strategy that keeps cash flowing and tracks all key KPIs, during and after the consolidation.
Staffing and workforce location
Based on skill sets and productivity, we can help you decide which staff members should fill which roles and whether each role can be effectively performed remotely. If you need short- or long-term support in any department, we can dedicate experts to work on- or offsite as part of your team.
Technology
Applying our deep domain expertise with all leading revenue cycle technology platforms, we can help you identify, implement, and train staff on the best long-term solutions for your system.