Assignment Details
Write an eight- to ten-page case analysis of the following article:
- Souza, M. & McCarty, B. (2007). From bottom to top: How one provider retooled its collections [Electronic version]. Healthcare Financial Management, 61(9), 67-73.
Include the following:
- Complete a summary of the case study that identifies the key problems and issues, provides background information, relevant facts, the solution employed, and the results achieved.
- Identify and explain the accounting practices California Sutter Health used in defining and solving its collection problems.
- Develop an alternative solution based on your own research using three to five academic sources from journals, professional organizations, and websites.
- State your informed opinion of the approach used by California Sutter Health, and provide support using concepts from your research and personal experience.
ANSWER:
Healthcare facilities have a duty of offering quality healthcare services to their customers. The services are pegged on the availability of finances. In that case, the patients receive the services in exchange for financial costs. An estimated 47 million Americans are believed to be uninsured and are, therefore, assumed that they could not afford paying for the health services they receive. Bad debts are a significant challenge in the majority of American hospitals, considering the provisions of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Increased bad debts risk the continuity of health care facilities and impede the quality of care that is provided. The assumption that uninsured people cannot make healthcare payments is wrong, considering that a majority of them come from working families or are working themselves. Healthcare facilities should use patient sieving systems that can separate those that can pay and those that cannot afford healthcare costs. Sutter Health in California has implemented such as system and succeeded in reducing account receivables days. An interoperable healthcare system that can create seamless and real-time coordination between front end and back end employees in the patient registration and finance departments could aid in reducing account receivables.
Summary of Case Study
Hospitals in the United States have been grappling with increasing their upfront collection from self-pay patients. If the hospitals cannot collect enough finances, they will not be in a position to deliver quality healthcare services to the target population. The modern healthcare system is characterized by high copayments and high deductible health plans. In that regard, hospitals that seek to maximize their cash returns should focus on collecting more money from patients. However, almost 47 million Americans lack health insurance, yet they require… To continue reading, click on the button below.