Revenue Cycle Services 2017
How Do RCS Firms Measure Up to Providers’ Needs?

Navigant Leads RCO Firms in Performance and Breadths

High-value firm Navigant performs work across all RCO areas and fits well into clients’ organizations. Also delivering breadth, R1 RCM (Accretive) has improved their partnering, sometimes expanding to more strategic roles. They can be slow to adapt to unique client needs. Conifer Health clients are displeased with missed and unclear expectations.

PwC a Performance Leader with Most Validated Commercial Work

For commercial and government collections, PwC, MedAssist, and MediRevv lead out in performance. PwC couples deep, nuanced partnering with the ability to consistently meet or exceed expectations. MediRevv, Navigant, and Parallon leverage strong patient-centric tools and approaches in early out self-pay work.

Navigant’s RCO Delivery Very Promising; PwC Consistently Hits EBOS KPIs

RCO: RCO engagements overall are more complex, and clients are generally less satisfied with results. Navigant’s high accountability for meeting metrics contributes to consistent delivery for clients. Conifer Health misses some targets without explaining why. Several Cerner clients report missed indicators, software issues, and sometimes-reactive service.

EBOS: PwC works to continuously improve indicators, sometimes even beyond what clients expect. For both RCO and EBOS work, nThrive clients say the firm is focused more on technology and processes than on relationships and struggles to deliver outside of denials management, a very internal process.

R1 RCM’s Model Yields Collaboration; Role Clarification Needed

In R1 RCM’s (Accretive) unique co-management model, client and firm share responsibility for hitting targets; some clients at times feel unclear about who is responsible for what. Satisfied Parallon clients highlight a capable staff and a focus on largescale efforts. Others feel Parallon is too overloaded to manage smaller details, leading to lost opportunities.

MedAssist, MediRevv, and Parallon Build Patient and Client Trust

MedAssist fosters unity with clients by communicating effectively to and from all fronts. MediRevv drives patient/client satisfaction with a culture of respect and professionalism. Parallon is willing to customize patient messaging and interactions to unique populations. PwC also excels at adopting client cultures but doesn’t do self-pay work. Many nThrive clients see a lack of communication and effort to mesh culturally.

Conifer, Parallon, and R1 RCM Only RCO Firms to Service Very Large Organizations

Conifer Health, Parallon, and R1 RCM (Accretive) are the only RCO firms with experience handling the complexity and volume of extremely large health systems. The majority of nThrive’s and Navigant’s clients are small to midsize organizations. Four of Cerner’s nine interviewed clients are organizations with fewer than 100 beds, though three others have 1,500–3,000 beds.

Navigant Clients Most Stable; R1 RCM’s and Parallon’s Most Likely to Leave

RCO: Some R1 RCM (Accretive) and Parallon clients plan to leave because the value is not worth the cost. Several Conifer and Cerner clients report dissatisfaction, with Conifer clients feeling stuck in long-term contracts. Cerner clients report poor tools and inconsistent responsiveness, but integration and Cerner’s product knowledge convince them to stay. Some customers feel nThrive performs well enough to keep; others want more support for the complex software.

PwC Turning Short-Term Projects into Strategic Partnerships

EBOS: Clients often engage PwC for short-term engagements and then continue partnerships with the firm after contracts end. The limited data on Conifer Health points to very capable on-site staff and high client satisfaction. Some nThrive clients are leaving for other firms, citing missed metrics or inaccurate work.

Writer
Elizabeth Pew

Designer
Natalie Jamison