S&P Consultants
Implementing Clinically-Driven Revenue Cycle

Healthcare information technology (HIT) has an integral role when it comes to revenue cycle management. Having a patient-centered and interoperable platform that provides a comprehensive picture of a patient’s unique medical history helps providers make informed decisions regarding patient care and utilize it to stay financially healthy. However, one of the biggest challenges healthcare systems and hospitals face is related to implementations. Jeanice Foxworthy, Revenue Cycle Practice Director of S&P Consultants, Inc., says that most organizations focus on the technology so much that they lose sight of the people and process involved with the deployment. “It’s imperative to understand the process of how the system works and how it can be applied into business operations,” adds Jeanice.

With over 25 years of experience, S&P is a leading consulting firm that delivers services to fulfill this need throughout the healthcare industry. The company supports Cerner®/HIT implementations and provides maintenance and optimization services, helping organizations meet their clinical and revenue goals. Having established a reputation of “doing the right thing,” S&P can help ensure that Cerner implementation begins with a solid “genetic roadmap” and dynamically adapts to meet the needs of its clients at every step of the way. The company also facilitates realistic interactions among all parties in HIT implementations and functions as a catalyst that direct them toward a clear and shared vision of success. “We act as a liaison between our client and vendor, helping them integrate people, process, and technology and ensure the implementation flows seamlessly,” remarks Jeanice.

S&P has been assisting its clients in multiple ways to ensure the highest possible performance of Cerner’s clinically-driven revenue cycle. The company collaborates with Cerner during its implementation and drives the process till finish. S&P also includes review and evaluation of people, process, and technology, helping them understand the specific business challenges and needs. The firm has also successfully executed a number of program recoveries and post-live optimizations when clients need assistance in optimization or operational business practice to attain maximum value out of its implementations. Besides, S&P is also approached by its clients to do the entire implementation process and ongoing support.

S&P utilizes a holistic and practical approach to assist its clients in reaching their objectives through Cerner implementations. The firm works with their implementation framework, InTegri-ty℠, that binds strategy to execution, helping to anticipate and avoid costly late-stage mistakes. InTegrity serves as an objective, experienced methodology that coordinates, adapts, and securely binds the elements of the vendor’s framework to the client’s ultimate vision delivering the maximum return on investment. The firm conducts current-state assessment and clinician in-terviews and revenue gap analysis to understand the gaps and disconnects found in IT design and real-world usage, gaining insights into optimizations to improve workflows. Further, S&P offers peer-to-peer support to follow best practices and adopt initiatives after implementation. Reporting review is another service by the company that ensures the documentation from the EHR supports value metrics to avoid shortfalls and disqualifications.

What sets S&P apart in the industry is deep expertise and real-world experience in implementing, optimizing, and customizing Cerner solutions. “Such breadth of knowledge from a technology and operational perspective is key to any successful implementation and we bring that to the table unlike any other firms out there,” affirms Jeanice. Further bolstering the ingenious services of S&P is its in-house expertise. The company has a technology team that builds the bridge between different systems to communicate with each other as well as healthcare provider teams, comprised of clinicians, nurses, doctors, and operations who build relationships with providers and oversee the clinical and financial aspects of systems. S&P cultivates a work culture that encourages knowledge transfer without barriers, breaking down silos of operations and processes. This has helped the company to consistently utilize its expertise and deliver significant value to clients.

Showcasing the benefits of S&P’s services and holistic approach, Jeanice cites an instance wherein the company helped a client move forward with its implementation process, which had been halted in the middle of the implementation due to the client’s inability to drive and complete the deployment both from the clinical and revenue cycle sides. S&P steered the process ahead with its strategy and brought the client to a better stage in the implementation. In another instance, S&P was called back for support services after completing initial implementation to empower the in-house team with additional skillsets.

S&P has received widespread recognition for providing innovative services through an unparalleled commitment to clients. Recently, the company was selected as the no.1 provider of implementation services for smaller project engagements. Moving ahead, S&P plans to explore new opportunities in collaborating with different third-party vendors and enhance its services. The company also looks forward to adding niche integration services to its portfolio, helping clients improve their patient care and positively impacting the overall healthcare system.