The team at CorroHealth is emphasizing a balanced approach to improving Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) – one that blends AI, automation, and people. The company’s leaders believe that healthcare organizations should set themselves a goal of streamlining and augmenting the current processes, especially in light of the hiring challenges.
Road to AI and Automation in RCM
CorroHealth was formed through the merger of four RCM companies:
- TrustHCS
- Visionary RCM
- The T System
- RevCycle+
While others were hunkering down to weather the pandemic, CorroHealth continued to expand through acquisition and added three companies:
- Versalus Health
- TCP Services and Analytics
- Medical Savant
“We’re definitely much bigger now and much better positioned in the market,” stated Patrick Leonard, CEO of CorroHealth, who sat down recently with Healthcare IT Today for an interview, along with Neal Somaney, Executive Vice President and Dr. Andres Jimenez, Chief Medical Information Officer.
Together these seven entities have forged a cohesive culture that is centered around a simple ethos: “Do more with less”. It is how the CorroHealth team conducts themselves internally and it is what they strive to help their healthcare clients achieve.
Doing More With Less Is Hyper-Important
“There is absolutely recognition that automation and AI are needed in order to do more with less,” said Leonard. ”There is also recognition that we need to up-skill individuals in combination with AI to optimize healthcare workforces in light of the challenges of recruiting new staff.”
The pandemic has disrupted the traditional job market. Dubbed “The Great Resignation”, many individuals are now opting to exit the workforce, start their own venture or just take time to recuperate from exhaustion. Organizations trying to fill these vacancies are finding it difficult to attract qualified candidates – even though these positions have good salaries and stability.
Healthcare has been hit particularly hard. Not only is there greater demand for healthcare services, but more staff are leaving due to the long hours and mental strain.
“The healthcare industry is going through a change,” explained Somaney. “Labor costs are continuing to increase and reimbursement is constantly under pressure. Automation and AI is what we must look at in order to get through this change.”
Somaney points to the RCM process in particular as an area that can have a significant positive impact for organizations willing to make the investment. He specifically points to the need for “upskilling the RCM workforce” so that skilled experts are focused on dealing with complex exceptions rather than the routine day-to-day coding. For more details on this, check out this previous interview.
Balanced Approach
Somaney, Leonard, and Dr. Jimenez all stressed the importance of taking a balanced approach to automating RCM processes. “It is not an either-or situation,” said Leonard. “It’s not about replacing people with automation. Not everything is going to be automated, not every decision is going to be made by AI. We need a blend of AI and people power.”
Dr. Jimenez echoed that comment and added: “We are really putting a focus on making our AI even better by taking a critical look at the data we feed it. We have all these human experts reviewing cases, using their expertise. We are looking for ways to incorporate that expertise so that we can improve our AI which in turn will help free up those experts for higher level RCM issues.”
This approach is resonating with CorroHealth’s clients. The company has experienced tremendous growth during the pandemic as healthcare organizations look for ways to reduce the burden on staff and lower costs.
Advice for Healthcare Leaders
Leonard, Somaney, and Dr. Jimenez, each had fantastic advice for healthcare leaders:
- Leonard: Don’t buy in to the hype. Instead, focus on the deliverables. There are a lot of companies out there promising great things and have tremendous visions. But more important that vision, is who is delivering results TODAY while working towards that vision?
- Somaney: Beware of the comfort of legacy systems. There are new technologies out there that can help you take a big step forward. Get uncomfortable.
- Jimenez: Look for partners who are actively looking to reduce/eliminate bias in their AI.
Watch the full interview to learn:
- How executives merged 7 distinct company cultures into one.
- How being virtual may have helped make the integration of acquired companies easier.
- What the impact of growing skepticism around AI means for healthcare
To learn more about CorroHealth and their RCM AI + Automation solutions visit: https://corrohealth.com/
Listen and subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today Interviews Podcast to hear all the latest insights from experts in healthcare IT.
And for an exclusive look at our top stories, subscribe to our newsletter.
Tell us what you think. Contact us here or on Twitter at @hcitoday. And if you’re interested in advertising with us, check out our various advertising packages and request our Media Kit.
CorroHealth is a supporter of Healthcare IT Today.
