RWJ Barnabas Health

Our Cerner RCM expertise helps a leading health system establish benchmarks and make process improvements to guide a new implementation.

Challenges

Before embarking on a Cerner RCM implementation at its Jersey City Medical Center, RWJ Barnabas asked Healthcare IT Leaders to provide additional consulting support. The client sought a comprehensive RCM assessment for Jersey City to help establish benchmarks and KPIs.

A knowledge of Cerner and Revenue Cycle best practices was critical, as RWJ project leaders needed expert support for their ongoing evaluation of the solution and recommendations on key functionality to guide their implementation.

Solution

Our consultant offered a unique perspective with previous experience as both a Cerner RCM engagement leader and as a long-time healthcare CFO.

He interviewed key directors to gather details about the current state of RCM at Jersey City as well as at other RWJBarnabas organizations for comparison. A scorecard created for the client helped them understand their strong performance relative to industry benchmarks in these key service areas:

• Registration
• Scheduling
• Charge Services
• Health Information Management
• Quality Assurance
• Case Management
• Patient Financial Services

Identifying Areas for Improvement

To supplement the scorecard, our consultant provided a comprehensive assessment, including process and technical recommendations that would be important for the success of the implementation.

We prioritized the recommended changes by overall impact and benefit, and identified the internal stakeholders that would need to be involved.

As an example, the client relied on multiple process rules to address Late Charges. Functionality in the new Cerner system could help manage these rules, so we recommended collaboration across multiple departments to review current processes with a goal of mapping to the Cerner solution.

Results

The deliverable, a detailed current state assessment including industry benchmarks and prioritized recommendations, offered invaluable insights to RWJBarnabas leadership as well as Cerner.

Our understanding of Cerner RCM informed our report, adding depth to our technical recommendations, and we provided the client with actionable steps to improve their project plan and align internal resources for the implementation ahead.

Our consultant acted as a trusted advisor to both the client and Cerner and was engaged post-assessment to offer on-going advisory services for the engagement.