Principles & Practice of management

Principles & Practice of management CASE STUDY (20 MARKS) Medical Secretaries at Spire Sussex Hospital are delighted with the reporting capabilities of Health code’s e practice manager system. Spire Sussex is one of 38 hospitals within the Spire Healthcare group, one of the country’s leading private hospital groups. Located near Hastings, the hospital offers a range of services, including cosmetic surgery, orthopedics, psychiatry and gynecology, treating thousands of insured and self-funded patients each year. Of more than 70 consultants who practice at Spire Sussex, half entrust their billing and credit control to the hospital’s medical secretaries, a department which has expanded by 60% since it was established in 1997.

Catherine Good sell, PA to the Hospital Director, reports that her team process between 80 and 100 invoices each week and manage the hospital accounts for each consultant using Health code’s e Practice manager. Spire Sussex Hospital pays a monthly subscription for the online system and then charges the consultants concerned. Catherine recalls the decision to use Health code: “We looked at other practice management systems but only Health code was able to offer the functionality we needed at the right price. This was an important consideration because we wanted consultants who were going to use the system to be confident they were getting the best value for money.” She is now in no doubt that Spire Sussex Hospital made the right choice: “It is so much quicker to send bills to insurer’s electronically using e Practice manager rather than through the post and we can be confident that the validated invoice has been received and can be processed straight away.

When bulk payments are received from insurers, we can reallocate the money to each patient’s account swiftly and accurately. “But for us the system’s greatest asset is its excellent reporting capabilities, particularly debt analysis which makes it quicker and easier to keep track of overdue payments. We were also delighted that Health code’s technicians were able to create a bespoke transaction report for us which shows only the specific information we need for each patient and the amount outstanding. It has made life so much easier.” E Practice manager’s detailed reports enables Spire Sussex’s medical secretaries to send out timely account statements and regular reminder letters. This means queries from insured patients about shortfalls, or from insurers about the treatment provided to a patient can be flagged and resolved quickly. Catherine adds that her team finds the system’s secure messaging feature particularly useful to keep in touch with private medical insurers without compromising patient confidentiality.

Answer the following question. Q1. Explain the role of e-Practice Manager in Sussex Hospital. Q2. Is this system helpful for such health organizations? Explain.