Published: August 01, 2011
USC University Hospital and USC Norris Cancer Hospital Choose MedAssets for Technology-Enabled Revenue Cycle Outsource Services; Separate Agreement to Drive Supply Cost Savings
ATLANTA - (BUSINESS WIRE) - MedAssets (NASDAQ: MDAS) today announced that USC University Hospital
and USC Norris Cancer Hospital (the "Hospitals" ), both private teaching
hospitals owned by the University of Southern California in Los Angeles
(USC), have chosen MedAssets as their exclusive provider of
technology-enabled business office outsource services. Beginning with
patient access and continuing through to patient financial services, the
MedAssets team will assess the entire revenue cycle and deploy the
company's industry-leading, Web-based technology where opportunities
exist to increase revenue capture, reduce denials, decrease bad debt and
improve operating margin and cash flow. USC currently generates
approximately $550 million in annual net patient revenue.
Separate Agreement to Implement Supply Chain and Clinical Cost
Management Services
Under terms of a separate, multi-year agreement, the Hospitals will
utilize a combination of MedAssets strategic sourcing, supply chain
services, clinical cost management capabilities, and the MedAssets
proprietary ecommerce platform. In combination of these services, backed
by advanced, proprietary databases, are designed to drive cost
reductions and operating efficiencies without compromise to high-quality
patient care.
"We chose to expand our relationship with MedAssets because of their
subject-matter expertise in consulting, services and technology, across
the entire supply chain and revenue cycle," said Jonathan Spees, Chief
Financial Officer of USC University Hospital and USC Norris Cancer
Hospital. "As a teaching health system, USC University Hospital and USC
Norris Cancer Hospital aspires to serve as a best practice customer for
MedAssets to demonstrate the value to be gained from forging select,
strategic business relationships and to keep pace with the changing
landscape of healthcare expense and billing."
Expansion of MedAssets Technology to Showcase Value of Full Portfolio
For two years, USC has used a variety of revenue cycle software
solutions from MedAssets, including contract management, patient
liability estimation and chargemaster, as well as regulatory-driven
coding knowledge solutions. Under the new multi-year agreement, USC will
engage MedAssets to implement additional technology to support greater
accuracy and automation of patient access, financial clearance, charge
integrity and claims management functions. The MedAssets revenue cycle
consultants will redesign and implement best practices specific to USC's
patient access functions, and work onsite with staff to integrate those
processes while leveraging new MedAssets technologies. On behalf of USC,
MedAssets will operate all business office functions and certain
critical pre-service financial clearance functions. In addition,
MedAssets will leverage internal expert teams to manage denials and
reduce underpaid accounts on behalf of USC to improve cash collections
and maximize the liquidation of all receivables.
"MedAssets brings a holistic and high performing approach to the health
system revenue cycle. From technology to outsourced services to process
improvement, our solutions are applicable in health system environments
across the nation to drive performance improvement, maximize net revenue
and accelerate cash flow," noted Greg Strobel, President of Revenue
Cycle Management, MedAssets. "This expanded opportunity and partnership
with USC will showcase the value of our end-to-end revenue cycle
solutions portfolio. We are well-positioned to leverage a
multidisciplinary team of experts to help USC deliver a more efficient
financial clearance and business office process that patients expect
today, and to capture every dollar due USC for clinical services
rendered."
Shaping the Revenue Cycle and the Patient Experience to Fully Capture
Revenue for Services Rendered
Specific points of process improvements include leveraging the MedAssets
Access Integrity suite of solutions to minimize patient information and
data collection errors, and activate real-time insurance verification
and patient payment calculations. MedAssets industry-leading Claims
Management and Contract Manager revenue capture tools will support
improved total reimbursements. Both solutions can accommodate working
with disparate health information systems to provide a holistic view of
financial performance.
Analysis of Supplies to Further Cost Reduction Opportunities
With the selection of MedAssets comprehensive
contract portfolio, USC gains access to negotiated rates with more
than 1,100 leading manufacturers and distributors of high quality
medical products and supplies. The health system also stands to benefit
from MedAssets physician preference item (PPI) consulting services and
spend management analytics to further enhance cost reduction
opportunities. Supplies and drugs represent 25 percent of a typical
hospital's operating budget, and about 40 percent of the supply budget
is spent on PPI.
Last, USC will utilize MedAssets eCommerce Exchange, a proprietary
ecommerce platform designed to automate healthcare provider purchasing
operations. With an online user transaction portal and a competitive,
subscription price point, the service electronically connects users to
suppliers to enable quick and simple exchange a variety of supply
chain-related documents: purchase orders (POs), PO acknowledgments,
advanced shipment notices, invoices and product/price catalogs. The
MedAssets eCommerce Exchange currently supports transactions between
more than 410 healthcare facilities and 170 national and regional
suppliers.
About The University of Southern California
The University of Southern California owns two private teaching
hospitals, USC University Hospital and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, both
located in Los Angeles.
USC University Hospital (to be renamed, Keck Hospital of
USC, this fall) is a 411-bed acute care hospital staffed by more than
500 USC doctors who are also faculty at the renowned Keck
School of Medicine of USC. Opened in 1991, the hospital schedules
more than one million patient appointments annually. Advanced services
include neurointerventional radiology, minimally invasive cardiothoracic
surgery, robotic surgery and interventional cardiology. Surgical
specialties include organ transplantation and neurosurgery, as well as cardiothoracic,
bariatric,
esophageal, orthopaedic, and plastic and reconstructive surgeries. U.S.
News and World Report named USC University Hospital among the best
hospitals in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report
magazine's 21st annual rankings of "America's Best Hospitals."
USC Norris Cancer Hospital is one of only a few facilities
in Southern California built exclusively for cancer research and patient
care. USC Norris Cancer Hospital is a 60-bed inpatient facility
providing acute and critical care. The hospital features a designated
bone marrow transplantation unit and a surgical unit with specially
trained staff who strive to meet the unique needs of cancer patients and
their loved ones. USC Norris Cancer Hospital is affiliated with the USC
Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center ââ one of the original nine
comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer
Institute. More information is available at www.uscnorriscancerhospital.org.
About MedAssets
MedAssets (NASDAQ: MDAS) partners with healthcare providers to improve
their financial strength by implementing revenue cycle, spend and
clinical resource management solutions that help capture revenue,
control cost, improve margins and cash flow, increase regulatory
compliance, and optimize operational efficiency. More than 180 health
systems, 4,000 hospitals and 90,000 non-acute healthcare providers rely
on MedAssets. The company currently manages $45 billion in supply spend
and touches more than $316 billion in total patient revenue annually
through its revenue cycle solutions. For more information, call
1.888.883.6332, e-mail solutions@medassets.com
or visit http://www.medassets.com.
MDAS/B

MedAssets
Media Contact:
Robin Wrinn, 678-624-7420
rwrinn@medassets.com
or
Investor
Contact:
Robert Borchert, 678-248-8194
rborchert@medassets.com
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