The Next Generation of Revenue Cycle Management: Ten Questions with HealthCell

Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) is key to the success of any medical practice and for some practices, outsourcing RCM to a billing company is a good strategy. We've written here about the danger signs of picking the wrong billing company to handle RCM, so we thought it would be interesting to interview a company that takes a different approach to billing. We found HealthCell and interviewed Executive Vice President Brendan Flanigan. (Full Disclosure: Manage My Practice receives no compensation for writing about HealthCell or any other companies we find interesting.)

Mary Pat: Brendan, why is your company called HealthCell and what do you do?

Brendan: We improve the financial performance for medical practices and hospitals through tailored next generation billing and related RCM services.

One of our founders was a practicing physician who saw an opportunity to tailor service teams to individual client needs vs. the mass service approach. “Cell” by definition describes the unique needs of each client we tailor our services for.

Mary Pat: Your website says you are "Next Generation Medical Billing Services for the Independent Practice Community." What do you mean by Next Generation?

Brendan: Medical billing is a complex business, but let’s face it, anyone can do it with enough time. Next Generation refers to the new approach we are taking and the innovative technology behind it.

Our approach to the revenue cycle is analytics driven – we map out every process and piece of information in addition to harnessing the power of “big data” to dive deep and see clear pictures and predict outcomes to improve the financial performance for our clients. For example, we monitor Key Performance Indicators and map out the client’s reimbursement cycle. We can use that information to answer strategy related questions such as coding levels as it relates to peers, or determine processes that can be eliminated and the impact on the overall financial outcome.

While our approach is unique, we have to also credit our success to the 100+ and growing HealthCell employees. We do not outsource any of our client work – nothing. Everyone has a 4-year college degree and career path within HealthCell.

Mary Pat: You serve the solo and small provider market which has some very specific challenges - what are they?

Brendan: Put simply – complexity. ICD-10, Meaningful Use, payer reform, competition, compliance…the list goes on. Complexity is the #1 driver for increasing cost and like any small business, controlling cost while managing the core business focus (patient care) is a balance struggle. When there is pressure on profits, you are forced to become more efficient. HealthCell’s top priority is reimbursement. Working collaboratively with small practice clients we alleviate financial pressure by decreasing fixed cost and optimizing reimbursement patterns to accelerate their financial performance.

Mary Pat: I liked that you told me that you function as part of the practice staff as opposed to the typical billing company. What is the difference and how do you make it happen?

Brendan: We believe a fundamental pillar of any practice is flexibility. Flexibility gives the small practice a competitive advantage over their larger competition or against regulation changes. “All or nothing” solutions scare me because practices lose more flexibility than they realize. We deliver flexibility by working on our client's software system of choice. We simply login to their software remotely or in the case of a cloud system the client creates a login for our team – very simple.

Mary Pat: Your fees seem to be a little below the market range. How can you undercut the competition in pricing, while seemingly offering more services?

Brendan: We feel our fees are competitive however our “next generation” approach to processes in the revenue cycle give us a competitive cost advantage. We map out every process, we uncover hidden reimbursement obstacles and work aggressively to provide awesome results. We don’t just think we’re productive, we know we’re productive. We are data and process geeks!

Mary Pat: You told me you have great client service and support, how do you make the model work from a staffing perspective?

Brendan: The best feature of our business model is the simplification of working with us. It could be seasonal, full-time, or just on a support basis such as A/R cleanup. We identify the client needs and determine a service level plan to accomplish the client goals. Our service level plans are directly related to time. We’re like contracted help except everyone is an employee of HealthCell, has the right qualifications and experience, and works towards a common goal.

Mary Pat: How many different billing software systems does your staff know and actively work with?

Brendan: Over 20 different systems – everything from mainstream platforms to homegrown specialty specific systems. In fact, we have an entire department dedicated to learning and mapping out guides for every system we work with. Our own internal “cliff notes” so to speak.

Mary Pat: You say HealthCell is proactive in this video on your website - what does that mean?

Brendan: We consider ourselves Performance Managers. Our business is complex but we have a simple mission – improve financial performance for our clients. Going through the process is simply not enough to accomplish this so our analytics approach supports our proactive management style for improving our clients financial performance…everything from monitoring industry Key Performance Indicators to variations in payer reimbursement metrics. We have regular communication with our clients but we also establish regular performance meetings.

Mary Pat: You also have Enterprise Solutions - what are they?

Brendan: Similar to our physician practice solutions, we have the ability to collaborate with larger multi-specialty organizations and hospitals. The growth in this area as consolidation accelerates is amazing but challenges follow…especially when that growth includes working on several different platforms and the need to consolidate certain business functions. Sometimes it’s just impossible to consolidate business functions effectively and that's where HealthCell comes in. For example, we can consolidate benefit verifications and authorizations across the enterprise into one business function completed by HealthCell. We work as an extension to their business office and support a scalable resource model in other areas of the revenue cycle.

Mary Pat: Who is your biggest competition?

Brendan: I’d say “all or nothing” software and service companies that offer PM/EHR and billing services as one bundled solution/fee. We’d like HealthCell to be known as the “Pro-Flexibility” solution. Flexibility and control is an essential part of running a practice and almost always a distinct advantage for any small business. Our “Pro-Flexibility” business model means that our clients aren’t locked in, we work on their system of choice on the service terms they need, so we have to prove our value to them every day.

Brendan Flanigan is the Executive Vice President for HealthCell and oversees the growth of the company and the quality delivery of the services provided to clients. He can be contacted via email at brendanf@healthcell.com or by phone at 1-877-472-1320.

Photo Credit: cuellar via Compfightcc

Mary Pat Whaley is a Physician Advocate and Consultant who blogs at Manage My Practice; her LinkedIn Group by the same name is for those interested in healthcare management. You can contact Mary Pat at
marypat@managemypractice.com.