Reference no: EM133611102
Assignment: Case- Working Capital, Materials Management, and Evaluating Financial Health
Overview
In the management of the revenue cycle in the healthcare environment, we have four clear steps: establishing effective policies and procedures, implementing/evaluating an accounting system, implementing/evaluating a medical records system, and implementing/evaluating a credit and collections system. Each of these steps are central to the success of the organization, and any weakness at just one of the steps leaves your organization critically vulnerable.
The passing of HIPAA (as a transactional standard) gives us the unique opportunity to improve revenue cycle performance. As you grow in financial managerial skills, it will help you to conceptualize the revenue cycle as a continuum, instead of a set of isolated happenings. This Module's Case will challenge you to study each of the four steps, and then explain their central nature to organizational success.
Case Assignment
After completing the required readings:
Question A. What are the four distinct steps of the revenue cycle?
Question B. How does each portion of the cycle specifically support organizational success?
Question C. How does the economic status of the patient population and the patients' ability to pay impact revenue cycle and viability of the organization?
Question D. How can revenue cycle management be improved using the five key areas noted by Dr. Nowicki (2018; see required background reading)?
Question E. Which step do you feel your organization (or most organizations) struggles with the most, and why? Be as specific as you can in your explanations.
Module SLP
In the majority of healthcare organizations, materials (including pharmaceuticals and expendable supplies) comprise the largest portion of the non-labor costs in the operating budget - thereby making it deserving of our focus and study.
Correct management and control of your inventory has a direct and significant effect on your financial operating costs, and therefore, the total net income of your organization.
The process of materials management (the control of an organization's inventory, services, and equipment from acquisition to disposition) allows for cost control and also allows the organization to operate correctly - having enough of each needed supply (medical, administrative, housekeeping, and/or clerical) on hand at the precise time it is needed. Once you've read the assigned background readings, as well as completed some peer-reviewed research of your own, please answer the following:
Question A. What are the best practices in inventory management that healthcare managers should implement and be consistent in using?
Question B. How is each of the four methods of valuing inventory used by healthcare organizations?
Question C. Choose one expendable item used in the healthcare setting, and show the value calculation for 500 of that particular item, using one of the methods of inventory valuation. Investigate a current-day cost of the expendable item to make your calculations as accurate as possible.
Question D. How do we best prepare for uncertainties in our inventory and what would a correct re-order point be for expendable medical supplies?