Palmetto Health expands revenue cycle with Cerner platform

Columbia, S.C.-based Palmetto Health has called on health IT giant Cerner to expand the health system's Millennium Revenue Cycle technology across four of its acute care facilities.

The rollout will include integration with the health system's EHR.

Cerner's revenue cycle management platform is designed to integrate clinical and financial workflows to achieve a single patient record and take advantage of clinical automation. The goal is to help reduce revenue cycle functions, which have in the past been done manually, Cerner executives say. Included with the platform are Cerner Transaction Services and Cerner Acute Case Management.

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The technology gives Palmetto Health clinicians and staff access to patient information when they need it without logging in and out of systems, and system integration helps users to consistently perform the right activities at the right time, which can result in avoiding denials.

"Cerner delivers the foundational elements we need to achieve an integrated, enterprise-wide Millennium environment to help us work toward better patient experiences, team member experiences and financial results," Benjamin Cunningham, system vice president of finance at Palmetto Health, said in a statement.

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Jeff Hurst, senior vice president, Cerner Revenue Cycle Management and president of Cerner RevWorks noted that Cerner's Clinically Driven Revenue Cycle is designed to enable clinicians and staff to update the billing process throughout the patient's visit and streamline clinical documentation to help improve reimbursement and limit claims errors.

Patients will benefit, Hurst added, by having direct access to their clinical results and a streamlined experience across facilities, including visibility into their financial liability, all from a single source.

Twitter: @Bernie_HITN