How Does HDS assist Hospital Based Dialysis Programs?

Healthcare Design Specialists (HDS) is an international renal care management consulting service company offering the renal industry extensive knowledge and expertise.   HDS does not own dialysis facilities, and is therefore an objective consulting resource for hospital-based dialysis programs.   Let HDS position you, the hospital-based dialysis facility as a cost effective, long term viable, quality dialysis provider in your market.   HDS specializes in providing the tools and resources necessary for the hospital-based providers to achieve these goals.

Revenue identification
One of the most common challenges seen in HDS' hospital-based consulting activities is that hospitals don't have a good understanding of the REAL net revenues generated from their outpatient dialysis operations.   Only when expected net revenues are finally identified and understood can an accurate contribution margin analysis be completed.   Once there is a clear picture of true contribution margin, short and long term planning can occur.   Expected net revenue per treatment and costs per treatment need to be calculated on the treatments provided in each month.   HDS brings an expected net revenue calculation tool that is based upon years of research and development to accomplish this goal.  

Billing and revenue management and compliance  
With every hospital-based program client, we have been able to improve the revenue side of the business.   Our reimbursement specialist has over 20 years of dialysis and nephrology-billing expertise.   HDS can assist you through an overview of your billing process and help you identify and maximize expected net revenues, while insuring that your claims contain the necessary support documentation.   We provide an audit of a sample of claims in order to identify inefficiencies and assist in defining processes that will ensure accurate and timely claims processing.    We also have extensive experience in contract negotiations based on fee-for-service and capitated (case rate) contracts.

Billing Support Service
The HDS Dialysis/Nephrology Billing Department can provide you a variety of services including:

• Licensing the use of a dialysis specific posting software to be used internally to assist the dialysis unit and the hospital billing office in maximizing net revenues and insuring Medicare compliance.
• Do you have a formal billing policy and procedure manual, and a billing compliance manual?   HDS can cost effectively tailor our templates for you.
• Ongoing support from national experts in dialysis reimbursement.

Cost per Treatment Management
Each year, HDS gathers and develops a database of the cost reports from all dialysis facilities in the county.   This allow us to analyze and utilize industry averages for variables such as labor and supply cost per treatment, hours per treatment, staff mix, average hourly rate, average number of dialyzer reuses, average costs per treatment for overhead components, and other indicators.   HDS can compare your facility to national, state and local facilities to help you establish reasonable goals for cost effective delivery of dialysis services.

Dialysis program overview
We can compare the financial performance of your program to that of the national, state, regional or local dialysis community and help the hospital determine true contribution as a basis for a planning process.  

Facility or Satellite Startup Services
Our dialysis facility financial pro-forma will provide you a detailed feasibility of a potential new facility as well as the impact of operational changes within your existing dialysis program, i.e. change in staffing patterns, adding additional stations versus increasing number of shifts.

Business valuation
What is the true value of your program in today's dollars, compared to what a large dialysis company may offer you?     HDS is experienced in the valuation of dialysis programs and providing insight into the appropriate valuation methodology based on a local market factors.

Seminars
On October 2, 2003, Ross and Hardies and Healthcare Design Specialists   presented their second annual seminar targeted to hospital based dialysis providers:   "Hospital Based Dialysis Conference:   Surviving in a Complex Environment" .   A goal of the seminar was to provide hospital-based providers the opportunity to come together, network, and share the challenges that they face in the day-to-day operation of their programs.   Watch our website for upcoming seminar events.

We welcome any inquiries, and offer a free telephone consultation. If you desire a conference call or proposal tailored to your individual needs, please call 1-800-800-3642, e-mail us at feigal@hdsinfo.com .   We are happy to share a comprehensive list of hospital-based references.

We look forward to the opportunity of supporting your program as we have with many other hospital-based providers.