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Huron implemented several solutions with Riverside University Medical Center, including labor, non-labor, clinical operations, human resources, physician, revenue cycle and CDI. The strategic approach to organizational improvement and efficiencies resulted in a $24 million increase in annual cash collections and a $83 million annual recurring benefit.

Challenge

Riverside University Medical Center provides healthcare services to a growing and diverse population across a large geographic area. These factors, along with a regional provider shortage and impending changes from healthcare reform, placed financial strain on the organization, while a recent accreditation with the University of California Riverside School of Medicine presented an opportunity to explore affiliation models.

Approach

Riverside engaged Huron to implement its solutions across the organization in areas including labor, non-labor, clinical operations, human resources, physician, revenue cycle and CDI. The engagement generated over $83 million in annual-recurring benefits, significantly reduced FTEs without involuntary layoffs and increased cash collections by $24 million annually.

Revenue cycle: Huron worked closely with Riverside staff and managers to standardize workflows and enact clear performance expectations across the organization’s revenue cycle. Huron’s revenue cycle tools provided actionable metrics that support ongoing accountability and productivity.

Non-labor: By renegotiating technical service support contracts and reimplementing a 340B program, Huron’s non-labor solutions delivered sustainable improvements in non-labor costs. Huron also worked with Riverside to consolidate vendors and achieve consistency in purchased services, supporting additional improvements in cost and reliability.

Labor: Huron trained executives, managers and supervisors to drive productivity and implemented department-specific productivity standards and staffing plans that reduce overtime and the use of temporary staff. A new position control process ensured that hiring is on an as-needed basis. These and other improvements led to a reduction of 350 FTEs, without involuntary layoffs.

Patient access: Steps to improve access and reduce length of stay included a top-to-bottom redesign of the case management process that convenes social workers, case managers, nurses and physicians to identify patient needs and appropriate steps. Additionally, the solution teams collaborated to address patient access, referral management and patient flow — driving increased revenue and ultimately enabling Riverside to provide the necessary services to the community.

Strategy: By strategically assessing opportunities and designing Riverside’s future state academic affiliation model, Huron helped position the organization as integrated into the academic affiliations of three local medical schools. This helps with residency recruiting, physician recruiting and service to the disadvantaged in the community.

Riverside University Medical Center is an award-winning 4390-bed, $450 million NPR facility equipped to provide the latest in healthcare through the 21st century and beyond.