Nicklaus Children's Hospital, formerly Miami Children's Hospital, went live with Cerner's patient accounting solution, which was one of the last steps in the hospital's journey in completing a clinically driven revenue cycle. Nicklaus Children's recently achieved HIMSS stage 6.

With a clinically driven revenue cycle, Nicklaus Children's now connects clinical and financial data across the hospital and has begun to realize specific benefits of a completely integrated system.

"This is the most successful installation I have ever seen," said Edward Martinez, senior vice president and chief information officer, Nicklaus Children's. "Cerner's Patient Accounting solution was the final step in achieving a clinically driven revenue cycle for Nicklaus Children's." 

Nicklaus Children's has seen measurable benefits since completing the implementation in July, 2014. The team was able to submit claims within five days of the go-live. The hospital saw an immediate improvement in its clean claim rate and identified a three percent increase in cash collections during the six months after go-live, compared to the same six month period of the prior year.

Nicklaus Children's also reported the highest cash collection ever in October, 2014, just three short months post-implementation. Having a completely integrated clinical and financial solution has contributed to the hospital's increased visibility of unbilled charges, allowing it to better manage claims throughout the claim processes.

"We are thrilled with Nicklaus Children's results," said Scott Martin, vice president of Revenue Cycle, Cerner. "Cerner's implementation expertise along with Nicklaus Children's experience and commitment in the adoption of the new workflows and processes resulted in an amazing transition. This implementation showcases the positive outcomes that can be a result of a single platform across clinical and financial functions."

Cerner Patient Accounting provides the foundation for financial management and enables a health care organization to integrate clinical data with the appropriate financial information to manage patient accounting across the continuum of care. It pulls supporting clinical  data onto each claim, which can enable the submission of cleaner claims and help create a faster billing and reimbursement cycle.