Wk 4 Assignment Part 1 & 2
Running head: GROUP CASE STUDY PART 2 1
WEEK 4 ASSIGNMENT GROUP CASE STUDY PART 2 3
Group Case Study – Part 2
Arly G. Hernandez
Health Leadership and Systems Thinking
Walden University
Dr. Kenneth Feldman
March 22, 2020
Group Case Study – Part 2
Summary
The skills or the trait that was utilized by the primary leaders of the HWC and the Assured Payment (debt collectors firm) involved cheating the patients and stealing from them indirectly with the knowledge that such actions will not be discovered. The HWC firm was to embed the debt collectors as the intake receptionists in the reception area so that they can take part in the processing of the admission paperwork and helping in the institution of the upfront fee collection of $ 250 for the acute health services at the 24-hour acute care clinic. According to the instructions provided by the Assured Payment firm, the two debt collectors in the clinic were not to disclose any association with the debt collection agency. The debt collectors acted as the representative of each 24-hour acute clinic in the HWC (Morrow, Robert, & Maben, 2014).
This was a desperate strategy to ensure that that HWC recoups payment as the number of their unpaid debts. The CFO is having the primary responsibility of ensuring that there is an effective process of managing the finance of the organization through planning, management of the financial risks, keeping of the financial records, and giving reports on the finance. Therefore, poor performance in its financial status in the 24-hour acute clinic was a mistake of the CFO since he failed to perform the management of the potential risks and to create possible solutions towards such anticipated risks. Therefore, rather than pursuing the correct and ethical route towards the creation of the effective measures as a remedy, he chose the shortcut route that did not only harm the organization but also harmed the patients who are the key customers to the profit-making in this organization (Murray, n.d).
The CEO of the HWC also falls to the tricks of his CFO due to the desperation to make everything to be on the right track. It is evident that many healthcare facilities are struggling under the glut of unpaid bills and many of them are reaching out to the firms that are specialized in the collection of the medical bills. Other strategies used by the firm are the hiring of the outside collection agencies to pursue patients upon being discharged from the hospitals. Nevertheless, the financial pressures faced by the hospitals cause an alteration to the collection landscape, and therefore, they are left with the approach of allowing the debt collectors in the front door just like in the case of the HWC firm. Such a move scares patients away from the facilities and this was a bad choice to be accepted by the CEO of this firm (Murray, n.d).
There are effective approaches that can be adopted to prevent the organization from taking part in such an act. It was important for the Assured Payment to allow identify themselves as the debt collectors when they were dealing with the patients through using their two debt collectors. The act of engaging in the management of the front-line staffing such as the registration of the patients, scheduling, and back-office collection is unethical and not a good move that should be adopted by the healthcare facility. The CFO needs to ensure that there is continuous verification of the items not covered by the insurance. Medical billing is always a complicated process and it is always accompanied by several mistakes. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the doctor billed the insurance company for the appropriate services and follow-up with the insurance firm to figure out the reason the bill was never paid. It is also important to take the approach of dealing with the medical debt collections and to confirm with the collection agency whether there is a correct report of the debt on the credit report (Murray, n.d).
References
Morrow, E., Robert, G., & Maben, J. (2014). Exploring the nature and impact of leadership on the local implementation of the productive ward releasing time to care. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 28 (2), 154-176. Murray, A. (n.d). Leadership Styles. Retrieved March 20, 2020, from The Wall Street Journal Guide to Management: http://guides.wsj.com/management/developing-a-leadership-style/how-to-develop-a-leadership-style/?mod=WSJBlog