How to Achieve Cost Reduction Through Real-Time Visibility Into Telecommunication Data

This article was written by Jacqueline Oberst.

Telecommunication sustainability is the key to managing costs.

Operational sustainability of cost reduction through real-time visibility into telecommunication data will result in high performing management of line item costs, services, inventory and effective contract management.

In order to achieve maximum optimization and contain charges, your hospital must have a systematic plan for monthly data extraction and analysis prior to paying monthly invoices. In many cases, vendor invoices are unclear, cryptic or so voluminous that a thorough investigation is not possible.

‘’We make your bills vague and confusing for the privacy of your account.” Tellennium.com.

As a result, organizations are overspending on average 30%-55% on telecommunication.

In a time when reimbursements are decreasing and overall healthcare costs are increasing, careful management of telecom costs can offer a significant solution for margin improvement.

At VIE Healthcare Consulting we use a three-step process of Invoice ROI™ – Reconciliation, Optimization and Intelligence – to analyze your invoices and gain a true picture into your telecom costs.

Reconciliation: Look beyond the invoice – what aren’t you seeing?

Reconciliation is the first step towards effective telecom management and cost reduction. It is here where the data is brought down to its smallest form for analysis. This line item detail is the key to useful reconciliation. The data identified in this process serves as the backbone for vendors to create monthly invoices.

The true story behind a vendor telecom invoice is only discovered through a systematic investigation of the data.

Vendors provide an organization’s telecommunication data via the Customer Service Report (CSR), which contains the information needed to prepare data for analysis. Vendors use codes (USOC) to identify each product, service and surcharge for billing.

Telecom reconciliation is the process of translating the codes and charges into a report with line item details for data analysis.

Optimization: The methodology of systematically reviewing the data to improve performance and reduce costs.

Because 80% of all telecommunication invoices have errors, it is necessary to perform a thorough analysis of your raw telecom data. Analysis of the data provides guidance through all costs to help identify errors resulting from the following:

• Non-compliant contract pricing.
• Incorrect application of taxes and surcharges.
• Unused products.
• Billing services at incorrect or closed locations.
• Products and services not covered under an agreement.

Immediate identification of errors will ensure that your invoices are accurate prior to approval for payment and that all overcharges are properly credited back to your account.

Intelligence: Clarity into data for effective decision making

“Most of the world will make decisions by either guessing or using their gut.” Suhail Dashi, CEO Mixpanel.

Data is most impactful when backed by experience and our proven process has delivered major cost savings to healthcare organizations since 1999.

With our Invoice ROI™ technology, we’ve automated our process to uncover data that is used for deep analysis and enables your hospital to make informed decisions every month:

• The utilization information we uncover through Invoice ROI™ helps you determine if there is a need for plan changes, product upgrades, etc.
• The pricing data we extract helps us benchmark market standards for best-in-class results and significant cost reductions.
• Trend analysis immediately brings to light the variations associated with possible misuse of services, pricing reverting to tariff, etc.

This is the information needed to make appropriate decisions each month and to approve an invoice.

It is no longer safe for your hospital to pay an invoice just because the monthly costs do not change.

Vendor diversity is another important strategy for healthcare telecommunication management.

The intelligence provided through our Invoice ROI™ process assists telecom executives in choosing the vendors that best match the goals and needs of your organization.

VIE Healthcare has successfully executed our Invoice ROI™ technology in over 30 healthcare systems nationwide. It has been our experience that most hospitals have the opportunity to reduce their telecommunication costs by 25%-40%. Invoice ROI™ provides management of the full life cycle of telecom expenditures, resulting in significant and verifiable cost reductions.

Invoice ROI™ Case Study

“We don’t need a telecommunication review – our bills are consistent each month,” is a common statement heard in many healthcare systems.

For this specific organization, monthly invoice costs were consistent so there appeared to be no cause for concern by the hospital. However, when VIE Healthcare performed a comprehensive analysis of all services, multiple areas of savings were identified, including significant overcharges by a vendor.

Credits were issued for incorrect billing totaling $225,000 and additional annual savings of $500,000 were secured for plan optimizations, contract negotiations and pricing corrections.

A combination of reconciliation, optimization and intelligence brought savings and refunds to the hospital, which had gone unnoticed for years.

VIE Healthcare’s proprietary Invoice ROI™ program establishes us as the leader in healthcare telecommunication cost reduction. Providing visibility into the data brings cost savings and ensures long term, sustained cost reductions for your healthcare community.

For a complimentary consultation, call our office today at 1-888-484-3332, Ext 500 or email us at info@viehealthcare.com.

Join the discussion! We’d love to have you in our Healthcare Telecommunication Professionals LinkedIn group where we share more resources, ideas and strategies related to this critical area in your hospital.