CHARLOTTE, NC – January 4, 2010 - Preferred Medical Marketing Corporation (PMMC), announces that Indian River Medical Center (IRMC) has chosen PMMC ESTIMATOR PRO, a complete point-of-service payment solution, for expanded upfront collections and pre-registration process improvement.

Patient financial responsibility is a mounting portion of every healthcare provider’s accounts receivable, and the price tag of collecting these funds continues to escalate.  Many healthcare providers are seeking help to improve registration and collection workflow efficiency. Through the implementation of an automated patient estimation system, hospitals are better managing the cost of providing patients with upfront estimates. 

PMMC Estimator PRO presents a comprehensible, accurate patient-portion estimate for point-of-service collections.  Consideration is given to the services being provided, the expected charge (using historical billing data), and the expected reimbursement (using the hospital / payor contract terms and eligibility information) in order to calculate the most accurate estimate possible.  By approximating the patient’s payment prior to service, PMMC clients are able to increase cash collections and reduce patient bad debt.  

Indian River Medical Center initially used a manual process to generate patient estimates.  The quickly realized they needed a more robust system with work-queue processes.  Sharon Mikesell, Director of Patient Access at IRMC, explained that, “Ultimately, we (IRMC) wanted to increase our upfront collections.  We were doing the same thing (calculating patient estimates) manually, but we soon recognized that the addition of an automated system would save time and improve efficiency and allow us to more easily expand the effort from key outpatient areas to all areas of the hospital.”   

PMMC Estimator PRO is the solution to IRMC’s need for a patient estimation workflow process.  Mikesell elaborated on the decision, “Indian River Medical Center chose PMMC because it was a more efficient system than the manual work we were performing.  Also, by documenting all of the entries in the system, Estimator PRO continuously develops a history of all the services that the hospital has provided to patients.   It also helped that PMMC’s references were impeccable.” 

“PMMC is very pleased to have Indian River Medical Center as a new user.  Sharon was very diligent during their decision making. She is an industry leader in this region and will push the envelope in functionality and be an active participant in our users’ group to assure the greatest value for her organization,” said Roger Shaul, PMMC’s President. 

Indian River Medical Center, an award-winning 335-bed not-for-profit hospital, is committed to being a premium community-based healthcare organization.  IRMC has challenged itself to becoming the area’s leading provider of comprehensive health and medical services in addition to fulfilling its pledge to assess and meet the healthcare needs of individuals and the society.

PMMC is a Microsoft-certified software development and consulting company.  Since 1986, its innovative software and consultants have assisted more than 400 hospitals and 20,000 physician clients improve their financial operations through enhanced contract management, payment verification, cost accounting, financial decision support and consulting services. For more information, contact Robby Shaul, 704-543-8103