Healthcare & Best Practices
Improving the Health of the Organization Increases Productivity, Reduces Errors
CLIENT
Aurora Healthcare
Wisconsin, United States
www.aurorahealthcare.org
INDUSTRY
Healthcare
Improving Health and Health-Outcomes Through Knowledge
Aurora Health Care is a not-for-profit Wisconsin health care provider and home to Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center. Aurora was created around a single idea: There is a better way to provide health care. Aurora has net revenue of over $3.7 billion and has sites in more than 90 communities throughout eastern Wisconsin, including 13 hospitals, more than 140 clinics and over 80 community pharmacies. More than 3,400 physicians are affiliated with Aurora Health Care, including more than 900 who make up Aurora Medical Group and the 250 physicians of Aurora Advanced Healthcare.
Aurora Health Care is committed to improving the quality of health care and health outcomes through the rapid and broad application of knowledge. They are also engaged in the education of health care professionals and the ongoing quest for new knowledge through medical research to contribute to the quality of health care in the future.
Thorough Review of Process Leads to Solutions
Business Strategy has provided Procure-to-Pay audits for Aurora since 1996. The procure-to-pay audit focuses on contract compliance and accounts payable processes using Business Strategy’s Four Way Match™ approach. This equates to a thorough review of the application of terms, conditions and pricing specified in the contract as applied to the purchase order, receiving document, and invoice. Business Strategy has continued to provide comprehensive review, assistance, resolution and recommendations. Due to implementation of proposed solutions, there has been significant decline in errors and overpayments in each year of our multiyear partnership, thereby resulting in annual declines in related recoveries.
Process Improvements Increase Productivity, Reduce Errors
Aurora Health Care is focused on identifying and implementing accounts payable process improvements. They needed assistance to identify overpayments, duplicate payments, and opportunities in the returns process. The client understood the impact of process improvements upon productivity and internal controls. The client used Business Strategy’s recommendations to make system enhancements to identify and prevent duplicate payments.
Already Healthy Organization Becomes Even Healthier
In a recent contract, Business Strategy, Inc. was tasked by Aurora Health Care to examine the paid invoices and related procedures for a one year period; during this review, the following areas were identified and subsequently enhanced through implementation of BSI’s best practices approach.
- Complete and comprehensive process audit uncovered errors and their root causes; detailed reports presented recommendations for process change and elimination of root causes of recurring errors.• Controls were tightened on the returns policy and returns to vendors were reconciled and investigated to mitigate losses.
- Vendor Returns, Volume Rebates, and Duplicate Payments were key areas of recovery, Business Strategy, Inc. provided recommendations of best practices to reduce errors in these areas.
- The recovery represented 0.03% of total payable transactions within the audit period, which is well below the audit industry average of 0.1%.
Business Strategy presented a comprehensive report of findings detailing observations and recommendations for each area of improvement.
Bottom Line, Results
Business Strategy returned $500K to Aurora’s bottom line as result of the 1-year audit. The scope of our examination encompassed the start of the procurement process through invoice processing and disbursement of funds. Transactions tested in our scope included expenses, product and supply purchases, and capital expenditures.
To download this SuccessStory, click here: Healthcare & Best Practices, download