CUSTOMER STORY:
From Complexity to Clarity: How Interim HealthCare Transformed RCM Into a Simplified Operation
Interim HealthCare of the Upstate is a long-standing home health, hospice, and personal care provider serving communities across South Carolina. With over 46 years of experience, Interim HealthCare is known for delivering compassionate, high-quality care directly to patients in their homes.
As the organization expanded its footprint, managing the revenue cycle became increasingly complex. Staff were often navigating between multiple systems to verify eligibility, process claims, and manage patient billing – leading to delays, denials, and administrative burden.
For patients receiving home health or hospice care, clarity around financial responsibility is critical. Interim HealthCare recognized the need for a more efficient, transparent process to ensure patients received timely information about their benefits and costs without added stress during vulnerable moments.
To improve their revenue cycle management (RCM) and deliver a better financial experience for patients, Interim HealthCare turned to Inovalon’s integrated RCM software available through a partnership with its electronic health record (EHR) vendor, Homecare Homebase. The goal: Simplify operations, reduce claim denials, and empower staff with the tools and insights needed to support patients from start to finish.
Delivering Exceptional Care is in Their DNA. Managing the Revenue Cycle? Not So Much.
For nearly 50 years, Interim HealthCare of the Upstate has been a name patients trust. Their home health, hospice, and personal care services reach thousands across South Carolina – delivering compassionate, mission-driven personalized care every day.
But behind the scenes, the business of healthcare was far from easy.
Inefficient, fragmented processes slowed down the revenue cycle operations. Claims piled up, and denials were all too frequent. The team was stuck playing detective – hunting down information, instead of driving outcomes.
“RCM shouldn’t be a scavenger hunt,” said Katie Spencer, Director of Revenue Cycle. “We knew there had to be a better way.”
The Challenge: Disconnected Systems Dragging Everything Down
When Spencer joined Interim HealthCare, she quickly discovered an RCM process that was more reactive than proactive. Staff spent hours each day toggling between software, searching for answers across disconnected systems. Verifying eligibility, reconciling remittances, and tracking down claim status became a time drain that left little room for high-value work.
Even worse? The impact on patients. Payment delays and outdated processes created confusion and frustration for families already managing complex care journeys.
“We wanted our operations to reflect the same standard of excellence as our clinical care,” Spencer said. “That meant rethinking how we worked.”
The Turning Point: Taking Control of the Revenue Cycle Through the Inovalon and Homecare Homebase Partnership
With their clearinghouse contract expiring, Spencer saw an opportunity to reset. She launched a comprehensive review of RCM solutions built for home health and hospice. The goal: Find a partner who could simplify processes, eliminate redundancy, and scale alongside their growing organization.
After weighing the options, Interim HealthCare chose Inovalon’s end-to-end Revenue Cycle Management suite. The decision was easy. Inovalon delivered everything the team needed – eligibility verification, claims management, patient statements, and analytics – in one unified software system.
“Inovalon wasn’t just checking boxes,” Spencer said. “They offered a solution that connected the entire revenue cycle from start to finish.”
The Solution: From Chaos to Confidence
Interim HealthCare partnered with Inovalon to implement Eligibility Verification ProTM, Claims Management Pro TM, RCM Intelligence TM, and Patient Statement Management TM. Instead of juggling multiple systems and logins, the team finally had one place to manage their entire workflow.
What used to take hours now takes minutes. With complete visibility and automation built into every step, staff can identify issues, act fast, and work by exception, not by exhaustion.
And thanks to a proactive implementation process led by both teams, the transition was simple. “We took the time to do it right,” Spencer explained. “We involved our staff in every step and made sure they felt confident before we flipped the switch.”
The Results: Simpler Workflows, Stronger Bottom Line, and Happier Patients
The shift was quick and made a powerful impact.
Faster eligibility checks and clearer patient communications have transformed the financial experience. Through Inovalon’s integration with Homecare Homebase, Interim HealthCare can now verify commercial and Medicare Advantage eligibility directly with their EHR – eliminating the need to jump between portals or manually save records. What was once seen as “impossible to configure” is now a simple part of their workflow, thanks to Spencer’s persistence and a custom-built eligibility logic tailored to their payer mix.
With this integration in place, the team can proactively set expectations upfront, flag exceptions, and work more efficiently across thousands of verifications each month. Patients receive timely, accurate information about their financial responsibility, along with flexible payments plans, bringing peace of mind to patients and their families.
“We’re not just improving cash flow – we’re creating a better experience for our patients,” Spencer said. “They know what to expect. We’re transparent. We’ve made it easy.”
Within six months of go-live:
Claims denial rates dropped by 75%, from 12% to just 3%
Patient statement processing time decreased by 97%, from 32 hours a month to less than 1 hour
Self-pay aging fell by nearly 90%, from $600,000 to $65,000
From Overwhelmed to Running Smoothly
Today, Interim HealthCare’s revenue cycle runs with clarity and control. The team has shifted from chasing problems to proactively driving outcomes. With less time spent managing complex processes, there’s more focus on what really matters: supporting patients on their care journey.
“Inovalon gave us the power to turn a complicated process into a simple one,” Spencer said. “It’s changed the way we work and the way we serve our patients.”
Ready to Move from Complexity to Clarity?
Discover how Inovalon can help you simplify your revenue cycle, reduce claims denials, and deliver a better experience for your patients.
