Matthew Adams, PMP

Director of Patient Accounts / Government Accounts Manager

December 2009 to May 2012

Managed personnel for all follow-up and research of outstanding accounts receivable from Government payers, as defined by the company operations department, (Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross) nation-wide, including all actions required to ensure prompt and complete payment from the payer/insured, such as all reporting , contacts with patients and representatives of the insurers, training certification, and proper handling of claims to ensure timely payment. Led this department to a reduction in overdue accounts receivable of more than 50% in three years by prioritizing accounts, training employees to perform their work more efficiently, and changing or creating Standard Operating Procedures to ensure all work was performed to standards set by the company and insurers. Created the first formal work instructions for the use of on-line resources for accounts management and research. Determined proper workloads per representative by reviewing the degree of difficulty of the work assigned to each employee, and by deciding the relative efficiency and skill set of employees, based on their experience and longevity with the company. Re-set work assignments in accordance with the necessary workload and criteria noted above. Trained and certified department personnel to meet Medicare Fraud, Waste, and Abuse prevention standards. Developed position specific training for employees, including review of job requirements, oral and written testing of skills, compilation of testing materials, and training records-keeping. Wrote procedures and training manual for follow up representatives, outlining the expected process the employees were expected to follow in their work, and the training milestones they were expected to complete prior to being accepted as fully trained representatives. Created databases and measurements using Microsoft Excel and Word to track compliance and success, as well as to point to areas of needed improvement.

Assigned department employees to print and mail daily patient invoices, as well as the preparation and mailing of client invoices. Used Microsoft Office programs (Word and Excel) to create documents, procedures, training manuals, databases, charts, and graphs for use in daily and long-term work. Coordinated administrative work of and for employees, including vacation scheduling, payroll issues, letters to customers and patients, training and training records, and discipline. Enforced compliance with Federal regulations concerning patient privacy, specifically the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as well as compliance with the Federal Trade Commission requirements for data security and identity theft prevention (commonly referred to as the RED FLAG RULE). Reviewed and approved all account submissions from collections representatives at Anesthesia Management Partners prior to releasing these accounts to collections agencies.

Director of Patient Accounts

October 2007 to December 2009

Directed customer service / inbound call department, using daily contacts and review of employee work, as well as application of existing procedures and training standards. Tasked by senior management with additional responsibility and assigned additional staff and assets for follow up and collections of account receivables for several major healthcare (insurance) payers as well as individual private patient accounts receivable. Created the company’s first comprehensive procedural manual for working patient balance accounts receivable, by standardizing the acceptable methods and processes to be used by the employees in their daily work. Simplified work procedures where possible, removing unnecessary steps and work, and adding steps where necessary to ensure compliance with legal requirements and best business practices. Set priorities with the Information Technology department for patient balance-related sub-systems within the company’s new computer system, defining for the computer programmers the specific tasks and capabilities of the new system were required in order for my employees to complete their work, and the order in which the capabilities should be brought on-line. Directed the company’s elimination of almost $25 million in overdue patient balances between October 2007 and December 2009 by tasking employees with specific accounts for review, creating a list of steps to be taken by employees during account reviews, and by reviewing and approving the submission of accounts to collections agencies where in-house collections efforts had failed. Reviewed and updated the process for handling of patient balances by comparing previous procedures and their results with the published procedures of world class organizations, and using personal experience and skills. Created measurements of employee efficiency and effectiveness, using Microsoft Word and reports created by the company's internal computer operating system, to ensure success and allow for corrective action. Conducted training in areas of expertise such as telephone etiquette, communications, business mathematics, problem and conflict resolution, business and email writing, and other topics. Arranged for trainers from other parts of the company for areas of needed growth within the department for which no trainer was available within the department.

Commercial and Individual Collections Manager

December 2005 to October 2007

Created Government and Commercial groups with dedicated personnel shortly after arriving at Anesthesia Management Partners, to allow sufficient specialization of employees to effectively complete work that was significantly different for each type of payer. Managed and prioritized the efforts of 13 collections representatives specializing in collections for private and commercial insurance sources, using daily contacts and review of employee work, as well as application of existing procedures and training standards. Enhanced overall department efficiencies to capture revenue and provide exceptional client services, by reviewing daily processes, and eliminating re-work and non value-added work. Restructured department to improve collections effectiveness by assigning specific responsibilities to specific personnel. Created the customer service department as a subset of the Commercial group, by realizing the need for such a group to handle customer inbound communications, creating a project proposal, gaining owner approval and budgetary authority, and planning and implementing the physical moves required to place personnel in the role. Led the effort to recruit, train, and equip a brand new inbound phone center, as part of the implementation mentioned previously. Planned, trained and managed customer service team in cross-functional efforts, in order to ensure all members of the customer service team could handle inbound calls, outbound calls, and administrative work within the department, even if those items were not their specific primary tasks, which increased customer satisfaction, decreased dropped calls, and helped reduce employee turnover by increasing employee job satisfaction. Changed the inbound telephone call mechanics so that customer service would take all inbound client contact, thus eliminating a redundant phase in the collection cycle by preventing calls from being routed haphazardly, as had previously been the system, reducing dropped calls, and increasing first contact successes in patient collections. Won the "Best New Idea" award at the 10th Annual Anesthesia Billing, Coding, and Compliance conference in Baltimore, MD, June, 2006. Reduced department employee turnover by 60-70% in the first 12 months by active listening and removal of roadblocks to employee performance, and by increased training and mentoring and coaching employees to work to their best potential, saving over $25,000 in recruiting and re-training costs.

Quote Process Manager / Customer Service Manager

October 1999 to August 2005

Provided and managed $300,000+ in monthly quotes for national client base of Richco, Incorporated, a molded and extruded plastics manufacturer, as Quote Process Manager. Managed all client quoting projects, contract negotiations and quote project management using the revised quoting system noted below, and through daily contacts, project management planning, meetings, blueprint reviews, and tooling reviews. Revitalized entire quoting process through the application of project management techniques and the involvement of all effected departments in the company, in order to obtain quicker flow through of proposals, requests, blueprints, and quoting materials. Decreased turnaround time by 50%, using the new process, by reducing re-work and excessive hold times, ensuring complete customer requirements at the beginning of the planning process, and building a database of successful actions which could be copied and modified as needed for future projects, thus exceeding corporate sales goals for quote timeliness for national accounts. Chaired interdepartmental management team for quotations creation process, which entailed meeting planning, action item follow up, department head buy-in, and brainstorming and project implementation for the new quoting system, including computerization and purchased support. Championed research initiative of 1000+ product lines / 28,000 SKUs for optimized corporate pricing structure.

Supported all product lines and account management by leading the team responsible for inbound customer contacts, including primary research and problem resolution as well as escalation of issues and questions which required higher decision making authority or more in-depth knowledge of technical issues. Restructured Customer Service Center into geographic territories in order to create a "follow the sun" effect for our customers across the country, ensuring complete coverage during normal business hours in any part of North America, regardless of time zone changes. Enhanced client relationships by providing timely service and account management through the geographic structuring of the department. Spearheaded the process in achieving International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 certification for the Customer Service departments. Re-wrote and updated key Standard Operating Procedures and employee manuals whenever necessary in order to maintain currency of the information contained within these documents. Decreased outstanding accounts receivable credits to customers by 80%, using a unique logging system that improved response times for customers who were returning excess or defective products, which prevented rejected returns and lower shipping and handling costs. Submitted yearly budget proposals and administered monthly budget reconciliation and reporting for the department.

Commodities Buyer and Inside Sales Manager

Managed purchasing process for $3 million in annual purchases in support of a machine tool manufacturing company. Submitted Requests for Proposals to vendors, asking for availability and pricing for raw materials and manufactured parts to be used in the company's manufacturing processes. Vetted manufacturers of purchased parts to ensure their ability to meet quality and quantity needs. Set up the first Kanban visual replenishment system in the company, which was designed to provide a visual reminder when parts or raw materials needed to be purchased, in order to prevent materials shortfalls and manufacturing bottlenecks. Negotiated pricing with selected manufacturers and vendors, using electronic media, teleconferences, and face-to-face contacts. Reviewed contracts with vendors to ensure compliance and best business practices. Saved approximately $75,000 in one year as a commodities buyer (purchasing) through competitive bidding and consolidation of suppliers.

Led a 13-person inside sales department, managing daily operations of inside sales employees, conducting training, problem resolution, hiring, and discipline. Identified outstanding debts and reduced receivables by 30%, using increased prioritization of follow-up on past due accounts, as well as streamlined communication of problem accounts to the sales department for their follow-up as well. Worked as an internal auditor for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9000 certification. Improved overall operational efficiencies for Customer Service by 40%, through a combination of better training, standardization of processes and procedures, and elimination of wasteful or obsolete taskings, while reducing overtime by 23% per year, during periods of 20% higher order volume. Identified unresearched customer chargebacks and reduced overdue receivables by 30% by allocation of additional support and improved inter-departmental communication. Maintained annual and monthly budget reporting, including monthly spending and cost reviews, and future spending authorization and justification.

Customer Service Manager

Oversaw entire corporate customer account base, acting as primary internal point of contact for customers and company staff for customer related issues and questions. Solved problems and managed issues, ensuring prompt and effective resolutions as well as building corporate alliances. Increased annual revenue by $200,000 by identifying and implementing cost-savings strategies and collections procedures, including negotiating with customers to reduce extra mileage driven by company trucks, and ensuring that all proper costs within the contracts were, in fact, charged to the customers, which had not always been the case previously. Saved customers over $140,000 per year by tracking and evaluating customer spending patterns and exploiting all possible economies.