In this first installment of a new series of customer interviews, Dr. Dapo Afolabi from the Fort Worth Renal Group in Fort Worth, TX, shares his experience with Acumen RCM and advice for other practices who may be considering the service.
Q: Tell us about Fort Worth Renal Group and about yourself
Fort Worth Renal Group was established in August 2016 by Dr. Geethanjali Ramamurthy, Dr. Samatha Chandupatla, and myself. Our mission is to provide the highest level of comprehensive and compassionate kidney care in the communities we serve.
We have grown from 3 providers to 9 and are currently looking to add up to 2 more providers in 2020. We currently have 21 employees supporting our services, including 2 AST-certified transplant nephrologists, in one main office and 6 satellite locations. Our services include a vascular access center as well as a home therapies program in Decatur.
We are affiliated with 10 hospitals, 8 long-term acute care facilities and 24 dialysis units. Our practice treats many kidney-related conditions such as acute and chronic kidney diseases, glomerulonephritis, hypertension, nephrolithiasis and renal cystic diseases, electrolyte and fluid imbalance, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, and kidney transplant patient care.
As far as my background goes, after receiving my medical degree in Nigeria, I went on to complete my residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Nephrology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI, where I was Chief Renal Fellow and voted Senior Resident of the Year.
Before transitioning to Internal Medicine/Nephrology, I had briefly practiced sports medicine. I am now board-certified in Interventional Nephrology.
Q: What prompted your practice to consider Acumen RCM?
We saw Acumen 2.0 powered by Epic as a great technology platform to prepare our practice for the future of nephrology. We had previously outsourced our billing and it was not a rewarding experience. We needed a revenue cycle management solution that would help us optimize our financial performance while complementing our operations.
After speaking with a practice administrator who had a very positive experience with Acumen 2.0, I requested a demo. My partners and I were impressed with how complete the platform was from an interoperability standpoint. The automated data sharing with CareEverywhere, as well as the integration of our practice with the hospital and the dialysis unit, help streamline care coordination. As most of our local hospital systems utilize Epic, it made sense for us to do the transition.
Additionally, Acumen is a data-centric organization, and we were impressed with their insight into our practice’s analytics. It was apparent to us that the Acumen RCM team had an extensive knowledge and understanding of the practice of nephrology.
Q: How do you assess Acumen RCM? How is it going since their go-live in February?
Excellent. My experience from implementation to go-live to post go-live has been good. The few hiccups we experienced are due to some internal challenges, including timely delivery of items needed for a smooth transition such as lockbox setup and access to hospital and payor portals. We also had some staff turnover. However, the Acumen team came back and trained all of our new staff and helped get them up to speed to minimize disruption in cash flow.
What is apparent is that Acumen cares not only about our billing system and collections, but about our overall success as well. We view Acumen as a partner in our progress. We are already tracking better with Acumen RCM than we did with our previous billing service.
Q: What would be your advice for others looking at A2.0 and RCM?
I truly believe that Acumen 2.0 powered by Epic is a complete solution for practices who are interested in a proven and high-performing EHR system. Acumen’s RCM team with experienced support staff and subject matter experts truly complement the practice team. My main advice would be to ensure your staff and providers complete their trainings in the modules and the website, and that the lockbox and portals are all set up in a timely way. If possible, visit the Revenue Center in Plano, TX, and meet the dynamic team working on the RCM service.
Dr. Dapo Afolabi is a Co-founding partner, President and CEO of Fort Worth Renal Group. After his college education at the University of Ife, Nigeria, Dr. Afolabi completed his residency in Internal Medicine and Fellowship in Nephrology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. He was voted Senior Resident of the Year and was Chief Renal Fellow during his training at Henry Ford Hospital. Dr. Afolabi is board certified in Internal Medicine and Nephrology. He is also a certified Interventional Nephrologist with over 10 years of experience.
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