Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1990 [PAGE 375]

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1991]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

363

coverage during night and weekend shifts in the Neonatal Intensive Care and Intermediate Care Nurseries and the Normal Newborn Nursery. This coverage will augment the current faculty and house staff coverage for these areas. T h e contract physicians will have responsibility for providing patient care in the nurseries during their assigned shifts to include physical assessment, diagnosis, initiation of treatment, admission, and discharge. In part, the new Residency Review Committee Guidelines for Residency Programs restricting the number of hours that a house officer can spend in the hospital oncall necessitate hiring additional staff. In addition, these physicians are senior staff and will ensure the provision of experienced and highly qualified professionals 24 hours a day including weekends. T h e number of present staff and residents is inadequate for around-the-clock coverage. T h e contract physicians based on their professional qualifications have applied for and received both faculty appointments and clinical privileges in accordance with the Hospital Medical Staff Bylaws. T h e hospital will continue to bill and collect for services rendered in the nurseries as it now does. T h e total amount of this contract is estimated at $190,000. l Liability for these contract physicians will be covered under the University's self-insurance plan. Funds for this contract are available from the Hospital Income Fund for Fiscal Year 1992 and will be included in the operating budget of the University Hospital in the future. T h e contract is subject to the availability of funds each fiscal period. T h e vice president for business and finance concurs. I recommend approval.

On motion of Mrs. Gravenhorst, this recommendation was approved by the following vote: Aye, Dr. Bacon, Mr. Boyle, Mrs. Calder, Mr. Grabowski, Mrs. Gravenhorst, Mr. Lamont, Ms. Reese, Mrs. Shepherd, Mr. Wolff; no, none; absent, Governor Edgar. (The student advisory vote was: Aye, Ms. Caporusso, Mr. Mitchell; no, none.)

Contract, Telecomputer System, University of Illinois Hospital, Chicago

(19) T h e chancellor at Chicago has recommended renewal of a contract with Telecomputer Systems, Inc. (TCS), for a computer-telecollections system for the Hospital Patient Accounts Department. This system — currently utilized by several Chicago area hospitals including Lutheran General, Humana-Michael Reese, and the Evangelical Health Systems — is designed to improve collection productivity by client contact through automated telephone dialing of delinquent small balance accounts 2 and provide collection performance reports for the hospital. TCS provides the site for the hardware and software, as well as the staff for the system. T h e hardware is owned by the hospital. This system has improved collections and decreased operating expenses by greatly increasing the number of telephone contacts per day by collectors, and have improved cash flow by quickly identifying and referring bad debt accounts to collection agencies. T h e use of the system also provides additional documentation that the hospital has made a good-faith effort to collect unpaid bills. Such documentation is essential for the hospital to receive credit under the provisions of the Illinois State Collection Act and to be reimbursed for the unpaid patient share of costs under the Medicare program. Under the contract, the hospital will pay TCS $2.75 per account regardless of collections for maintenance of the systems and the staff to operate it. T h e contract is for the period September 16, 1991, through June 30, 1992.

1 These physicians will be paid on a percent basis of full-time equivalent appointments. Rates will be determined on the basis of qualifications. 2 These accounts are delinquent by 45 days or more and of amounts under $1,000.