Austin Radiological Association
Tidel Smart Safe Provides Peace of Mind to Austin Radiological Assoc.
The increase in the self-pay consumer has boosted cash payments at healthcare service providers.
Business Objectives
That change came when ARA brought in a new patient estimation system (PES) and interfaced it with its scheduling software. The PES processes patient benefits, charges and payments, pinpointing items such as deductibles, health insurance coverage, co-payments, and old balances. It also identifies any new charges that patients might have when they visit a clinic. With this new system, patients know what their out-of-pocket costs are for the visit and what other charges they owe, which they can pay for at the front desk during their visit. While the PES streamlined bill estimation activities, it increased cash collections, increasing the challenges with ARA’s existing cash management system. ARA decided it needed to make a change and assembled a management team to spearhead the selection process. They invited Brink’s to review their current system and make recommendations. Brink’s evaluated ARA’s entire operation before recommending its CompuSafe Service, which includes a Smart Safe, deposit processing and consolidation, web-based reporting, and accelerated credit.
Challenges
- Increased self-pay consumers due to higher copays and deductibles.
- Significant rise in cash payments at healthcare providers.
Solutions
- ARA’s CompuSafe solution is centered around the Tidel S3 Smart Safe
- The Tidel S3 Smart Safe offers a simple way to securely and automatically deposit cash at the pointofsale
- It features a 7inch color console, easy menu navigation, and a single note validator connected to a cassette that can hold up to 1,200 notes
- The Tidel S3 Smart Safe provides full visibility into all system transactions from one centralized location due to its network connectivity
Results
Peace of Mind
The Series 3 Smart Safes provide ARA employees with a secure place to store deposits, eliminating the need for them to transport cash and reducing employee risk.
Enhanced Security
With the Series 3 Smart Safes, ARA has improved protection against counterfeit notes, reduced cash discrepancies, and ensured real-time reporting with the bank for daily deposit credits.
Operational Efficiency
ARA has streamlined cash handling, saving time and costs associated with counting cash and maintaining company vehicles, while reallocating labor to more productive tasks.
Background
Each ARA outpatient imaging center had a cash box that employees used to make change and store payments until closing. The cash was then stored in a safe until it was picked up by ARA’s accounting department courier once a week, collecting the deposits from all the centers in a single run. At the end of the run, the courier was in possession of a significant amount of cash.
“Each site had a detailed closing process it executed to balance the money daily, which could take upwards of 20-30 minutes for completion,” says Leslie Ockman, ARA's Controller. “The money would be recounted by the accounting courier to ensure the cash picked up aligned with the cash receipt from the clinic. Any discrepancies would need to be brought to resolution.”
After the courier returned to the business office, the cash was stored in an ARA drop safe. ARA would consolidate the money, balance the deposits, and transfer the cash to the bank to be deposited. The cash often stayed in the safe for several days before being deposited, and could be delayed even more during busy seasons, increasing the volume of cash in hand.
“Utilizing our accounting employees to drive to 17 locations was not a productive use of their time,” says Ockman. “In addition, we had to manage the expenses associated with maintaining a vehicle for the collection runs.”
The Challenge
While ARA's cash management system was adequate, employee risk while transporting the cash was a primary concern for the company.
“Employee safety was always a major concern for us,” said Ockman. “Our employees were exposed to risk in transporting the money throughout the process. Occasionally patients were in view of the cash at the clinic as it was being transferred to the courier. Our employees were also at risk in transporting the cash from clinic to clinic. We knew we needed to make a change to minimize our risks.”
"The new cash management system is a welcome change and will be an integral component of our clinics as we continue to expand”
The Solution
Due to the higher influx of cash, healthcare organizations have found themselves facing the same cash issues as other retail organizations—how to manage it efficiently and effectively. That’s the business challenge Austin Radiological Association (ARA) recently faced with the way it handled its cash pay patients. The Brink’s CompuSafe ServiceÒ, powered by Tidel’s Series 3 solution, helped ARA transform its cash management system into a powerful corporate asset that’s optimizing cashflow—thanks in large part to the CompuSafeÒ program’s ability to drive cash management efficiencies between ARA’s point of sale system and its bank.
Customer Benefits
Simplification
- Provide a secure location for employees to store the imaging center's deposits
- This will improve employee safety and reduce public access to cash
Optimization
- ARA has enhanced protection against counterfeit notes
Excellence
- The safes are integrated with realtime reporting capabilities with the bank
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