The needs of healthcare providers have been shifting more to front-end services in recent years, and in part to respond to those needs Josh Best was promoted to VP of Client Services 18 months ago. Celebrating 14 years with Hollis Cobb, Josh has been working to develop front end services, new client contacts and customized workflows in the company’s Patient Access Department.
“Over the past five to six years, we have really engaged front end services due to client demand,” Josh explained, noting that front end service lines such as pre-authorization, pre-registration, benefits verification, and scheduling as well as customer service, price estimation and credit balance resolution have really taken off. Insurance follow-up and denials resolution continue to be in great demand, and Hollis Cobb continues to provide superior early out and bad debt collections services as well.
Josh started with Hollis Cobb in 2008 as a legal collector and moved into the position of Early Out Collection Manager in 2012. During his years as a manager, Josh gained insight into the operations side of the healthcare revenue cycle industry and began to build relationships with key clients. In 2016, he was promoted to Director of Operations in the Earlyout Department and then to Vice President of Client Services in 2019.
Josh brings an operational perspective to client relationships which has helped him in his management of the Patient Access business lines. Approximately half of Hollis Cobb’s 650+ employees now fall under Josh’s direction as he strives to help the company stay ahead of the competition in the healthcare revenue cycle world. He works to research current service offerings, proactively analyze client needs and develop new services the company can offer to help providers streamline and strengthen their revenue cycles.
Goals for Josh over the next few years include creating greater efficiencies for our clients and using automation more effectively wherever it makes sense. “We are partnering with other vendors,” he said, “and working with our internal IT team to minimize manual touches and use technology to improve processes.” Improving the patient experience is key, and Hollis Cobb provides supplemental staff to clients which positively impacts their wait times for patients as well as their call abandonment rates.
In the Patient Access arena, Josh explained, “Many of our clients have decentralized pre-cert processes, and we help them streamline their workflows and centralize those processes. We work to create a standardized workflow for our clients ensuring that all representatives are held to the same standard.” Josh added that “we fill in gaps in the workflow and determine where the bottlenecks are which helps our clients improve their days out in pre-certification.”
“The best part of my job is working closely with our clients and with the revenue cycle decision-makers, suggesting changes that will help the client improve internally,” Josh explained. “Ninety percent or more of our patient access leadership is homegrown,” Josh noted, adding that “we identify and nurture talent, mentor them, develop new leaders and promote from within.” He said, adding that “we will continue on a path of providing great service to our clients and expanding what we do for them with the goal of being the go-to business partner for anything in revenue cycle, front end to back end.”
