The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded a three-year, $72 million contract to Harris Corp. to support the expansion of the VA's Consolidated Patient Account Center across the country.
The work, which applies technology and methodology, is aimed at improving billing and collection across sixteen of the VA's networks and 108 associated medical centers.
The contract contains one base-year with two one-year options.
The expansion of the Consolidated Patient Account Center (CPAC) is creating regional patient account centers that operate under centralized control and reflect industry best practices. One of the main goals, VA officials say, is to enhance billing and collection from third parties, a complex process that can involve many different healthcare and insurance providers.
The pilot Mid-Atlantic CPAC (MACPAC) project, based in Asheville, N.C., was implemented on schedule and within budget in 2006 by a two-member team led by Patriot Technologies. The MACPAC has since achieved an 18-percent increase in collections – a new benchmark for revenue operations throughout the VA.
Harris acquired Patriot Technologies in November 2009, expanding its position as a leading provider of integrated, interoperable healthcare information technology solutions for the federal government market, according to Harris executives.
"This contract reflects the successful blending of Patriot's longtime technical experience supporting the VA's unique requirements with the information security technology and systems integration expertise of Harris," said Jim Traficant, vice president of Harris Healthcare Solutions. "The CPAC business model will bring significant cost-saving efficiencies to the VA's Veterans Health Administration, and will ultimately enhance patient care."
