Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct a misspelled name.
Mercy Hospital Springfield was awarded honors for billing ethics and maternity care last week from three different national publications.
U.S. News and World Report and Newsweek ranked Springfield’s Mercy among hospitals whose maternity care is considered “high performing” and among America’s best, respectively.
Money, in partnership with nonprofit watchdog The Leapfrog Group, recognized Mercy’s clear and helpful billing practices that help patients understand the payment process and provide answers and routes to look for financial help.
“When you're seeking care at Mercy, you can be confident that you are receiving high quality, safe care,” said David Argueta, the president of Mercy Hospital Springfield. “The awards are byproducts of, day in day out, doing the right thing, focusing on the patient, the patient being the center of the cure that’s delivered.”
Mercy ranked among the top hospitals in U.S. to deliver a baby
The maternity care recognition from both publications used similar criteria to deem Mercy among the best hospitals in the nation to help deliver babies and its related procedures.
The Newsweek list, which was compiled in collaboration with data firm Statista, included Mercy among 350 hospitals — in a country with over 2,700 facilities offering maternity services, according to a press release. It divided all of the awardees into two performance categories: five-ribbon and four-ribbon, with Mercy receiving the latter.
Both publications honored Springfield’s main hospital, specifically.
The methodology for selecting award recipients took into consideration a number of factors, including C-section rates, episiotomy rates, tracking the birthing outcomes of different races and ethnicities and patient satisfaction, among other aspects.
“We’re honored to receive national recognition for the high caliber safety and quality of obstetrical care given here,” said Dr. Julie Gibbons, a Mercy OB/GYN in a press release. “We know the compassionate way we deliver that care means so much to our patients and is core to who we are as a mother/baby team.”
Hospitals can’t make paying medical bills fun, but they can make it easier
Mercy's addition to the list of “The Best Hospitals and Surgery Centers for Billing Ethics” was a nod not only to the clarity of their billing process, but the precision of their medical practice. On the list, they received a “B” safety grade.
The billing ethics recognition applies to all Mercy facilities in the region, according to Argueta.
High marks for preventing medical errors and harm to patients were necessary to even qualify for the list. Additionally, the list sought to find how hospitals help patients find and apply for financial assistance, provide clear descriptions of billed services and present the information in the patients’ primary language.
“It's already enough that you've gone through a procedure or had a health emergency or needed health care in some form or fashion than to follow up and get a bill that maybe you don't understand, it can be concerning and can be frightening,” Argueta said.
“It really speaks to a lot of intentional effort that's been made to help patients easily understand their bills and if they do have questions, to get them answers to get them the information they need, so that they feel confident in what the bill says that they're paying for the care that they received.”
Sterling Coker, Mercy’s chief revenue cycle officer attributed the award, in part, to a change Mercy made to their billing practices in 2017. Previously, they used to send individuals bills for each type of service they received, which resulted in confusion for patients. Now, hospital charges are consolidated into one bill, while still itemizing all of the services so patients can understand everything that they're paying for.
Even with the recognition, Coker acknowledged that misunderstanding and miscommunication was still bound to happen, and encouraged patients to reach out so they could work to fix any issues.
“Payments can cross in the mail or insurance payments can be a bit delayed,” he said in the release. “When that happens, we work quickly to resolve the issue…don’t ignore a medical bill, we’re here to help.”
Recent awards for Springfield hospitals not only good for patients, but community
Mercy’s recognition comes shortly after Springfield’s CoxHealth facilities were themselves distinguished, but for nursing care, for which they were awarded Magnet status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Argueta recognized the recent collection of awards from Springfield’s two largest hospitals was crucial to the growth of the community, and an important factor for prospective residents.
“I think it's a huge factor when people are seeking a place to live or they're moving or whatever the case may be,” he said. “ So to have great health care, high-quality health care is vital. It's vital to growing business, growing your population. I think it affects every part of the way that our region continues to grow for us.”
