Navigating the medical billing process can be complex, but Regional West employee Misty Durfee is here to help.

Durfee has over a decade of accounts and billing experience under her belt. She first started in accounts receivable and worked her way up to a billing manager position. Since joining Regional West last December, Durfee has been the point person for billing concerns and questions.

When Durfee receives an email or call regarding a billing question, she reviews the patient’s account in Cerner, Regional West’s electronic medical record system, and works to determine the root of the issue. After researching to see if something needs to be clarified or updated, she reaches out to the patient with an update and often provides education on the ‘why’ behind billing processes that the patient has a question about.

“I walk patients through insurance requirements, regulations that we must follow, and provider documentation and coding. These are all things that most people understandably don’t have much knowledge about,” she said.

Each week, Durfee and other Regional West employees from Revenue Cycle, Patient Access, and Health Information Management departments meet with the hospital’s revenue cycle partners to identify common billing concerns. Issues are tracked on a log and plans are made to help resolve the concerns.

Since starting these meetings earlier this year, the team has focused on items such as a bill’s explanation of benefits (EOB) and where the patient’s insurance information is located in Cerner. Requests have been made to help fix issues in the system, and Durfee hopes to see reduced billing questions and improved patient satisfaction in the near future.

“Keeping the patient concern log has helped us do root cause analysis to see what can be improved, whether there needs to be fixes to the system, or identifying areas that may cause issues,” she said. “We use this information to drill down and get these issues corrected so we can eventually see the number of billing concerns drop.”

Durfee said she enjoys lending a listening ear to patients as she helps them with their questions.

“Even if patients have a concern or complaint, they’re all very nice. I listen to them, hear what they’re saying, and let them know I understand their frustrations,” she said. “I’m glad to be able to address their concerns and provide resolutions.”

If you receive a bill and have questions, Durfee can be reached at 308-630-3900. For more information about Regional West’s billing information, visit About Your Bill.