Managing your Study Budget

Wendi R. Mason, NPInterstitial Lung Disease Program Coordinator

Objectives

By the end of this discussion, participants will understand general aspects of FACTr have a brief understanding of Patient Billing understand the various areas that remove money from your

budget and why recognize that money could be erroneously removed from your

budget understand the process of invoicing a sponsor know who to contact with particular questions be introduced to some organizational tools for managing

budgets

The future of budget building is here!

Financial Accountability and Compliance Tracking for Research

also known as

FACTr- Initiated on March 1, 2010- Next training March 16, 2012, Crystal Terrace- http://vanderbilt.mzinga.com/app/servlet/goTo?

DirectLinkID=78797&Page=CourseInfo

FACTr – General Points

A web-based process that replaces the Excel version of the Patient Cost Template and Word version of the exemption request

Provides a shared source of your study billing information to CTBC, Central Reg, VMG / Pt Acct, G&C, and others

Dept of Finance is actively uploading all current studies (so you don’t have to!)

D&H Account request Pricing requests (“researchratesrus” is no more)

FACTr Website

Get your Training scheduled!

Bookmark the site!https://webapp.mis.vanderbilt.edu/factr/logout.jsp

Any time you submit a study to the IRB, understand that you will need to submit information to FACTr.

Getting Started

Getting Started

Your budget was agreed upon, the contract has been executed, the IRB has approved your study, and you are ready to enroll your first patient!

What do you need?

Getting Started

Center number from your Division – 10 digit number D&H number – request through FACTr (or contact Cara

Baughman) Register your Center and D&H into CORES.

http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/vumc.php?site=CFUIS&doc=13512

With FACTr, you do not need to set up Central Registration, but you still need to complete the Research Registration Form in StarPanel as you enroll patients.

Other research forms that include these numbers? Radiology research – ensures radiology procedures are billed to

the right place. Contact Freda McClendon to create a radiology requisition.

Patient Billing

Your patient presented for his visit.

You’ve ensured that your billing sheet shows the appropriate billing numbers across the top: either Routine Care (also called Standard of Care) or your D&H numbers.

You’ve correctly marked the back of the form with V60 or V70 codes in addition to other ICD-9s.

What happens in the patient’s billing cycle next?

Patient Billing

PSRs enter encounter form data VMG coders enter data AutoGen translates the data into MediPac for

VUMC billing Pt Accounting / Claims

Patient receives an EOB from insurer and/or VMG (professional) and/or VUMC (facility) bill.

Study Patient-specific Accounting Within a month, you (or your Division) will

begin to see bills that have generated from this patient. Facility/Procedural billing – Sue Swann

Through Campus Mail – pink sheet attached to a billing sheet

Professional billing – Jeanie Waddell Through email

CORES Notice of invoices ready for approval through email

Study Patient-specific Accounting Ensure the following is correct

Correct patient Correct study Correct procedure Correct number of times Correct date of service

Patient-specific Accounting

If you find an error, report it. Notify Sue via fax (6-0945) Notify Jeannie via email Reject a CORES invoice

Sue and Jeannie will consult Sandy Greeno regarding the issue and corrections will be made.

Rejecting a CORES invoice will get you a phone call from the department that you rejected.

Clearly identify the error and fax to Sue

Study Patient-specific Accounting Errors shouldn’t happen repetitively. If they do, find the source of the problem and

correct it there. Example: professional billing for PFTs

Study Patient-specific Accounting Monitor the specific patient’s charges that hit

your center. Create a worksheet or flowchart of what charges

should hit your D&H Consider including: routine care, reimbursements,

CRC charges, pharmacy charges, additional expenses that you need to invoice for that are particular to that patient

Study Patient-specific Accounting - Billing Flowsheet

What happens when you don’t monitor your Patient Specific Account:

Study Center Accounting Closely monitor the study center number

FinData – created monthly (DoM) E-Dog – real time*

Your Division should provide you access Learn what is supposed to be taken from this

center number. Your salary? A percentage of PI salary? Phone/pager expenses? Study-related expenses? Are there division-related taxes?

Study Center Accounting - FinData Sheets

Study Center Accounting Learn the 5-digit accounting codes

51700, 59003, 59203 – RN salary 63410 – patient facility fees (amounts should match your sheets

from Sue and/or Jeanie) 63400 – patient reimbursements/subject participation 61400 – IRB fees (should match your invoices, CORES report), 34170 – Deposits from sponsors!

Create a spreadsheet to help you monitor the debits and credits to your study center

Study Center Accounting

What happens when you don’t monitor your center number…

Invoice your Sponsor The fine print of your contract may state:

“IRB fees are pass through costs and are to be invoiced to…”

“reimbursement of unscheduled visit in the amount of $956 will be made upon receipt of invoice”

“A $1500 one time payment will be made upon IRB approval for pharmacy set up fee upon receipt of invoice.”

Who do you think is creating these invoices??

Invoice your Sponsor

Include your center number on this invoice in preferably more than

one place!

What happens when you don’t invoice the Sponsor as directed by the contract?

Renegotiating the Contract Don’t be afraid to contact the sponsor and tell

them that you need more money to : Continue the trial

There may be expenses you did not anticipate Annual increases in expenses

Enroll more subjects We need another study coordinator to help with the increased

load. Buy a needed or better machine / equipment

EKG machine Upgrade computer equipment to meet the demands of

the study Web-based CRF entry

Resources

Your Department Administrator Know this person!

Dept of Finance (prefer email) Dianne McGrath (Contracts, FACTr) 2-4549 Theresa Shalaby (research rates [through FACTr]) 2-0200 Cara Baughman (Central Registration, StarPanel forms, D&H

requests) 6-2641 Sandy Greeno (Grants, billing issues) 3-3653

Grants and Contracts Janet Fry 6-5886 Carolyn Strickland (Contracts) 6-6691

Thank you for your time and attentionwendi.mason@vanderbilt.edu

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