Case Study: ValleyCare Health System achieves 90% reduction in undeliverable patient mail with Experian Health Identity Verification (Experian)

Accurate patient demographics positively impact revenue cycle

ValleyCare Health System, a 200-bed not-for-profit medical center in Northern California, was facing about 1,500 pieces of undeliverable patient mail per month, leading to time-consuming five-step manual processing, outside skip-tracing fees, delayed collections and higher bad debt. Errors were driven by data-entry mistakes, low verification priority in ED/Urgent Care and intentional false information from some patients.

In 2008 ValleyCare implemented Experian Health Identity Verification at pre-registration and check-in, using scripted, non-confrontational prompts to validate and correct demographics; staff searches grew from 272 to nearly 10,000 in under six months. Returned mail fell by 90% to roughly 150 pieces per month, addresses met USPS standards, fraud and labor costs dropped, collections sped up, and the organization plans to expand use of the solution.

ValleyCare Health System

Cindy Rudow

Director, Patient Financial Services