Recently, several executives, physician leaders, and Revenue Cycle team members gathered at the John P. McGovern Campus to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Texas Children’s Physician Service Organization (TCPSO). The TCPSO manages payor contracting and revenue cycle functions of our physician group.
“The TCPSO is the core body that represents our physicians, and having that within Texas Children’s allows us as hospital leaders to partner with our physician leaders,” said Executive Vice President Dan DiPrisco, who served as one of the first directors of the TCPSO until 2014.
For the past 60 years, Texas Children’s Hospital has had an affiliation with Baylor College of Medicine, serving as the primary pediatric training site for Baylor’s physicians. Prior to 2009, Texas Children’s funded the physician group, while Baylor provided the governance, including billing and contracting.
As Texas Children’s began to expand rapidly, developing strategies for sustainable long-term growth was critical. Subsequently, Texas Children’s and Baylor developed an operating agreement to create an employment structure for physicians and allow contracting and revenue cycle operations to function under the Texas Children’s umbrella.
“When it comes to learning all the ins and outs of how to sustain the TCPSO structurally as an organization, it was important to define roles and create a productive team of leaders, which we will continue to refine and expand over the years,” DiPrisco said.
On July 1, 2009, 145 Baylor employees in the revenue cycle and contracting area transitioned from Baylor to employment at Texas Children’s, forming the TCPSO. Ten years later, 54 were present for the festive anniversary celebration, which included cake and a commemorative pin for the “original” TCPSO staff.
“There was a strategic vision 10 years ago, and it’s hard to imagine the growth of Texas Children’s without the TCPSO,” said Pathologist-in-Chief Dr. Jim Versalovic. “As we look ahead to the next 10 years, we know that we have learned many lessons, and we have certainly demonstrated that the TCPSO can be a very effective platform for the growth, management, and connecting the clinical practice with the business.”
Versalovic was among the first physician leaders to transition to Texas Children’s when the TCPSO was formed, and he served as a TCPSO board member. He has been a part of the organization’s evolution over the past 10 years, and emphasized that the TCPSO has established itself as a core entity of Texas Children’s and, through strategic planning, has significantly advanced during that time.
In the TCPSO’s first decade, its growth has mirrored that of the hospital. Within the first year, professional billing was managed for 655 physicians, comprising 32 pediatric and adult specialties. Within 10 years, the number of physicians has grown to more than 1,800 billable providers and 45 specialties. Net patient revenue had grown 151 percent to $282 million annually in 2019. And August 2019 alone was the organization’s highest cash collections month ever, at just over $26 million.
As Texas Children’s expands into further markets and continues to provide high quality care to patients and their families around the globe, the TCPSO will be right there as well, providing the revenue cycle support and collections.
“The level of collaboration between the TCPSO and the Baylor physicians on payor contracting and revenue cycle functions has never been stronger,” said Richelle Fleischer, President of the TCPSO and Senior Vice President of Revenue Cycle. “Everyone is excited about what we will accomplish together over the next 10 years!”