nTelagent Locks in $1.7 Million in Series E Funding

Nashville, Tenn.-based nTelagent, Inc. today announced the completion of a $1.7 million round of Series E convertible preferred shares. nTelagent has developed The Retail Application for the healthcare industry, called the Self-Pay Management System (SPMS), which is revolutionizing the way providers interact with patients at the point of service regarding financial responsibilities. Similar to applications used in the retail industry at the point of sale, the company’s proprietary, automated system tells healthcare registrars and financial counselors exactly what to do and what to say to each patient. Moving workflow to the front end of the revenue cycle, nTelagent helps providers ensure a better patient experience through clearer communication and better handling of patient accounts, while improving upfront and overall cash flow, receivables and profitability by reducing bad debt.

nTelagent’s investors include Burch Investment Group, a private venture capital firm located in Nashville and formerly known as Massey Burch Investment Group. Marty Rash, former Founder, Chairman and CEO of Province Healthcare Company, was an early investor in the company. The late Chris Hannon, former CFO of Province, was also a key investor and instrumental in the development of the solution and direction of nTelagent.

“Based on a national study by nTelagent, two-thirds of all bad debt is caused by insured patients. Healthcare service providers simply are not collecting the deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance and out-of-pocket payments due from patients because many providers do not have the proper systems and processes in place at the point of service. In addition, many patients eligible for government assistance and charity care programs are not being enrolled. Because of the urgent need for healthcare providers to better manage the accounts of self-pay patients, there is a large and growing market for our Self-Pay Management System, which allows providers to take more of a ‘retail’ approach with self-pay patient financial accounts,” said Earl T. Winter, Chairman and CEO of nTelagent. “With this new round of funding, we can further expand our presence in the industry by implementing SPMS for nTelagent’s growing base of new customers and by significantly increasing awareness of our product through heightened sales and marketing activities.”

Using non-credit scoring data, SPMS provides registrars and financial counselors with interactive scripts that integrate patient demographic information with each provider’s unique business policies and rules. The system also allows for price transparency and automatically identifies discounting, social services eligibility and charity care options when applicable, ensuring that patient financial accounting — for both insured and uninsured patients — is handled appropriately and consistently.

In a recent study, the company’s analysis of 40 healthcare service providers’ aged trial balances (ATBs) showed that of total patient accounts written off as bad debt, approximately 50% of those patients had capacity to pay for services. In another 17% of accounts written off as bad debt, patients could have been eligible for government assistance or charity care programs but were not enrolled. Details are available on nTelagent’s website, www.ntelagent.com.

Founded in 2003, nTelagent has experienced rapid growth, with a customer base representing various segments of the healthcare industry, including hospitals, physician practices, specialty clinics, home healthcare, emergency room outsourcing and collections companies. nTelagent’s customers have healthcare facilities in 30 states across the country.

About nTelagent, Inc.
nTelagent, Inc. has developed The Retail Application for the healthcare industry, called the Self-Pay Management System (SPMS). Similar to applications used in the retail industry at the point of sale, the company’s proprietary, automated system tells healthcare registrars and financial counselors exactly what to do and what to say to each patient at the point of service regarding financial responsibilities. Moving workflow to the front end of the revenue cycle, nTelagent helps providers ensure a better patient experience through clearer communication and better handling of patient accounts, while improving upfront and overall cash flow, receivables and profitability by reducing bad debt. Using non-credit scoring data, SPMS provides interactive scripts that integrate patient demographic information with each provider’s business policies and rules. The system allows for price transparency and automatically identifies discounting options, social services eligibility and charity care options when applicable, ensuring that patient financial accounting — for both insured and uninsured patients — is handled appropriately and consistently. Visit www.ntelagent.com for more information.