Janus - AI in the Revenue Cycle with Tammie Jackson, Chief Revenue Officer at Janus Health

[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Hey everybody, welcome back to the Outcomes Rocket. I'm so excited to have you all back.

[00:00:10] [SPEAKER_00]: You know today, I've got the privilege of hosting a healthcare veteran and somebody that you are gonna be very excited to hear from.

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Her name is Tammie Jackson. She's the Chief Revenue Officer at Janus Health.

[00:00:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Tammie has over 20 years of healthcare

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_00]: She has a lot of expertise as a Chief Revenue Officer.

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_00]: She drives growth and sales for the company focused on leveraging AI and automation to change the way revenue teams across the country work.

[00:00:39] [SPEAKER_00]: We all know this is needed and her background at various roles in leadership from TransUnion Healthcare to Conifer Health VBC.

[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_00]: She's the right person in the job. Tammie, thanks for joining us today. Such a pleasure to have you.

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, thank you. I'm so glad to be here. Nice to talk to you.

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Always such a pleasure. And look, I'm glad we're finally getting to talk.

[00:01:00] [SPEAKER_00]: We were a little back and forth there for a while and I was excited about this to be honest with you.

[00:01:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh good. Likewise. I'm excited. Excited also.

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Love it. So look before we jump into Janus, talk to us a little bit about you. What inspires your work in healthcare?

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, you know, I think like many healthcare executives in the revenue cycle space

[00:01:21] [SPEAKER_01]: I kind of landed here much by default and not necessarily by design.

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Obviously with almost 25 years now in this space, I'm just incredibly passionate about the contributions that we can make to kind of the greater triple aim

[00:01:37] [SPEAKER_01]: which is, you know, to reduce costs, improve outcomes and improve access.

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_01]: And so I think revenue cycle has a real opportunity to do that, to contribute in a meaningful way.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_01]: And so the work that I've done, which over the course of my career, which may be integrating data into, you know, EHR systems,

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_01]: helping to effectuate value based care strategies and the work I do now around automation.

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_01]: I am very passionate about how can we contribute to reducing the cost of care as citizens?

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_01]: I think we all should care about that. I think that's our responsibility.

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Totally agree. The sustainability is a big piece having come from the Edge of May meeting and Jordan's message was,

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_00]: how do we make this more sustainable? And you're spot on with that. We all need this.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_00]: So help us understand Janus Health. What does the company do? How are you making that sustainability happen?

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so Janus Health, you know, we're still a fairly young company. We've been in business, you know, less than five years.

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_01]: And we specialize in innovative AI and automation solutions, essentially to enhance revenue cycle management for hospitals across the country.

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_01]: So we focus on addressing and solving for some of the more ubiquitous challenges that are faced by revenue cycle leaders.

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_01]: And then we have some really sophisticated tools to help identify other opportunities.

[00:03:02] [SPEAKER_01]: And so some of our more off the shelf solutions might be, you know, automating prior authorizations or claim status, streamlining portal navigations.

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_01]: But we also, you know, are harnessing AI for the purpose of understanding workforce management, process refinement and even denial analytics.

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_01]: And really by optimizing these processes and then boosting the efficiency, the end result is empowering hospitals to maximize their revenue potential.

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_01]: And then that ultimately enables them to spend their important people resources, expensive people resources more wisely.

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_01]: And then reinvest some of the money and patient care and their communities.

[00:03:46] [SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, overall, I see that as a meaningful contribution to the greater health care ecosystem, if you will.

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a big contribution.

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_00]: And it sounds like you guys are touching the revenue cycle, you know, at the front in the middle and downstream.

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_00]: So the platform does quite a bit.

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, it does.

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that really, I think that sets us apart to a large extent.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_01]: I think that we have a comprehensive approach to the overall revenue cycle.

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_01]: We are focused solely on revenue cycle, whereas some of the other solutions there might tap into other areas.

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_01]: And it's that combination of the front end and the back end automations that are paired with unique operational intelligence solutions.

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_01]: I think it's that holistic approach that provides deeper insights, greater control over revenue cycle workflows.

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_01]: And that leads to improve operational efficiency and better financial outcomes.

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, totally.

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_00]: And we need it.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a big problem.

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Denials are a big thing.

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Prior authorizations.

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it's a mess.

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, no.

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think back, it's interesting, you know, over 25 years and I'll, you know, me and colleagues and so forth will oftentimes reflect, you know, we're solving the

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_01]: same problems and oftentimes, you know, our metrics are not there.

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_01]: We're still shooting for the kind of the same KPIs.

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_01]: And now granted, some of the levers have changed relative to how we're compensated for things and such, but in certainly the cost of labor.

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_01]: But at the end of the day, it's still a puzzle that we need to solve for.

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_00]: And so you've highlighted a couple things that differentiate you specifically the comprehensive approach and the rev cycle specific approach.

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Anything else you want to highlight there?

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_01]: I think that one of our, what I think is one of our most powerful solutions and it's still, you know, it's still an evolving solution.

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_01]: It's growing again.

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_01]: We've been in business about five years is our operational intelligence.

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_01]: And that really is a game changer in terms of helping healthcare providers understand how time's being spent and really what are the most fruitful activities that people are

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_01]: participating in and then where are there opportunities for either training or automations or changing of SOPs?

[00:06:12] [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I think it's that level of automated and digital analysis that is customarily done by consultants and people, expensive people resources.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_01]: I think that can really help to put a general understanding of the industry on steroids.

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_00]: No, you know, and I really like that cross section of the market that you just mentioned because we could take a look at a lot of these problems that are being solved by those

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_00]: consultants.

[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_00]: But now there's solutions that could take care of them at a fraction of the cost.

[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's where you guys come in, right?

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, that is.

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_01]: And that's not I don't want to disparage my many, you know, my many good, you know, consultant friends.

[00:06:52] [SPEAKER_01]: There's absolutely a place for all of us.

[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Of course, of course.

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_00]: But hey, there's opportunities here.

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_00]: So look, I really appreciate you highlighting that definitely a key differentiator when you think about the things that are making the biggest difference.

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_00]: The technology, the platforms.

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER_00]: What are you finding is is the biggest?

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Aha.

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_00]: The biggest value you guys are delivering to clients today out of all the things that you do.

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_01]: I think it's pretty much the same answer here.

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_01]: I think that it's the combination of what we provide both front end and back end solutions.

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_01]: And there's certain things that you can kind of plug in in short order to help start realizing value more quickly.

[00:07:34] [SPEAKER_01]: And then it is that overall operational insights that begin to provide for longer term return.

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Love it.

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no, I love it.

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_00]: It's worth indexing on that.

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_00]: So appreciate that.

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_00]: And you know, technology trends, the hype cycle of AI.

[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Is it really making a difference now?

[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_01]: My short answer is yes.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_01]: But that doesn't mean that's not without a whole lot of just challenges.

[00:08:03] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think what I've learned over this last year now is that the work is not easy.

[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_01]: And so we are working to productize, and this is a we, a general we, right?

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_01]: We're working to productize automations to make them more, more easily deployable and to make them more cost effective for providers and so forth.

[00:08:25] [SPEAKER_01]: So there's a lot of that.

[00:08:26] [SPEAKER_01]: I think when I think about our own experience, you know, some of the early learnings that we had as a company, an early company was really we were trying to make sure we satisfied every need.

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_01]: And so I don't think that's unique to Janice.

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't think that we experienced or are experiencing anything that other startups haven't.

[00:08:47] [SPEAKER_01]: But we we were trying to cater to every need and that resulted in a wide range of solutions that weren't necessarily scalable.

[00:08:56] [SPEAKER_01]: And so that approach, you know, it stretched our resources.

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_01]: It diverted some of our focus from driving innovations that could really solve problems in a meaningful way on a broader scale.

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_01]: And so, yeah, I agree with you.

[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_01]: I think the hype is something that we're all trying to wrangle with and wrangle in to make sure that what we're when we talk to each other that we're using a common language that we're talking about

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER_01]: really what it's going to take to implement some of these solutions and how do we make them formidable?

[00:09:30] [SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, a lot of the early automations that are out there, it's, you know, they're brittle.

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_01]: And so how do we begin to fortify those so that they are long lasting and don't require as much maintenance?

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_01]: You know, there's a lot that goes into it.

[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Totally.

[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, and I appreciate your honest response here, Tammy.

[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_00]: You've been around the block several times.

[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, I find the leaders that are most realistic, they see the promise, but also highlight the challenges are the ones that have the most credibility and make the biggest advancements.

[00:10:01] [SPEAKER_00]: So I really appreciate your response there.

[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, thank you.

[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, of course.

[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Now look, I've had a phenomenal time chatting with you.

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_00]: This is the part of podcast where we leave our listeners with a closing thought.

[00:10:14] [SPEAKER_00]: So what do you want to leave them with?

[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_01]: I might try to maybe dovetail off of what I had just talked about.

[00:10:22] [SPEAKER_01]: And when we talk about the hype in this space, I think what I would want to leave people with is that there is no, it's interesting.

[00:10:30] [SPEAKER_01]: There's no playbook right now for where we're at.

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER_01]: And when I mean where we're at, I'm talking about leveraging automation and AI and even the providers that have made significant progress, they're all doing it differently.

[00:10:43] [SPEAKER_01]: And so with that in mind, I would just leave you all like challenging everybody to just embrace innovation and explore new opportunities or approaches to revenue cycle management.

[00:10:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Like we have to jump in.

[00:10:58] [SPEAKER_01]: You're going to have to jump in and traditionally revenue cycles aren't necessarily the place that you look to for trendsetters and, you know, cutting edge kind of processes and so forth.

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_01]: But I think that's the opportunity here.

[00:11:10] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that's exciting.

[00:11:13] [SPEAKER_01]: By leveraging technology and data insights, we can really unlock some new opportunities for growth and transformation, particularly in finance.

[00:11:22] [SPEAKER_01]: And so I think it enhances our operational efficiency and financial performance and then positions revenue cycle leaders as trailblazers in driving positive change for their organizations.

[00:11:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Well said.

[00:11:34] [SPEAKER_00]: And it is the time to think boldly.

[00:11:36] [SPEAKER_00]: The problems are big and the way we solve them is with Tammy's way forward is think boldly and take a look at some of these solutions that typically weren't answers.

[00:11:48] [SPEAKER_00]: But now we need new ways to get there.

[00:11:50] [SPEAKER_00]: So Tammy, I can't thank you enough for spending time with us today.

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER_00]: If the listeners want to know more about Janice Health, about you, where can they reach out?

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_01]: You can stay connected with us and updated on our latest developments at www.janice-ai.com.

[00:12:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Follow us on LinkedIn at Janice Health, and then you can find me on LinkedIn as well.

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Tammy T-A-M-M-I-E Jackson.

[00:12:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Lovely.

[00:12:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much, Tammy.

[00:12:20] [SPEAKER_00]: This has been such a great discussion.

[00:12:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I thank you for joining us.

[00:12:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, thank you.

[00:12:25] [SPEAKER_01]: I've enjoyed our conversation.

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Appreciate the time to just share some of my thoughts and insights.

[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Always a pleasure, Tammy.

[00:12:32] [SPEAKER_00]: And folks, remember in the show notes of today's podcast, you'll find our short notes, a summary of what we discussed with Tammy Jackson, Chief Revenue Officer of Janice Health, as well as the links to get in touch with her and the company.

[00:12:48] [SPEAKER_00]: So make sure you do that because the problems aren't fixing themselves.

[00:12:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Take advantage of the opportunity to connect with her and her team to make it happen faster.

[00:12:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you all for tuning in and we'll catch you next time.