Emmett Bernsohn
How a 70-Physician Orthopedic Practice Reduced AR by 60% through automated patient payment workflows.
Chatham Orthopaedics runs a 70-physician orthopedic and sports medicine practice across two Georgia locations—high volume, complex billing, and the AR pressure that comes with both. What follows is 12 months of patient payment workflow improvements.
THE CHALLENGE
Chatham Orthopaedics serves the Savannah and Pooler communities with 70 physicians across orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, and rehabilitation. The patient volume is high, and so was the AR.
With a pre-Rivia Health average of 52 days in patient AR, balances were aging before they were worked. Staff hours went to manual follow-ups that often didn’t convert. Aged accounts and small-dollar balances—the hardest to justify chasing—accumulated quietly. The practice needed a way to reach more patients, more consistently, without adding headcount or pulling staff further from patient-facing work.
THE SOLUTION
Chatham Orthopaedics implemented Rivia Health’s automated patient billing and payment platform—connected directly to their practice management system, running from first statement through payment plan setup, and reaching patients the way patients actually respond: by text and email.
Key Capabilities Deployed:
- Automated multi-channel patient communications (text, email, and digital statements)
- Self-service payment portal with flexible payment plan options
- Intelligent balance prioritization targeting aged and small-dollar accounts
- Direct integration with existing practice management and EHR systems
THE RESULTS
Over the first 12 months, Chatham Orthopaedics improved payment speed, patient engagement, and staff efficiency with Rivia Health.
Getting Paid in Half the Time
When patients hear from their provider at the right time, through the right channel, most of them pay. Average days in AR dropped from 52 to just 21—a 60% improvement—because consistent, timely outreach replaced manual follow-ups that were difficult to scale. The practice now captures patient balances in less than half the time, with more predictable cash flow.
Revenue Most Practices Write Off
Aged balances and small-dollar accounts are the hardest to work economically. Staff time costs more than the balance justifies, outreach becomes inconsistent past 90 days, and most practices quietly absorb the loss. Rivia Health recovered revenue from exactly these accounts—32.1% of all transactions involved balances past 90 days or under $9.99.
The platform delivered a 2.6X return on investment on these recoveries, turning stagnant receivables into captured revenue without any additional staff effort.
Reaching Every Patient, Without the Manual Work
Over the 12-month period, Rivia Health delivered 131,693 patient communications on behalf of Chatham Orthopaedics—payment reminders, balance notifications, payment plan offers, and digital statements—without a single manual send from the billing team.
Only 55 patients unsubscribed across the entire period: an opt-out rate of 0.04%. Patients didn’t tune it out. They engaged. Billing communications that are clear, timely, and easy to act on aren’t an annoyance—they’re a service.
Making It Easier for Patients to Pay
Leveraging Rivia Health’s native capabilities, 232 patients set up installment plans on their own—no phone call, no staff intervention required. For the practice, that’s payment capture on balances that might otherwise have stalled.
For patients, it’s a manageable path to resolution instead of a bill set aside because it can’t be paid all at once.
Staff Time Back to Focus on Care, Instead of Cash Flow
With 4,093 transactions processed through Rivia Health, the practice saved an estimated 7.5 minutes of staff time per transaction. This is time that would otherwise have gone to manual billing follow-up, payment posting coordination, and patient phone calls.
Based on these estimates, Chatham Orthopaedics saves 511 staff hours per year—time freed from repetitive billing tasks and redirected to higher-value patient care and practice operations.
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| AR Reduction | 52 → 21 days (60% faster) |
| Cost Savings | 2.6X |
| Automated Communications | 131,693 |
| Unsubscribe Rate | 0.04% (55 of 131,693) |
| Payment Plans Auto-Created | 232 |
| Aged/Small-Balance Share | 32.1% of transactions |
| Est. Staff Time Saved | 511 hours annually |
Rivia has significantly improved our patient payment process. We’ve seen faster payments and a smoother experience overall, which has been a real benefit to our practice.
— Angela Green, CPC, Director of Revenue Cycle, Chatham Orthopaedics
Rivia Health automates patient payment capture across the full care journey for specialty physician practices. Built on the belief that financial efficiency and patient experience shouldn’t be a tradeoff, Rivia Health’s platform integrates with leading EMRs, engages patients through text and email, and supports both pre- and post-service billing workflows. By delivering a shorter AR cycle, reducing staff hours spent on billing, and creating a payment process patients trust, Rivia Health ensures no balance gets left behind.
