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Fire department switches ambulance billing to Digitech after customer-service problems with prior vendor
Summary
The council authorized a contract with Digitech Computer LLC for ambulance-billing services after the fire department reported escalating errors and poor customer service from its prior billing vendor.
The Common Council on Aug. 19 approved the Franklin Fire Department’s request to contract with Digitech Computer LLC for ambulance-billing services, citing improved customer service, data analytics and an in-house software platform that staff said will give the city greater control over billing and patient communications.
Fire Department officials told council members that their previous billing vendor — originally Andre’s Medical Billing, later acquired by EMS Management Consultants (EMSMC) — produced increasing billing errors, long processing times and a rise in citizen complaints after the acquisition. The fire chief said the department had allowed a year for the successor company to improve but did not see the needed customer-service recovery.
Assistant Chief Antoine told the council the department had vetted Digitech for roughly three to four months and praised its in-house software, its analytics capability and a customer-service model that includes a dedicated team for Franklin. “Their ways to manage data is astronomical,” Antoine said, adding that Digitech can produce heat maps and disaggregated call data that will aid planning and service analysis. The chief emphasized that revenues from ambulance billing are used to offset the cost of providing paramedic-level EMS to the community rather than to generate profit.
Council members asked how the new data and dashboards could assist in station planning and staffing. Antoine said the analytics will begin to accumulate after the city’s data are transferred and that Digitech teams will work with the department to tailor dashboards and reports.
Council action: the council adopted the resolution authorizing the Fire Department to execute the agreement with Digitech Computer LLC; the motion passed by voice vote.
Ending note: Fire Department leaders said the new contract should improve responsiveness to patient billing questions, noting Digitech’s customer-service approach includes phone-based support and a Franklin-specific team expected to respond promptly to department inquiries.
