Officials with Fishersville, Va.-based Augusta Health said the organization experienced a billing delay after a vendor change resulted in some patient accounts being "sidetracked," according to a News Leader report.
"I'm not sure how many got caught up in the process," said Augusta Health CFO Bob Riley told the News Leader. "We try to be careful about that for insurance reasons."
Mr. Riley told the publication a glitch occurred in billing that caused previously unbilled patients to receive bills for services performed as far back as 2015. He added that while the billing process for services is usually quick, the unbilled patients were not found until the end of 2015, according to the report.
According to Augusta Health officials, the root of the billing problem was the moving of data files for services rendered between vendors, the News Leader reports.
"Things like this happen all the time in hospitals," Kathleen Heatwole, vice president of planning, marketing and communications, told the publication. "We are always trying to change our process to be more efficient."
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