Featuring Lori Jeffreys & Amanda Baker, Revco Solutions
Welcome to Revco’s newly reimagined Revenue Roundtable! This Q&A spotlight series is designed to highlight the people, perspectives, and partnerships shaping today’s healthcare revenue cycle. In each installment, we sit down with experienced healthcare and revenue cycle leaders to explore real-world challenges, proven strategies, and the collaborative approaches driving measurable outcomes across the industry.
Our first Q&A Spotlight features Lori Jeffreys, a seasoned revenue cycle leader with more than 30 years of experience at Duke Health and now a consultant with Revco. Through an open conversation with our guest host, Amanda Baker, Revco’s Senior Director of Client and Support Services, Lori shares lessons learned from leading through major industry shifts, building high-impact vendor partnerships, and keeping patient experience at the center of revenue cycle operations.
Watch the full video interview here.
In future interviews, Lori will take the interviewer chair and lead discussions with fellow revenue cycle leaders to dig deep into the processes and innovations they are making to help optimize the revenue cycle for healthcare organizations, and minimize its impact on patients.
Introduction
In the first installment of Revco’s Q&A Spotlight series, we sat down with Lori Jeffreys, who joined Revco after 30 years as a Director of Revenue Cycle at Duke Health. Throughout her career, Lori has been guided by one constant: partnership. From payer and vendor relationships to frontline engagement, her experience offers powerful lessons on collaboration, trust, and shared ownership across the revenue cycle.
Lori, Can You Tell Us About Your Career and What Drew You to Revenue Cycle?
My career in healthcare revenue cycle began with the intention of becoming a nurse—until I realized that wasn’t the right fit for me. I wanted a career where what I did truly mattered, especially for patients and the people doing the work.
I started at Blue Cross and Blue Shield in 1985 as a claims processor, back when claims were manually keyed from paper forms. After about 10 years, I moved into leadership roles before joining Duke University Health System, where I spent 30 years in revenue cycle leadership.
Over that time, I led teams through massive industry shifts—from paper and microfiche to fully automated systems, and even navigating the pandemic when we had to move entire operations remote in just days. What kept me in revenue cycle was the impact behind the numbers. When you peel back the layers, it’s really about access, compassion, and making healthcare less stressful for patients.
How Did You End Up at Revco After Retirement?
Retirement didn’t look like slowing down for me. After 30 years at Duke, I thought I’d take a break and figure out what was next—but the path led me to Revco very naturally.
I had worked with Revco for years and knew the culture, integrity, and focus on relationships. It was never about transactions first; it was about relationships first. That alignment mattered to me.
Joining Revco felt like a full-circle moment—from starting at a payer, to working within a health system, to now seeing the broader picture across many organizations. It’s been incredibly rewarding.
What Makes a Vendor Relationship Truly Successful?
To me, it’s really simple—it’s about partnership. Transactions are important, but partnership is what moves the needle.
The vendors that made the biggest impact took time to understand the health system’s brand, culture, challenges, and goals. Success comes down to three things: alignment, transparency, and shared ownership.
If a vendor is only focused on their metrics, or a health system is only focused on theirs, silos form immediately. It can’t feel like “us versus them.” It has to feel like “we.”
Can You Share an Example of a Strong Vendor Partnership in Action?
When I took over EBO, bad debt, and self-pay at Duke, I didn’t initially know Revco well. I sat down with my team to understand their work, but I also reached out directly to Revco to learn the history of the partnership and the challenges they had faced.
One of the most impactful things we did was create town halls with Revco’s frontline staff. I wanted to thank them directly, engage with them, and build relationships without intermediaries. These weren’t one-time meetings—we made them ongoing.
When frontline teams feel appreciated and connected to the client’s mission, they give that energy back. They share challenges earlier, stay engaged, and take pride in the work. That’s when a partnership becomes truly powerful.
What Are Common Pitfalls in Vendor Relationships?
One of the biggest pitfalls is assumptions—assuming you understand a client’s needs based on another organization’s experience. Every health system is different, and assumptions create disconnects that grow over time.
Another issue is failing to define success upfront. A mentor once told me, “If you don’t define success from the beginning, you’ll never agree on whether you achieved it.”
And finally, silos. You can’t outsource work and then walk away. Ongoing engagement and early involvement from operational leaders are essential to avoid them.
What Advice Would You Give Vendors Looking to Build Long-Term Relationships?
Do your homework. Learn the brand, culture, pain points, and priorities. Lead with care and curiosity. Be a student of your client’s world and build trust as the foundation.
Everything we do ultimately impacts the patient. Without the patient, there is no revenue cycle.
And Last, What Should Healthcare Leaders Do to Get the Most from Vendor Partnerships?
Engage early—before and during contract discussions—and bring operational leaders to the table from the start. Avoid messaging through layers, because it changes along the way.
Stay engaged. Don’t hand off work and walk away. Maintain open communication, regular meetings, and periodic town halls. Recognition should reach the frontline, because that’s where the real work—and the magic—happens.
Why Revenue Cycle Partnerships Matter More Than Ever
As healthcare organizations continue to navigate staffing pressures, evolving payer requirements, automation, and patient financial complexity, strong revenue cycle partnerships have become essential—not optional. As Lori emphasizes throughout this Q&A, success is built on alignment, transparency, and shared ownership, with frontline engagement and patient impact always in view.
Revco’s Revenue Roundtable discussions are created to elevate these conversations, giving healthcare leaders a platform to share what’s working, what they’ve learned, and how collaboration can drive sustainable improvement across the revenue cycle. By spotlighting real experiences from health systems, vendors, and industry experts, Revco aims to foster meaningful dialogue that leads to better outcomes for organizations, staff, and patients alike.
Stay Connected to the Revenue Roundtable
The Revenue Roundtable is an ongoing conversation designed to share real-world insight from healthcare revenue cycle leaders tackling today’s most pressing challenges. If you found this discussion valuable, make sure you don’t miss future episodes.
Subscribe to the Revco Revenue Roundtable:
- Follow our LinkedIn Newsletter for new episodes and insights
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch many other conversations
- Visit RevcoSolutions.com to explore more resources
We hope you join the conversation and stay informed on the strategies shaping the future of healthcare revenue cycle operations!
