| Situation
In healthcare organizations, information
is more than just text, it can include:
multi-media applications, pictures, diagnostic
images, voice, and video.
Current and accurate patient and staff
information needs to be available to customers,
vendors, healthcare providers, and regulatory
agencies within a moment’s notice.
Healthcare organizations need to make
information available to different users
simultaneously and also:
- Provide significant cost savings
- Streamline workflow processes
- Enhance the patient experience
- Improve physician services
- Meet regulatory requirements for HIPAA,
HCFA, and collection histories
- Protect against litigation
- Eliminate wasted labor chasing lost
or misplaced folders
- Track medical insurance claims
- Access the most up-to-date claim
information as quickly as possible
However, timely access to records is
not always possible, and the culprit is
paper. On a daily basis, a Medical Billing
Coding (MBC) Department may receive more
than 10,000 pages of chart information.
Typically, paper-based routing is time
consuming, difficult to track and at times,
lacks accountability. Should a patient
or physician call regarding the status
of a claim, personnel needs to search
manually for the document in question,
limiting the number of claims generated
per day.
Solution – Productivity
and Compliance
Hyland Software’s OnBase integrated
document management solution is designed
to meet the needs of MBCs entirely. The
OnBase system provides MBCs with an exhaustive
amount of out-of-the-box functionality
for building highly advanced document
management and workflow solutions. The
product is completely point-and-click
configurable, and it enables the rapid
deployment of a sophisticated solution
without the need for expensive, time-consuming
programming.
MBCs are able to select from more than
30 separately licensed OnBase modules
that provide the specialized input, management
and output their system design requires,
with typical MBC implementations including
OnBase Workflow, COLD (also referred to
as enterprise report management or ERM),
Imaging, Document Import Processor (DIP)
and Host Enabler.
In addition, many MBCs utilize front-end
capture technology to automate the capture
of data from forms. The seamless integration
between OnBase and most capture technology
software allows for images and associated
keyword values to be automatically imported
into the OnBase system.
Because of the system’s separately
licensed modules, MBCs are encouraged
to invest in the solution they need today
and then incrementally, cost-effectively
expand and enhance the system as their
needs grow.
Client Benefit
Because of its quick installation and
ease-of-use, once OnBase is implemented,
it can be rolled out company-wide and
used immediately. Benefits are noticed
immediately:
1) Reduction of Paper
MBCs instantly realize a noticeable improvement
with the extreme reduction of paper. The
immediate retrieval of information translates
into pleased customers because answers
are provided on the first phone call to
customer service. As a result, after using
OnBase for just a few hours, most client
service and customer service representatives
are amazed at the amount of information
they have at their fingertips.
With an OnBase system, MBCs scan all
EOBs, payments, and patient chart information
into OnBase. Coders use OnBase Workflow
and E-Forms to build a patient claim.
While viewing the chart information on
their screen, coders enter information
in the corresponding E-Form. Once their
task is complete, the E-Form and chart
are electronically routed to the next
step.
2) Workflow Improvement
OnBase Workflow also provides workload
balancing, system task performance and
automatic routing for specialized claims.
Upon completion, OnBase sends the information
to the MBC’s billing system, and
a claim is generated. Claims are then
submitted electronically or via U.S. mail
based on the processing capabilities of
the respective insurance companies.
3) Increased Claim Processing
Using OnBase, coding teams generate a
significantly higher number of claims
because all of the information is on their
desktops and immediately available. More
information leads to more claims, which
in turn leads to faster turnaround time
for payment and increased revenue for
MBCs and their clients.
4) Streamlining of Claim Denial
Research
Claim denial research has been streamlined,
too. Utilizing OnBase COLD, claims produced
by an MBC’s billing application
are captured directly into OnBase. While
on the host screen, researchers need only
to double-click on a unique identifier
to retrieve the pertinent page of the
EOB from the OnBase system.
5) Improved Document Tracking
In addition, OnBase provides MBCs with
the ability to track documents throughout
all stages of the billing process. A customer
service or client service representative
can now provide immediate updates to patients
and physicans, respectively, regarding
the status of a claim at any point in
the revenue cycle.
6) Improved Customer Service
Client service and customer service representatives
have gone from waiting for hours or days
for information to having the information
readily available. They are able to answer
questions on the first phone call, increasing
the number of customers served.
7) Improved Employee Morale
Internal relations improve as a result
of implementing an OnBase solution. Client
service and customer service representatives
share a sense of accomplishment and empowerment
because they are able to immediately resolve
questions from patients and doctors, while
management continues to see increases
in efficiency and customer satisfaction.
With OnBase, aggressive growth becomes
a more obtainable goal because of the
reduction of costs and inefficiencies
affiliated with paper processing.
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