Integrated Patient Managed-Care Information System
Identifying a Cost-Effective Integrated Patient Managed-Care System for Concord Hospital: A Managed-Care White Paper
This white paper is provided in response to a request review integrated patient managed-care systems for possible implementation at Concord. Because there are a number of sophisticated applications specifically designed for such purposes today, each with its own attributes, it is important to select the software package that best suits Concord's needs and can accommodate future expansion. To this end, this white paper describes the MedicsElite system components such as registration, appointment scheduling, billing, medical records, and management reporting, including a discussion of how the proposed MedicsElite Medical Practice Management Software can benefit Concord in these areas.
Overview of MedicsElite Medical Practice Management Software.
A review of several software suites for the purposes of this analysis was conducted, including Advanced Data Systems's MedicsElite, MediPro's Lytec's MediNotes Charting Plus Electronic Medical Records Software, and Medical Software Associates' electronic records management (EMR) software, complete practice management software. A qualitative analysis of core product features and additional module requirements was then made, and telephonic interviews with service and customer support representatives from the respective vendors were conducted. The analysis determined that the most cost-effective and appropriate application for our hospital's use is MedicsElite Medical Practice Management Software with the Medical Managed Care module added; these issues are discussed further below.
The company reports that the MedicsElite's product is an integrated, Windows-based practice management software system that has been developed, marketed, and supported by Advanced Data Systems, a reputable company with over 25 years of experience automating medical practices (MedicsElite Overview, p. 2). According to the company's literature, "Individual providers, group practices large and small, hospital billing departments, practice management firms, networked providers, billing companies, and many others trust the automation of their practices to Advanced Data Systems" (p. 3). The software package is highly flexible, with a number of additional components available to help customize it to the hospital's unique needs. The MedicsElite's medical practice management system's primary, optional and specialty functions are listed in Table 1 below.
Table 1. Primary Functions and Options Modules: MedicsElite Medical Practice Management Software.
Primary Functions
1. Patient Information Management
2. Patient and Insurance Billing
3. Financial Ledger
4. Essential System Reports
5. Word Processing
6. Integrated Image Scanning
Optional Modules
1. Appointment Scheduler
2. Electronic Billing (EDI)
3. Online Insurance Verification
4. Medical Practice Management Reports
5. Managed Care
6. Prescription Writer
7. Document Scanning Enhancements
8. Medics On-call for Palm Pilot
9. LaserForms
10. Collections
Specialty Options
1. Immunization Tracking
2. CLIA Updates
3. Mammography Tracking
4. Film Tracking
5. Surgical Scheduling
6. Collection Agency
7. Electronic Medical Records (EMR).
Source: MedicsElite Functions and Modules in MedicsElite Overview, pp. 3-4.
The application's specific technical features are provided in Table 2 below.
Table 2. MedicsElite Technical Features.
1. Microsoft Windows® client-server architecture -- industry-standard and easy-to-use
2. Realtime relational SQL database -- fast, powerful, flexible;
3. Developed with object-oriented C++ code -- consistent Graphical User Interface (GUI), fast, reliable;
4. ODBC and HL7 compliant -- open, extendable;
5. ADS's own unique Extended Multiple Document Interface (XMDI) -- simplified;
6. concurrent access to multiple windows for an individual patient or multiple patients (using linked windows);
7. Windows 98/2000/XP client, Windows 2000/NT server or AIX® server for IBM® RISC System/6000®;
8. All mouse functions have keyboard equivalents.
Source: MedicsElite Functions and Modules in MedicsElite Overview, p 10.
Registration.
There are both internal and external customers involved in our hospital's patient registration process; the internal customers are comprised of the medical records service, of course, but virtually all practitioners who will ultimately come into contact with the patient and/or his or her records during the treatment process as well, and the external customers are the patients themselves as well as any third-party providers and insurance companies that may become involved (Eckes, 2003). In general -- and properly implemented and administered, information systems have been shown to improve the patient registration process across the board (Tuohy, 1999). Registration issues are addressed in a comprehensive fashion by this integrated application. In their segment, "Patient Information Management," the company reports that the MedicsElite Demographics window provides users with the ability to easily access the entire range of patient demographic information by making all pertinent patient data available in the Windows-based environment; however, the company also emphasizes that this information, although easily accessible by authorized personnel, is also completely secure (see further discussion on security below).
Some of the valuable registration functions provided by the MedicsElite's integrated medical practice management system include the...
Evolution of Health Care Information Systems The objective of this study is to compare and contrast a contemporary healthcare facility or physician's office health care facility or physician's office operation of 20 years ago and to identify at least two major events and technological advantages that influenced current HCIS practices. The physician's office and health care facility of 20 years ago was a paper-based operation. All records were paper records, appointments
Others include delays in data accessibility, albeit shorter delays and the continued need for source data verification (Donovan, 2007). Other obstacles have occurred in the developing of mobile healthcare applications. These have included mobile device limitations, wireless networking problems, infrastructure constraints, security concerns, and user distrust (Keng and Shen, 2006). A third problem that has been encountered is that of a lack of education on not only the importance of the
Evolution of Healthcare Information System Evolution of health care information system Over the last twenty years, technology in provision of healthcare has evolved tremendously and what was available then now seems primitive in comparison. Today, patient care is at a much higher level. The management of healthcare institutions has become far more efficient through the growth of technology. Research is now more readily available. The growth of technology has proved beneficial to
The reluctance to refer patients to specialists may also mean that nurses must practice more holistic, rather than specialized forms, of nursing. The desire for cost containment has resulted in many nurses assuming physician's duties, such as those duties confined in previous eras to the patient's primary care physician. In states with high HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) enrollment, more nurses were shifted to lower-paying nonhospital settings, such as in home
Health Information System Promoting Action Design Research to create value in healthcare through IT Recently there has been varying proof showing that health IT reduces costs while improving the standard of care offered. The same factors that had caused delays in reaping benefits from IT investment made in other sectors (i.e. time consuming procedural change) are also very common within the healthcare sector. Due to the current transitive nature of the Healthcare
Healthcare Delivery Systems Annotated Bibliography In the peer-reviewed article and research study Seamless Healthcare Delivery Systems (Parnaby, Towill, 2008) is based on a research methodology that relies entirely on secondary research including a comprehensive literature review of healthcare delivery systems performance. The audience for the paper are healthcare professionals including physicians managing medical groups, Chief Administrative and Chief Operation officers of large-scale medical networks and system and process analysts who must
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now