Page 24 - Company Newsletters

ABT NEWS
QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER July2015
Architecting document control systems for healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies
The Winds of Change are Blowing Through R elease of Information
For years now, many Healthcare Providers have viewed Release of Information (ROI) as a necessary evil. Indeed, larger practices and hospitals have sought relief from the burdensome process of fulfilling requests for patient medical records by outsourcing the work to an ROI service company (also known traditionally as a “copy service”).
With the advent of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems, Providers anticipated the transformation to a paperless world, including a fully automated ROI process. However, the reality was—and is—that proprietary EMRs cannot readily communicate with each other. As a result, the transfer of requested medical records has continued to take the widely practiced form of mail and fax.
In the mid 1990s, as Providers were faced with interpreting and implementing HIPAA regulations, their confusion and concern over accepted ROI practices intensified. However, when it came to how they actually delivered requested medical records, they kept the status quo (mailing & faxing). Now, new confusion is emerging, spurred by the recent rise in class action lawsuits in which patients assert that they have been charged too much for their medical records. These lawsuits focus on the disparity between ROI fees set forth in the HITECH Act and those set forth by individual state statutes. In response, Providers are rethinking how they manage the ROI process and what they charge for records requests.
Meanwhile, established ROI service companies are bracing for the compression of ROI fee revenue. They are consolidating and offering other types of outsourcing services to offset projected losses. However, they have not yet initiated widespread ROI process automation within the industry, which would increase efficiency and decrease costs to counter revenue compression. Most companies (over 70%) still process ROI requests at a central location and deliver requested records via fax or mail, as opposed to providing Providers and Requestors with secure on-demand web access (less than 30%). With the issues noted above and others looming, the “end of days” for the traditional “free service” model of the ROI service company may be at hand.
A notable effort to transform the traditional revenue model is underway at ABT Medical, a longstanding player in the document management business. They answered the call for automation within the ROI arena in 2012, by expanding their technology applications with ROI+, a cloud-based platform that allows hospitals, practices, and ROI service bureaus to manage all of their release
Recent ABT Medical ROI+ Affiliate Successes
Coastal Neurological Institute:
Since 1960, CNI has treated patients in the Gulf Coast region. Its primary office is in Mobile, Alabama, with three other locations in Daphne and Foley, Alabama. Services focus on back, cranial, and neck issues; peripheral nerves; minimally invasive procedures; brain tumors; and stereotactic radiosurgery. In 1999, CNI expanded its services to offer a multidisciplinary approach of care through preventative and rehabilitation programs. The staff includes three neurologists and four neurosurgeons with 80+ years of combined experience.
The Orthopaedic Group, P.C.:
The Orthopaedic Group is a 27- physician practice that has served the Gulf Coast for over 40 years. The group specializes in care of the spine, shoulder and elbow, hand and wrist, hip and knee, and foot and ankle. Its board- certified, fellowship-trained doctors and staff have extensive education and experience in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of orthopaedic injuries and conditions. The primary office is located in Mobile, Alabama, with eight additional offices within the state.
Angela Ford
aford@abtmedinc.com
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