module 07 written assignment automating healthcare processes

Conduct some independent online research into some of the various systems and applications that are available for automating healthcare processes, whether clinical procedures or administrative procedures.

In a 1-2 page Word document, explain some of the opportunities for improvement and potential cost savings and benefits related to automation.

Submit your completed assignment by following the directions linked below. Please check the Course Calendar for specific due dates.

Save your assignment as a Microsoft Word document. (Mac users, please remember to append the “.docx” extension to the filename.) The name of the file should be your first initial and last name, followed by an underscore and the name of the assignment, and an underscore and the date. An example is shown below:

Example:

As a new manager charged with selecting coding/grouper software, I scheduled meetings with a couple vendors and got underway with my research. After several meetings and a good deal of comparison, a choice was made – we were going with 3M Coding and Grouper software.

It was only after I made the selection that a whole new conundrum revealed itself…the discussion of an Interface. I learned that an Interface WAS NOT part of the quote but for nearly every needed coding/grouping function in the software, an interface was necessary! Unfortunately, an interface had never been developed at any other facility between our Financial system and 3M Coder/Grouper. This, I learned, was going to be a huge expense and a bit time consuming.(As I recall, the one way interface was quoted at $16,000.)

An interface is the connection between two softwares that allows for the flow of information from one system to the other. In this example, to code and group in 3M, the patient’s insurance type was needed. Different insurances pay uniquely – we had insurances that still paid by charges (yes!), others that paid by DRG and still others that paid a percentage of charges. So all the insurance information had to travel to the 3M system so that the DRG and payment information could be calculated.

Because our billing department used the Financial system to complete billing, I further learned that all of the Coding, DRG and payment information completed in the 3M system would need to travel BACK to the financial system….and yes, this meant that I needed another interface. One that would carry the information from 3M (after coding) back to the financial system. In the end, we got the interfaces we needed and had a successful software go-live in coding.

Again – expensive – very expensive to buy or lease healthcare software and yes, this further contributes to the cost of healthcare. Patient charges, billing and payments also buy the technology that runs the facility.