Case Study: Billing and Scheduling Software

With system in place, financial and workflow averages improve

Opening day for any business is generally a nerve-wracking experience. Last-minute surprises are not uncommon. However, the day before the opening of Elizabethtown Diagnostic Imaging (DI) in Elizabethtown, Ky., was one the facility will not forget.

The facility was running out of time to get up to speed on using the billing and scheduling software system. The day before opening, staff members were in the basement at the home of one of the physician owners, gathered around a single monitor, as the company trainer tried to explain basic software operations.

Fifteen minutes into the demonstration, the physician knew this particular system wasn’t going to work. He knew the facility would not be able to function effectively with the software.

MedInformatix, headquartered in Los Angeles, stepped in with its RIS. “I had used MedInformatix’s software at two previous businesses and was completely sold on its capabilities and convenience,” says Elizabethtown DI administrator Shonna Galloway. “I never knew until that day, though, how well the company could respond to a new installation.”

Within 24 hours, MedInformatix sent a training representative and 15 workstations to the Elizabethtown DI office. After 30 minutes of training, the team was ready to put the RIS to work on the first day.

The RIS is an end-to-end practice management package that can accommodate small and large radiology clinics. The system is bi-directional with other key software applications, including dictation and PACS, and can be customized to meet workflow and business rules of individual practices.
MedInformatix was intuitive and easy for the clinic’s staff to learn. Information flows are clear and accessible so everyone can pull up the data they need from the same database. No one needs to carry stacks of papers.

Elizabethtown DI implemented virtually the entire MedInformatix suite of modules, including scheduling, registration, technologist and radiologist workflows, and electronic data interaction custom reporting. The facility preferred to use Nuance Healthcare’s PowerScribe for its physician voice transcription. MedInformatix RIS was configured so PowerScribe launched automatically, which made it easy for physicians to complete their reports. In most cases, results are issued to a referring physician between 30 minutes and two hours of a patient visit.

After implementation, operational results have been impressive. In the two years since the clinic opened, the RIS has exceeded every standard performance marker set by the Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA). The clinic performs approximately 600 exams a week.

With the RBMA scorecard gauging levels of efficiency, Elizabethtown DI is doing well, says Galloway. The accounts receivable days are approximately half the national average, and the net collection rate beats a typical practice by nearly 4 percent. In addition, she says the ability to generate reports through the RIS in Crystal Reports and export the data to Microsoft Excel allows her to stay on top of key performance indicators. Another RIS alternative may have added at least 25 percent to 30 percent more administrative costs.

“We succeed as a business because of our reputation for efficiency, and MedInformatix has been a big part of that story,” Galloway says.

For more information on the MedInformatix RIS, go to www.medinformatix.com.

– Craig Astler is a freelance writer in Westlake, Ohio. Direct questions and comments to editorial@rt-image.com.