Experian Health Blog
Challenge: a disconnected healthcare ecosystem Exchanging information across the healthcare ecosystem and achieving interoperability is a goal and challenge all healthcare organizations share. While regulations such as the Affordable Care Act introduced incentives and requirements to drive adoption of electronic medical records, they also highlighted a critical gap in healthcare – a universal patient identifier. Impact: Felt downstream across your enterprise The lack of a universal patient identifier, compounded by data integration challenges and the increasing fluidity of patient data, has created significant issues downstream – billing errors, redundant treatments and testing, HIPAA breaches, incorrect administration of treatments and prescriptions, and more. These issues contribute to the pool of preventable medical errors, which is currently the number three leading cause of death in the United States. Solution: Universal Identity Manager Experian Health’s Universal Identity Manager (UIM) accurately identifies patients and matches records within and across disparate healthcare entities, creating a universal patient identifier to facilitate information exchange. Drawing on more than 40 years of experience managing universal identifiers across various industries and leveraging Experian’s consumer demographic information, the UIM achieves higher match rates than traditional industry solutions. Integration flexibility The UIM is integrated within eCare NEXT®, but also supports various API options. It can also be leveraged in conjunction with biometric and traditional Enterprise Master Patient Index solutions. Batch: Receives, processes, and loads patient demographic information via patient data file. Starting with an initial historical patient data file in batch is recommended. The UIM algorithm is applied to accurately identify duplicate records and assign a Universal Patient Identifier (UPI) that can be used to facilitate information exchange across different healthcare entities. The UIM Batch is currently being offered at no charge to the entire healthcare industry. Duplicate Merge Tool: Provides a workflow tool to address duplicate patient records identified through the UIM batch. The Duplicate Merge Tool encompasses robust access and issue assignment management, configurable merge strategies, customizable search and filter capabilities, comprehensive audit trails, and postback or file output options. Search & Duplicate Medical Record Number (MRN) Alert: Leverages in process scripting to perform a real-time search the UIM as patient demographic information is being entered into an HIS during registration. The optimized patient record for each potential patient match is returned. If the search is circumvented, a Duplicate MRN alert will be created within eCare NEXT and prompt manual user review. Real-time search can also be facilitated through a direct API integration. Experian Single Best Record: Leverages an algorithm to look across all linked patient accounts that exist within a client’s enterprise database and aliases and addresses from Experian’s demographic information and returns back a patient’s single best record by demographic field. Data Analysis: Offers standard, premium, and custom reporting options with detailed data analysis across your patient data file. Learn more about Universal Identity Manager here, or contact your account representative for more information.
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Below is a collection of some of most compelling article we've read in recent months. We hope you find these interesting, too! One Goal; One Contract: How a Nationwide Health Data Sharing Framework is Revolutionizing Interoperability https://www.himss.org/news/one-goal-one-contract-how-nationwide-health-data-sharing-framework-revolutionizing-interoperability 7 things to know about Aetna's ACA exchange exit https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/payer-issues/7-things-to-know-about-aetna-s-aca-exchange-exit.html 5 steps to cybersecurity for Internet of Things medical devices https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/5-steps-cybersecurity-internet-things-medical-devices CMS: ICD-10 specificity kicks in Oct. 1, 2016 https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/cms-icd-10-specificity-kicks-oct-1-2016 3 leadership skills crucial for a culture change http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/3-leadership-skills-crucial-for-a-culture-change.html
Undoubtedly, you have been monitoring progress toward legislation for healthcare providers to furnish patients with estimates for their cost of care. And if it’s not already in place, there’s a strong chance your state will be next on the list to require price transparency. Additionally, with the continued popularity of high deductible health plans, patients are looking to price shop for their healthcare services. Patients expect more healthcare cost information available online, like in every other industry. Helping patients know what they will owe prior to service can enable them to make more informed decisions about their care and increase patient satisfaction. As more states begin to mandate providing pre-service estimates to patients, it’s critical for healthcare providers to know what solutions are available to help them comply. According to a recent Fierce Healthcare article, “Real healthcare price transparency for consumers is dependent on rich data sources that provide meaningful price information on a wide range of procedures and services.1" Experian Health is here to help! Our Patient Estimates solution is a pricing transparency tool that enables you to create accurate estimates of services, before or at the point-of-service. Patient Estimates is also offered within our Patient Self-Service portal, allowing patients to access estimates on-demand. See how Patient Estimates helped St. Clair Hospital in the Pittsburgh market. According to the June 2016 KLAS Healthcare Price Transparency Solutions Performance Report, “…clients feel [Experian Health’s] Patient Estimates is a critical element in their efforts to help patients know up front what their costs will be, and clients report overall satisfaction with the product, services, and vendor engagement. The solution is seen as very complete and robust, with strong customer support.” Experian Health's Patient Estimates can help your organization: Increase up-front collections Provide patient’s pricing prior to service Increase patient satisfaction Let us help you prepare now for state requirements that will ultimately increase accurate up-front collections and more importantly improve patient satisfaction! Call us at 1 888 661 5657 or email experianhealth@experian.com to get started! 1Ron Shinkman, “A few more states get passing grades on price transparency,” Fierce Healthcare, July 28, 2016
Scott Lee oversees the Experian Health Reference Program. Scott graduated with a BA in Business Management from The University of Texas at San Antonio, and has been with the organization for 12 years, beginning with MPV, which was acquired by Experian in 2011. Scott lives in San Antonio with his wife and two children and says his second home is the San Antonio Zoo based on how much time he and his family spend there. Scott is a catalyst for fostering the connection between Experian Health’s current and potential clients to allow the former to share their positive experience and ROI using our solutions. Our clients also benefit from being a reference by learning about the workflow and best practices of similar organizations. Because of the importance of protecting our clients’ privacy, Scott schedules calls on behalf of our clients and ensures that the experience is mutually beneficial and minimally disruptive for all parties involved. “We’re very appreciative of our reference clients, and it’s a privilege for our potential clients to hear their experiences firsthand.” he said. Share your story by being an Experian Health Reference Client! Contact your Sales Director/Account Manager or contact Scott Lee at scott.lee@experian.com or (210) 582-6320.
Below is an update from the Experian Health Support Team. Network & System Performance Last six months: Upgrades to the network, compute and storage infrastructure have improved performance and scalability. Enhanced alerting and reporting to strengthen proactive measures for issues remediation Next six months: Data Center move and consolidation will localize production communications to improve efficiencies Automation improvements to reduce on-boarding times for new clients Subscribe to Receive Product Support Updates Opt in to receive emails about significant product updates or changes. Access the Experian Health Product Dashboard here.
Care Coordination Manager is the industry’s first solution designed specifically to help hospitals, health systems, and provider-led health plans succeed with 30-90 day episode management. It is a flexible, rules-driven care coordination system designed specifically for physician groups, hospitals, health systems, and provider-led health plans, whether for ensuring bundled payment profitability, maximizing ACO and health plan savings, managing post-acute costs, or reducing readmissions. Contact us today for more information at 1 888 661 5657 or visit the Care Coordination Manager page.
Our congratulations and admiration go out to all Experian Health clients who were recently recognized by Hospitals and Health Networks (H&HN) magazine with the prestigious 2016 “Most Wired” distinction: http://www.hhnmag.com/articles/7393-2016-most-wired-themes. Following are two (of the MANY) Experian Health clients who were honored. Altru Health System has been recognized in the Advanced Category in this year’s HealthCare’s Most Wired™ survey. The survey, released on July 6 by the American Hospital Association’s Health Forum, is a leading industry barometer measuring information technology (IT) use and adoption among hospitals nationwide. It examined how organizations are leveraging IT to improve performance for value-based healthcare in the areas of infrastructure, business and administrative management, quality and safety, and clinical integration. St. Clair Hospital’s Patient Estimates tool, the only one of its kind in the greater Pittsburgh region, has garnered the Mt. Lebanon-based medical center Hospitals & Health Networks (H&HN) magazine’s prestigious Innovator Award for its co-development of the cost transparency software. Patient Estimates, which was made available to the public earlier this year at www.stclair.org, gives patients the ability to learn, in advance, what their estimated out-of-pocket costs will be for services at St. Clair or the Hospital’s Outpatient centers. Patient Estimates is highly accurate and based on information provided by each patient’s health benefit plan. Please contact us to add your organization’s Innovative Achievements to our future Shout Outs!
In case you missed them, below are some great tools to help you address key business challenges. Enjoy the read! Press Releases Innovative Mindset Enables Experian Health to Deliver New Capabilities Experian Health Rises to 45 On The 2016 Healthcare Informatics 100 List White Paper Why Start the Payment Process Prior to Service? As a patient’s financial obligation grows, it’s imperative to tailor payment strategies to each unique situation. In pre-service stages, data-driven solutions provide a higher likelihood of securing patient payment. Flexible patient payment plans contribute to a positive billing, payment, and overall engagement experience, as well as a provider’s financial health. Read our white paper to learn more about the importance of the Personalization in the Healthcare Consumer Payment Process. Read Now Article: Healthcare IT Transformation – How Has Ransomware Shifted the Landscape of Healthcare Data Security? Read Now
Our friends and neighbors in Louisiana have experienced catastrophic damage and destruction from recent flooding, in what is being called the worst U.S. disaster since Hurricane Sandy. You can help by donating at www.redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word LAFLOODS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from these disasters.