WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 30, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It's hard to imagine that any healthcare provider in the U.S. is more ready for ICD-10, which officially goes into effect tomorrow, than Ob Hospitalist Group (OBHG).
Throughout 2015, physicians at OBHG, the largest dedicated OB/GYN hospitalist provider in the nation, have been entering their charges in PatientKeeper® Charge Capture™ software using ICD-10 codes, which were then translated back into ICD-9 codes for billing. Now, on the eve of the mandated cut-over to the new, more complex medical diagnosis coding system, OBHG is confident that nine months of "practice" will help ensure a smooth transition.
"Our doctors have been pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to find and enter ICD-10 codes in PatientKeeper," Tama LeBlanc, Vice President of Information & Technology at OBHG, said. "We used a paper charge entry system previously, and our physicians, billers and coders say PatientKeeper is easier and more efficient."
OBHG has deployed PatientKeeper on tablets to streamline professional charge capture for more than 400 physicians, who serve 73 partner hospitals in 20 states.
PatientKeeper Charge Capture software provides an ICD-10 ready automated billing workflow that easily fits a clinician's work style. PatientKeeper's highly configurable system supports workflows in a wide array of care settings and specialties. The software offers flexible access on PCs, laptops, smartphones and tablets, and comes with Intelligent Medical Objects (IMO) so physicians can enter their charges with familiar, clinician-friendly words and phrases rather than obscure billing terminology.
"Organizationally electronic charge capture offers tremendous benefits," LeBlanc said. "Because physicians enter their charges in real time, our charge lag time has been reduced and cash flow improved. The fact that customized code edits fire at the front-end of the billing process saves a lot of time on the back-end, preventing our billers from having to review the charge multiple times.
"As users of the system, physicians appreciate PatientKeeper's convenience features, like the ability to pull clinical terms from picker categories within the diagnosis section, and the ability to type in ICD-9 codes that automatically suggest comparable ICD-10 codes. Physicians also like that they now have a HIPAA-compliant way to communicate with their coders," LeBlanc said.
OBHG transitioned to PatientKeeper from a paper-based charge capture methodology. PatientKeeper receives an automated ADT feed from, and sends charges back to, OBHG's McKesson MMIS billing system, creating a completely electronic billing workflow. OBHG also uses a highly customized version of PatientKeeper PQRS integrated with the charge capture solution to record quality metrics.
About PatientKeeper
PatientKeeper®, Inc. is a leading provider of healthcare applications for physicians. PatientKeeper's highly intuitive software streamlines physician workflow to improve productivity and patient care. PatientKeeper's CPOE, physician documentation, electronic charge capture and other applications run on desktop and laptop computers and popular handheld devices and tablets. PatientKeeper's software integrates with many existing healthcare information systems to effectively support healthcare providers in driving physician adoption of technology, meeting Meaningful Use, and transitioning to ICD-10. PatientKeeper has more than 60,000 active physician users today. For more information about PatientKeeper visit www.patientkeeper.com or call 781-373-6100.