CLEVELAND, Ohio, Feb. 10, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- NextMED Systems today announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with the Crystal Clinic, a nationally renowned, multi-office orthopedic practice located in Akron, Ohio. Under this agreement, NextMED will provide Crystal with technology and services for practice management information systems, billing and collection functions. The Crystal Clinic employs over 60 orthopedic specialists and care providers, who treat conditions affecting patients' joints, bones, muscles, tendons and skin.
Dr. Ronald R. Suntken, CEO of Crystal Clinic, commented, "We are pleased to enter into an agreement with NextMED. We selected them after an extensive process that included consideration of 15, mostly nationally renowned, candidates. We were impressed with NextMED's visionary management, business model and technological capabilities. NextMED's staff, systems, and tools will help us to improve cash flow by accelerating collections and managing the claims process more efficiently."
NextMED Systems is a leading provider of billing and other technology-based business and clinical services to doctors and hospitals. NextMED increases its clients' cash flow and profits by managing the billing and claims administration processes, speeding collection time while reducing error rates. NextMED serves as its clients' technology partner, charging them an attractive monthly rate while eliminating their need to purchase, manage and maintain complex, expensive systems. The company's capabilities include:
-- Managing billing and claims reimbursement processes
-- Providing software tools and back-office staffing that deliver
analytical and decision support to doctors and their staff on
their desktops
-- Offering locally-based help desk, customer service and management
advice from offices in each NextMED market
-- Offering support for other technology-based business and clinical
activities
-- Connecting health system-based and outpatient care locations via a
secure private network
Ron Amrich, senior vice president of NextMED, observed, "The Crystal Clinic has earned a national reputation as a leader in orthopedic and comprehensive musculoskeletal care. Using our Virtual Practice Advisor tools, we will work with Crystal to develop a set of `best practices,' which will contribute to improved cash flow for the clinic. This approach will provide a model for specialty providers that we are rolling out across the country."
Located in Cleveland, NextMED works with clients on a national basis from offices in Ohio, the mid-Atlantic region and Seattle. NextMED delivers service from a network of local offices in its market areas, which include Ohio, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. It plans to enter additional regional markets over the next few years.
About NextMED Systems, Inc.
NextMED Systems, Inc. provides outsourced billing and claims management services to the outpatient care industry, improving clients' cash flow and profitability by 5-15% of revenues. By improving collections from insurance carriers and reducing error rates and investment requirements, NextMED delivers significant savings and additional revenue to its clients. NextMED bridges the connectivity gap between health systems and admitting physicians by automating workflow and simplifying access to data and information resident on inpatient systems. Through NextMED's web-based portal, The Physician Desktop Manager, users connect to NextMED's products and services via a secure private intranet environment. Its services also include an integrated suite of software-based business and clinical applications, as well as analytical and decision support tools that are available at physicians' desktops. NextMED leverages its management team's vast experience in the "trenches" of the outpatient care industry to provide health systems, physician practices, surgery centers and other clinical organizations with a proven business and technology model. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, NextMED can be contacted at (216) 674-0511 or www.nextmedsystems.com.
About Crystal Clinic
Crystal Clinic is a regional specialty center for outpatient treatment of conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system -- bones, joints, muscles, tendons, skin and related tissues. Opened in 1989, the clinic serves patients in Northeast Ohio and beyond, and has been recognized for its innovative approach to multidisciplinary musculoskeletal care. Crystal Clinic patients have access to more than 60 physicians and certified health professionals. Its focus is on comprehensive diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, tailored to patients' individual needs.