Mercy Medical Center Transitions From Homegrown Program to Sophisticated CDI Software With ChartWise 2.0

WAKEFIELD, RI--(Marketwired - May 6, 2015) - ChartWise Medical Systems, Inc. (www.chartwisemed.com), the industry leader in Computer-Assisted Clinical Documentation Improvement (CACDI) software, is pleased to announce the successful implementation of its ChartWise 2.0 software solution at Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohio. Mercy previously utilized an internally designed clinical documentation program until the department grew to a point where they were no longer maximizing success or efficiency with the tools at their disposal.

Although their CDI team expanded over the years, the tools Mercy utilized did not change until the implementation of ChartWise 2.0. The medical center's makeshift program previously consisted of a CDI module from one provider, an encoder from another and homegrown query forms. ChartWise 2.0 was employed to serve as a well-rounded tool that both the clinical documentation specialists and coders could use to improve communication between the two departments while also helping the medical center prepare for the transition to ICD-10.

ChartWise's ChartWise 2.0 CACDI software was implemented in May 2014. In the first eight months since going live with the new software, the medical center's initial chart review rate has improved by 28 percent, follow-up reviews have increased by 69 percent, and there has been an increase of 8.74 percent in financial impact for the facility versus the six months prior to integration.

"I could go on and on about what I love with ChartWise, from the electronic queries, to the fast service time, to the easy-to-read layout for CDS reviews and, finally, to the built-in encoder," said Kristine Cilona, Lead Clinical Documentation Specialist at Mercy Medical Center. "Furthermore, the fact that ChartWise has many of the reports used by the industry already written and available in the software saves us a tremendous amount of time."

Today, Mercy employs a robust team consisting of five clinical documentation specialists, five inpatient coders, the CMO -- one of whose many hats is to be the program's full-time advisor -- and four part-time physician liaisons who all have busy practices in addition to their program duties.

 "It's been wonderful to see Mercy Medical Center so enthusiastically adopt the ChartWise 2.0 software and make it their own," said Mary Cooper, executive vice president of ChartWise. "The organization always had a commitment to CDI and to what was already a strong program. We are proud to be a part of the additional improvements they've made."

Mercy Medical Center is a 476-bed hospital and its medical staff of 620 cares for approximately 250 patients each day, providing a wide range of services, including cardiology, orthopedics, stroke care, cancer treatment and dental care to name a few. The clinical documentation department has grown significantly since it first implemented a homegrown clinical documentation improvement program with one clinical documentation specialist in 2006.

About ChartWise
ChartWise Medical Systems, Inc., based in Wakefield, RI, is a medical software firm and the developer of ChartWise 2.0, a web-based solution for Computer-Assisted Clinical Documentation Improvement. ChartWise 2.0's clinical intelligence expertise assists physicians and clinical documentation specialists with increased efficiencies and completeness of documentation, queries and work flow. Developed by renowned physician Jon Elion, M.D., ChartWise 2.0 is the only documentation software that translates clinical language used by physicians into accurate diagnostic language required for documentation and reimbursement. For more information, visit www.chartwisemed.com.