ORLANDO, Fla. and WICHITA, Kan. -Sept. 25, 2009- Even before the recent debates on healthcare reform legislation began to dominate Washington policymaking and the news media nationwide, medical practices had been working to automate workflow, enhance patient care and improve practice profitability. Competitive pressures are great to streamline administrative and clinical processes so practices can deliver excellent care at lower costs.

To this end and to help better integrate its seven Central Florida locations, Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic, a multi-specialty orthopaedic practice based in the Orlando area, announced it has implemented the Pulse Patient Relationship Management (PRM) system from Pulse. The companies announced the collaboration timed with the beginning of the Bones Society of Florida’s (Florida Association of Orthopedic Administrators; www.floridabones.com) annual conference, which begins today in Fort Lauderdale.

The Pulse PRM system empowers physicians and management with the critical clinical and financial tools they need to improve patient care and practice economics. It enhances patient flow, work flow and cash flow.

“Even though we have seven specialized orthopaedic centers and 22 physicians and 11 PAs seeing hundreds of patients a day,” said Jeanetta Lawrence, assistant executive director for Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic, “this new electronic technology of the Pulse Patient Relationship Management system allows us to essentially become a ‘clinic without walls’ and begin streamlining our practice.”

Lawrence said Jewett has been able to “work smarter, not harder” by changing work flow processes. “We are able to e-charge our patient visits immediately after the patient is seen, removing the need for charge entry,” she said. “Our claims are reviewed and sent the next day and at times the same day. Pulse has the potential to improve our accounts receivable, using the benefits of PPRM to more accurately capture insurance claim coding, more quickly submit claims and, thus, receive insurance payments sooner.”

Lawrence also added that patient flow through Jewett’s clinics has been improved because clinical staff can now automatically schedule a follow-up appointment for the patient rather than sending them back to the reception desk to stand in line. She said Jewett and Pulse are working on a solution that will allow a one-view, centralized scheduling for all of the clinic locations, providing more convenience for patients and allowing Jewett to maximize its available physician appointment slots.

“We are pleased to be working with Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic, a leader in Florida and the entire Southeast, to help their practice operate smarter and more efficiently,” said Basil Hourani, president of Pulse. “It is essential to have a comprehensive set of patient relationship management tools that is flexible enough to adapt to the unique needs of each practice while allowing the forethought and integration capabilities that allow the system grow with the practice toward an electronic health record environment.”

Modules and functionality of the Pulse Patient Relationship Management system include:

• Scheduling – The scheduling module offers the flexibility to manage schedules across multiple financial entities, facilities, locations and resources. User-defined alerts provide critical information to practice staff, improving patient flow by decreasing wait time.
• Surgery Scheduling, Surgery Book and Hospital Rounds – The Surgery Scheduling module provides a complete out-of-office-procedure and surgical scheduling functionality that interacts with compliance rules. An automated surgery book and hospital rounds/walk-list ensures that every visit or procedure is accounted for and billed.
• Eligibility, Authorization and Referral Management – This module streamlines work flow and decreases lost revenue by establishing rules for appropriate referrals, including authorizations and consent requirements. Eligibility can be sent on a per patient basis or in batch mode.
• Patient Tracker – This module allows practices to track every stage of a patient’s care with time stamps, status, ready-for and location data. Care providers are guided with alerts to deliver timely and efficient care, improving patient satisfaction. The system also stores vital statistical information for reporting and process re-engineering.
• Clinical User Dashboard – This tool allows clinical users to create custom views of their activities and tasks through plug-in components (e.g., daily schedule, tasks, order results, Web sites, reference libraries, document management, items for sign-off, items to review, interoffice communications, etc.). This interactive desktop with automated links pulls data from internal and external sources.
• Accounts Receivables – PPRM improves the quality and efficiency of operations and workflow through a comprehensive patient accounting, billing and collection system designed to increase clinic cash flow. Practices can post charges, payments and transactions; consolidate billing by guarantor; and fully manage receivables, collection and bad debt using sophisticated tools such as push technology. Rapid and intuitive navigation within a patient’s ledger results in increased collections productivity.

“As a physician practice that is well known in the community for clinical outcomes and physician services, we now strive to be on the cutting edge and an industry leader on clinical technology,” Lawrence said. “It is essential that, with our practice management system, and going forward, with electronic health records, that we also are on the cutting edge on the administrative side. Our goal for our patients is not only to provide them with not only the best clinical outcomes but also the most efficient and accurate processing of their insurance claims and billing, as well as a timely and smooth experience through our practice. We want our patients to always have a “wow” experience when they come to Jewett for services.”

About Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic

Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic, in Orlando, Florida, is dedicated to the care and treatment of the musculoskeletal system. This includes bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, nerves, and the spine. Our goal is to improve your level of health with state-of-the-art, comprehensive orthopaedic care. Our specialties include sports medicine and arthroscopy, joint replacement surgery, correction of hand and foot deformities, and spine reconstruction. With more than 125,000 patient visits a year, the Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic is one of the most productive orthopaedic practices in Central Florida and the entire southeastern United States. For more information, visit www.jewettortho.com.

About Pulse

Pulse offers Electronic Health Records (EHR), Practice Management, ePrescribing and Revenue Cycle Management (Billing Services) used in more than 26 medical specialties across 36 states. Pulse Practice Management and EHR products have both earned five star ratings from AC Group and full CCHIT 2008 certification. Since 1982 Pulse has focused on its mission to develop, market and support healthcare practice workflow solutions that are easier to purchase, implement, learn, utilize and upgrade. This focus on making things easier for clients has led to an impressive 95% client renewal rate. For more information, visit www.pulseinc.com.

• Share