ONLY about half of healthcare organizations deploy chargemaster maintenance technology solutions. These applications automate and update constantly changing regulatory and compliance issues, help keep on top of the array of new procedures and medical devices coming into the market and help capture charges accurately, said Christine Armstrong, managing director at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Technology solutions, however, are not the only effort healthcare entities are using to maintain the charge description master (CDM), charge capture and pricing processes. Many healthcare organizations struggle with maintaining the CDM connections with charge capture and order entry technology. “Pricing transparency is a major concern in the marketplace,” she said. “You need to have a good methodology for determining prices.” For large health systems, chargemaster, charge capture and pricing applications and improved processes are also essential for standardizing CDMs across hospitals. But, as the economic environment continues to decline and self-pay patients and indigent care rise, organizations are looking to chargemaster maintenance tools as a huge opportunity to enhance net revenue by capturing charges appropriately and correctly, Armstrong said.
THREE TRENDS TO WATCH
Christine Armstrong, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, identifies three trends in the chargemaster maintenance field:
1. COMPETITION:Hospitals are expending energy recruiting and building a staff with skill sets to maintain the charge description master and understand the clinical rules.
2. ACCURACY: Hospitals are ensuring connection of the charge description master to order entry systems for accurate and correct charge capture, which can positively impact net revenue.
3. DIRECTION: Healthcare entities are seeking guidance with these process improvements as well as developing
defensible pricing strategies.
VENDOR SHOWCASE
3M Health Information Systems
3M Chargemaster Online
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3M_Health_Information_System...
A comprehensive web-based solution that goes beyond standard coding validation to provide advanced charge capture features that identify overlooked revenue opportunities. 3M Chargemaster Online includes onsite consulting from chargemaster experts who assess chargemaster coding, intent of service, and compliance issues.
Contact: 3M Revenue Cycle Solutions, 3M Health Information Systems, 800.367.2447, tvakerics@mmm.com
Craneware, Inc.
Chargemaster Toolkit Suite
http://www.craneware.com/public/Article.asp?id=16
The Chargemaster Toolkit Suite is a toolset for capturing legitimate reimbursement by automating chargemaster management processes, customizable for organizations from small community hospitals to large healthcare networks.
Contact: Sales, 877.624.2792, sales@craneware.com
Ingenix
ChargemasterAnalyzer.com
http://www.shopingenix.com/modules/catalog/catalog_product.asp?productid...
ChargemasterAnalyzer.com is a robust online solution that is updated monthly to help hospitals maintain an accurate and complete chargemaster for Medicare billing and compliance purposes, resulting in fewer denials and more accurate outpatient reimbursement under OPPS and APCs.
Contact: Carol Endahl, product manager, 800.464.3649, ext. 75732, carol.endhal@ingenix.com, Customer Service: 1.800.INGENIX (464.3649), Option 1
MedAptus
Intelligent Charge Capture – Facility Edition
http://www.medaptus.com/solutions/facilityspecific
Facility Edition supports the comprehensive management of technical charges from collaborative capture at the point-of-care to back-office reconciliation, coding and compliance tasks; usage allows hospital-based outpatient clinics to eliminate manual charge reconciliation and laborious charge data master maintenance processes.
Contact: Jennifer Crowley, MedAptus marketing director, 617.896.4030, jcrowley@medaptus.com
MedAssets
MedAssets’ Chargemaster Maintenance Solutions
MedAssets’ Web-based chargemaster maintenance solutions help ensure accurate and complete coding, compliance and best practice charging information. Designed for daily management of both single and multi-facility chargemasters, MedAssets offers built-in defensible pricing tools and comprehensive benchmarks to ensure revenue integrity.
http://www.medassets.com/Our-Solutions/Revenue-Management/Charge-Integri....
USER REVIEWS
“After adjusting APCs, adding missing charges and other measures, we calculated that we re-captured $1.4 million in revenue during the first year of use.”
Carol Lynn Heath, CDM supervisor, University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina
“Our staff found the Web-based product (MedAssets) to be efficient, immediately effective and user friendly, allowing us to update and maintain our chargemaster to ensure billing accuracy and compliance.”
Lesson learned: “One day of training was not enough. The product is very robust. We would have preferred more training days to ensure we are taking full advantage of all the capabilities.”
Bill Collier, assistant executive director of finance, Scott & White Hospital
“The MedAptus Facility Charge Capture is very beneficial and a time saver to our daily workflow. It allows Clinical Staff to devote more time to patient care and interaction, providing a more personal approach to our patients.”
“The Clinical Staff immediately embraced the application and they found no negatives during the implementation due to the intuitive functionality.”
Sharyn Devlin, LPN, neurosurgery clinical leader, Lahey Clinic Medical Center