ActiveWARE is a workflow automation platform consisting of document and physician order management, forms automation, workflow automation, and numerous integration tools. As a result, we are able to layer our solution on to an existing HIS platform or 3^rd party application. We enable best of breed solutions to work together in a more transparent manner. We don’t come in and ask you to replace a trusted vendor or product with our own. We determine what’s working well and integrate it into our platform so you retain your original investments in both software and training. We make it possible to aggregate and share information which eliminates rekeying and rework that result from bouncing between multiple applications.

This platform aggregates information from disparate systems into a single, comprehensive electronic patient folder. Our business intelligence engine monitors everything that goes into and out of this electronic patient folder. The business rules enforce data and documentation standards, performance benchmarks, and trigger workflow tasks whenever an issue is detected, or actionable information needs to be presented to an end user. This eliminates the “out of sight, out of mind” problems that plague most hospital processes by monitoring each encounter in real time 24/7.

We don’t simply manage “patient registration accuracy” for our clients….we manage “encounter accuracy”. By taking a holistic approach to the entire revenue cycle, and managing all financial data and documentation collected for that patient encounter, we are able to make everything “actionable”. Using sophisticated deficiency tracking and management techniques, we can proactively manage the encounter and drive workflow as events occur and conditions are detected within the patient encounter.

One of the areas we have been very successful is helping hospitals improve their pre-arrival process. Most hospitals understand the benefits of pre-registering patients as a means of improving efficiencies in patient access when the patient arrives. However, the bigger opportunity is to provide staff with the tools to financially and clinically clear a patient prior to presenting. By using the time prior to the patient arrival to proactively gather all relevant and required information, we can eliminate many of the back end surprises that affect our denials, underpayments, and bad debt.

The added benefit of proactively solving these problems on the front end is the elimination of much of the rework that plagues all hospital processes. If an issue goes undetected in the pre-encounter phase, every subsequent operation that depends on that information is adversely affected. Think of the snowball effect as the problem continues to roll downhill….it becomes larger and more difficult to deal with. On the other hand, if we detect the problem immediately, proactively resolve it, and hand off a complete and accurate pre-encounter package, everyone will make better decisions and we will eliminate much of the rework that currently affects all hospital processes.

Our system sets an “expectation” based on the type of visit, the payer, and what we know from the patient’s past visits (do they already owe us from a previous encounter, did they previously give us an undeliverable address). As we prepare for the patient’s arrival, we continuously monitor for the completion of the tasks and the capture of the appropriate documents in the patient’s folder.

Let’s face it…pre-arrival is really like a pre-flight checklist. Basically, are all steps completed and documented prior to takeoff? In this case, takeoff represents the arrival of our patient for final registration. We need to make sure we can expedite their final registration by doing the appropriate planning and preparation BEFORE they arrive.

The pre-arrival workflow supported within ActiveWARE ensures that all the necessary steps and documentation have been prepared prior to the patient’s arrival. By financially clearing the patient, any financial obligations can be discussed prior to the date of service, payment arrangements can be made, and in the event that the patient requires financial assistance the patient can be directed to financial counselors for assistance.

The Pre-arrival Workflow encompasses tracking and resolution of issues surrounding:

• Insurance Verification
• Preauthorization
• Medical Necessity
• Price Estimation
• Prior Balance Review
• Collections

By capturing all documentation such as pre-authorizations, medical necessity, ABNs, insurance eligibility, and patient estimates in a single repository sophisticated deficiency management rules ensure that each and every encounter is proactively managed.

Using our advanced business intelligence engine, we can verify that all steps are complete BEFORE the patient presents. Daily activities are prioritized to ensure that all steps are completed and all documentation prepared. Documents are held in queue pending the patient’s arrival at which time they can be delivered to the desktop of the registrar regardless of where the patient presents.

All of this can be accomplished using your existing sytems for patient registration/scheduling, eligibility, medical necessity, etc.. We don’t force you to replace your existing best of breed solutions. We simply work with these vendors to more tightly integrate them into the pre-arrival process.

One of the key benefits of this solution is the ability to proactively review status changes, insurance changes, and scheduling changes that may affect the precertification steps previously performed for the patient.

Some examples include:

• ED to Inpatient, Same Day Surgery, or Observation
• Observation to Inpatient
• Observation > 23 Hours
• Labor and Delivery > 2 Days
• Labor and Delivery > 4 Days
• Same Day Surgery to Inpatient or Observation
• Outpatient to Inpatient or Observation

The real-time, 24/7 monitoring that takes place within this workflow ensures that these items don’t fall through the cracks and result in unnecessary rework, potential denials, underpayments, or write-offs.

• Case Study for ASC

ActiveWARE is a workflow automation platform consisting of document management, forms automation, workflow automation, and numerous integration tools. As a result, we are able to layer our solution on to an existing HIS platform or 3^rd party application. We enable best of breed solutions to work together in a more transparent manner. We don’t come in and ask you to replace a trusted vendor or product with our own. We determine what’s working well and integrate it into our platform so you retain your original investments in both software and training. We make it possible to aggregate and share information which eliminates a lot of rekeying and rework resulting from bouncing between multiple applications.

This platform aggregates information from disparate systems into a single, comprehensive electronic patient folder. Our business intelligence engine monitors everything that goes into and out of this electronic patient folder.

The business rules enforce data and documentation standards, performance benchmarks, and trigger workflow tasks whenever an issue is detected, or actionable information needs to be presented to an end user. This eliminates the “out of sight, out of mind” problems that plague most hospital processes by monitoring each encounter in real time 24/7.

We don’t simply manage “registration accuracy” for our clients….we manage “encounter accuracy”. By taking a holistic approach to the entire revenue cycle, and managing all financial data and documentation collected for that patient encounter, we are able to make everything “actionable”. Using sophisticated deficiency tracking and management techniques, we can proactively manage the encounter and drive workflow as events occur and conditions are detected within the patient encounter.

A small sampling of how this technology can be used includes:

• Accuracy Tracking and Reporting by Associate, Department, and Site
• Address Correction/Standardization and Delivery Point Verification
• Identity Checking and Verification
• MPI Integrity Checking
• Escalated Deficiencies Pending Patient Arrival (i.e. 1-Day, 3-Day)
• Post Registration Deficiency Follow-up
• Missing Physician Orders
• Missing or Unsigned Consent Forms
• Missing or Unsigned Important Message from Medicare
• 2-Day and 4-Day Maternity Patients
• Boarder Babies
• High Dollar Balances
• Series Patient Management

• Botsford Case Study

To better manage patient arrivals, including the option to fast track pre-registered patients, HealthWare has created a series of solutions that work in concert with one another to efficiently move patients through the registration process.

Greeter Station – provides check-in, way-finding, visitor management, and forms generation for patients upon arrival at a facility. It interfaces with our electronic waiting list which is then used to prioritize patients and match their needs to the capabilities of the registrar.

Electronic Waiting Lists and Queuing – provides the ability to prioritize multiple waiting lists, queue patients based on site-specific criteria, assign patients to registrars best suited to meet their needs (i.e. language preference, financial situation) and measure and capture metrics related to these activities in real-time.

ActiveDISPLAY – provides a display board in the waiting room to notify a patient to proceed to a registration booth for service. ActiveDISPLAY also includes support for marketing messages and promotional screens for wellness programs and other hospital announcements and patient communication.

Patient Queue Management – monitors the electronic waiting list of arrived patients and prioritizes the wait queue to most efficiently move patients through registration. Skills-based or conditional routing makes it possible to assign a patient to a registrar with the appropriate skill set (i.e. pre-registered, financial assistance/counseling, surgery).

Real-Time Management Dashboard – monitors performance metrics across all sites, departments, and users to identify bottlenecks in real-time and take action BEFORE wait times exceed key performance thresholds established by each facility.

Advanced Messaging – clinician notification is supported should a site choose to extend tracking beyond registration. In addition, alerts and notifications via e-mail or text message can be setup when performance thresholds are approached in a given site, department, or individual registration booth.

Reporting – comprehensive reporting of key metrics is supported by site, department, peer group, or user. In addition, ad-hoc reporting can be made available for all data elements captured and managed by ActiveTRACK.

Each of these modules can operate independently or can be deployed as an integrated solution capable of streamlining check-in, managing electronic wait lists, and monitoring performance across all registration areas in real-time.

• Case study

√ Expert Systems in Registration

• Case Study

√ Financial Assistance and Case Management

• Case Study

√ Patient Financial Services Workflows

• Case Study

√ Pre-surgical Workflow

• Case Study

If you’re going through a system conversion or planning one in the near future, HealthWare Systems can provide the support you need to ensure success. A system conversion represents a major disruption to your operation as users are trained and transitioned to the new system. The biggest challenge exists in the business office where the staff needs to continue to work accounts that are eighteen months old or more. Our system conversion service fits any healthcare organization contemplating any of the following options:

• Outsourcing the collections for the entire outstanding debt at the time of cutover, resulting in a significant cost as your collection agency will typically charge a premium for the older accounts;
• Paying huge service fees to retrofit all data from the current system to your new platform;
• Keeping the old system running until all accounts have been collected or written off, another significant expense because the IT department must maintain two systems, and the outgoing vendor will charge a premium during the transition.

HealthWare Systems has the ability to convert all of the existing data and offload it to a SQL-based repository, allowing your facility to turn off the old system sooner and eliminate the dual-support and additional cost of maintaining two systems. We use our Facilitator product to provide ongoing access to accounts. In fact, accounts that need to be reviewed for legal follow-up are available indefinitely via Facilitator (some sites go back more than ten years). The enterprise version of Facilitator allows your staff to continue to work accounts and manage the collection activity as a separate project.

Hospitals today are facing increased scrutiny regarding charity care policies and collection practices. As a result, many have to review historical practices and determine if their past activities would fall outside of their official policies. Most of these accounts are already placed with collection agencies that may or may not be following the official collection practices employed by the hospital itself. HealthWare Systems offers the service of analyzing these accounts, performing an automated charity screening process and producing follow-up activities for those individuals that may have qualified for charity care in the past or whose personal situation has changed and may now qualify for charity care.