Thursday, June 28, 2012

Press Release: Hoag HIE Enhances the Patient Experience with Unibased’s ForSite2020® Patient Engagement Solution

Unibased Systems Architecture (Unibased) announced that Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, in Newport Beach, CA, has taken a tremendous step forward in enhancing the patient experience by successfully completing implementation of the ForSite2020® RMS resource management & patient access solution across all of Hoag's diagnostic imaging locations, including Hoag Hospital-Irvine, Hoag Hospital-Newport Beach, Hoag Breast Care Center, Hoag Sleep Lab, Surgical Services and 7 outpatient service centers.

The successful implementation provides Hoag with the infrastructure needed to enable streamlined resource management and efficient coordination of care across the entire Hoag community of caring. This allows Hoag scheduling staff to offer patients the most convenient service locations and appointment times available within the Hoag enterprise as well as establish a consistent "front door" approach to Hoag services. Rollout of these areas sets the stage for expanded use of ForSite2020® including automated handling of all physician orders received electronically from the Medicity health information exchange (HIE), which Hoag has established in partnership with the physician community. Physician orders that continue to be sent via fax will be received electronically in ForSite2020® and used to initiate the scheduling of services directly from the faxed order through the ForSite2020® Fax Order Collection Utilization & Storage (FOCUS). Unibased has also delivered web services integration that will allow Hoag to incorporate the ForSite2020® Consumer Access & Scheduling for Healthcare (CASH) consumer portal from within the Hoag Patient Portal for improved patient engagement and consumer satisfaction.

Tim Moore, Hoag’s Chief Information Officer, stated, “Hoag’s commitment to improving the patient experience while enhancing physician alignment was at the forefront of Unibased’s vision – to increase access to services and streamline the coordination of care across the enterprise. Unibased has stood true to that vision and has met and exceeded all of our expectations with a timely delivery as well as a quick and easy implementation. We are excited for this partnership knowing that Unibased stands by their commitments and are constantly making improvements to provide even faster access to services across the continuum of care. Unibased, together with the Hoag HIE, will provide more open communication with our community to enhance quality of care, patient safety and healthcare efficiency.” 

About Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian:  Hoag is a not-for-profit regional healthcare delivery network in Orange County, CA that treats nearly 30,000 inpatients and 350,000 outpatients annually. Hoag consists of two acute-care hospitals, seven health centers and five urgent care centers. Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, which has served Orange County since 1952, and Hoag Hospital Irvine, which opened in 2010, are designated Magnet hospitals by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Hoag offers a comprehensive blend of health care services that include six institutes providing specialized services in the following areas: cancer, heart and vascular, neurosciences, women’s health, primary care and orthopedics through Hoag’s affiliate Hoag Orthopedic Institute. Hoag has been named one of the Best Regional Hospitals in the U.S. News & World Report Metro Edition. National Research Corporation has endorsed Hoag as Orange County’s most preferred hospital for the past 15 consecutive years and for an unprecedented 15 years, residents of Orange County have chosen Hoag as the county’s best hospital in a local newspaper survey. Visit www.hoag.org.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Press Release: Unibased to Support the Transition to ICD-10 for Medical Diagnosis and Inpatient Procedure Coding in Newest Release

Unibased Systems Architecture (Unibased) will support the ICD-10 medical diagnosis and inpatient procedure coding in its newest ForSite2020® release, and will be ready when the ICD-9 code sets are replaced by ICD-10 on October 1, 2013. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is the standard diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes.

ICD-10 will affect diagnosis and inpatient procedure coding for everyone covered by Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA), not just those who submit Medicare or Medicaid claims. ICD-10 medical diagnosis codes must be used for all health care services provided in the U.S., and ICD-10 procedure codes must be used for all hospital inpatient procedures. Claims with ICD-9 codes for services provided on or after the compliance deadline cannot be paid.

Unibased is committed to developing an implementation strategy that includes an assessment of the impact on the healthcare organization, a detailed timeline as well as budget, and will work with customers to install and test ICD-10-ready ForSite2020® solutions. By taking a proactive role in assisting with the transition, Unibased ForSite2020® customers can get their claims paid with no delay, lost time or disruption in productivity.

Download PDF of Press Release Here