When Chase Dabney became Chief Technology Officer of Atrinea Health in 2013, the group had recently gone through a period of significant growth and consolidation. Atrinea was successfully delivering primary care services in various locations in New Mexico, but its healthcare IT systems were ill-equipped to support the group’s evolving business model. Learn how Chase led the search for a new solution to position Atrinea to operate more profitably and productively during its next phase of growth.
ONE ORGANIZATION,
SEPARATE SYSTEMS
The fundamental challenge with Atrinea’s previous software was the complete absence of integration between IT systems. First and foremost, the practice management (PM) system did not support multiple tax IDs, so Atrinea had to run four separate versions with no communication between them. This made it impossible for billers and call center staff to operate efficiently since they had to log in and out of multiple systems constantly to look up patients, prepare claims, and so on.
Next was the issue of having to use multiple other stand-alone solutions. For example, the PM system did not integrate with the EDI program, so Atrinea had to run four separate EDI systems too. They also had to use a separate site to check patient insurance eligibility and yet another tool to send patient statements.
CASE STUDY
Primary Care Group Boosts
Profitability and Productivity
with Integrated Solution
FAST FACTS:
• Family Practice & Urgent Care • Headquartered in Albuquerque, NM • 6 Clinics & a Central Office
• 15 Providers • 100 Staff Members
• Solutions: CareCloud Concierge (RCM),
CareCloud Central (PM), CareCloud Charts (EHR)
Exacerbating the situation, the PM system did not communicate with Atrinea’s Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, leading to unnecessary delays after patients checked in and excessive manual work billing for their visits. It was time to find a single solution to accelerate efficiency and eliminate unnecessary costs.
THE SEARCH FOR AN INTEGRATED, CLOUD-BASED SOLUTION
In the search for a new solution, Chase began with online researchfocused on integrated, cloud-based solutions. Atrinea was set on moving to the cloud, not only to avoid the cost of hosting servers on-site, but also to remove the burden of managing them. Working with an established cloud-based vendor would allow Chase and his IT team to stay focused on their areas of expertise. “I’m a database guy…I wanted to be able to know someone would be taking care of the network who knows that area better than I do,” he says.
Being cloud-based was one of the 10 non-negotiable criteria Atrinea’s leadership defined for the new solution. On top of software-related criteria, they wanted to find a company that offered outsourced revenue cycle management (RCM) services so they could streamline staffing and improve results. With criteria in hand, Chase began calling companies. If they didn’t meet the criteria or provide clear answers, he ruled them out.
Eventually narrowing the list down to five vendors, Chase began viewing demos, but the search was about more than what he saw from the software. Atrinea wanted to find a vendor that would be a partner, one the Atrinea team could interact with on an ongoing basis. “The more I got involved directly with the companies, the more I realized that CareCloud was going to be the one,” Chase says.
MODERN SOLUTION, PROMISING PARTNERSHIP
The decision to go with CareCloud was partly based on software and partly on people. “As we met more and more members of the CareCloud team, we knew we were choosing a great partner,” Chase reflects. That meant a company that would be open to feedback and not go silent after the deal closed. “CareCloud has a great team. They care about the product, their company, and their clients,” Chase says.
When evaluating the software itself, Chase paid particular
attention to workflow. “The other big deciding factor was workflow – what the workflow would look like for the people doing the work on a daily basis,” he says. To that end, he looked for an intuitive solution that wouldn’t require staff to dig through menus and excessive screens to do their jobs. CareCloud’s fully integrated solution and modern interface stood out. “It’s like Facebook, like using your phone,” Chase says.
"The more I got involved directly with the companies, the more I realized that CareCloud was going to be the one."
"The other big deciding factor was workflow – what the workflow would look like for the people doing the work on a daily basis."
SMOOTH IMPLEMENTATION
An effective implementation laid the groundwork for Atrinea’s
success with CareCloud. “Our experience has been great. The whole implementation process went very smoothly,” Chase says. As part of the process, CareCloud went onsite and performed a workflow analysis to help Atrinea adopt best practices and optimize their clinical, administrative, and financial workflows. “CareCloud’s detailed evaluation and implementation guidance helped us avoid a lot of potential pitfalls,” Chase states.
The “train the trainer” approach Atrinea used and CareCloud’s online training resources further drove rapid adoption of the software. “CareCloud’s online training is some of the best I’ve ever seen,” Chase says.
POWERFUL FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL RESULTS
REVENUE ON THE RISE
With CareCloud, Atrinea is not only capturing more of the revenue they’ve rightfully earned, but they’re also seeing it come in faster. Revenue per patient has increased by over 20%, Chase reports, and he expects to see additional gains as clinical documentation continues improving with CareCloud Charts, CareCloud’s EHR. Since providers can capture all components of patient visits (e.g., exams, injections) more easily now, documentation is more complete. “Documentation is so much better, so it supports using more representative codes,” Chase explains.
What’s more, CareCloud’s software and RCM services have helped Atrinea streamline and optimize their revenue cycle processes, so they’ve accelerated cash flow too. “We’re getting charges out faster, we’re getting paid faster, and we’re getting charges posted faster,” Chase says. Atrinea’s denial rate, now down to 6%, has decreased by about 10 percentage points since switching and the group’s net collections rate is now in line with industry benchmarks.
“Our net collection rate is exactly where we need it to be now,” Chase states.
COSTS ON THE DECLINE
Atrinea has been able to reduce both staffing and IT costs by making the switch. As a CareCloud Concierge client, CareCloud’s RCM team handles key back-office tasks for Atrinea, such as working denials and posting payments. Having this team manage major RCM tasks on its behalf has allowed Atrinea to take control of formerly ballooning staffing costs. In addition, efficiencies from using CareCloud’s software have reduced the need for staff overtime.
Chase has also seen benefits in his immediate department. When an IT staff member left recently, he found he did not need to backfill the position. Plus, Atrinea has reduced other IT costs by consolidating its software with a single, cloud-based vendor. Now, the group no longer has to pay for multiple separate systems or incur the costs of having on-site servers.
REVENUE PER PATIENT: UP 20%
20%
DENIAL RATE: DOWN 10 PERCENTAGE PTS
10%
"We’re getting charges out faster, we’re getting paid faster, and we’re getting charges posted faster."
“Our experience has been great. The whole implementation process went very smoothly.”
NEW VISIBILITY INTO PERFORMANCE
Visibility into business processes and results is critical for any practice leader and Chase is no exception. “As an executive, I need data to make decisions and keep close track of the business,” he emphasizes. “I want to be able to see all of the data and how everything flows together in the system. With CareCoud, I have that visibility. The financial reporting in CareCloud alone makes it worth the investment.”
Advanced Analytics, CareCloud’s powerful solution for robust, highly customized analyses, has been particularly impactful. Not only does Atrinea now have hundreds of metrics to choose from, but they can also get the data faster. “One of the hardest things for software companies to do is make it easy for the average person to access data,” Chase says. “The way that Advanced Analytics has been able to break down areas of interest and lay them out in a way that makes it easy to customize criteria and graphs is unheard of. I’ve never seen a company make it so easy to do this in the healthcare industry.”
CareCloud’s analytics solutions are also making it easier for Atrinea’s leadership to compare performance across their multiple locations. Since CareCloud provides the tools to extract the data that the system generates automatically, Chase doesn’t have to settle for limited, second-hand reporting. Having a wide variety of metrics available— and accessible for all locations from one source—has helped drive accountability across the organization.
"The financial reporting in CareCloud alone makes it worth the investment."
HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY
Atrinea has also seen productivity soar with CareCloud due both to the system’s integrated design and intuitive interface. The group is reaping the benefits of having a single solution. Gone is the need for separate PM, EDI, EHR, and other systems that gobble up valuable time. “The CareCloud system is intuitive and integrated,“ Chase says, “everything is just right there.”
The PM-EHR integration has produced especially large efficiency gains. “We no longer have two systems, just two tabs in the same system,” Chase says. “The integration of the two sides makes so many things possible that drive efficiency.” For example, before there was no electronic way to let providers know patients had checked in, so they had to wait for staff to bring clipboards back to the clinical area. “Real-time notification to providers that patients are ready has been one of the biggest time-savers,” Chase says. In fact, “the average patient visit duration has dropped about 20 minutes due to workflow improvements.”
The system’s modern user interface and straightforward workflow also make it easy for new users to pick up. “I had a new provider come on board recently and part way through the training she told me she was all set. It’s that intuitive,” Chase states. And, once new users are up and running, they save time due to the system’s user-friendly design and automated workflows. “All the apps are set up almost as a task list, so CareCloud keeps what’s important front and center. CareCloud lays out your tasks for you—for example, identifying claims that need your attention—so you can get work done faster,” Chase says.
AVERAGE PATIENT VISIT DURATION: DOWN 20 MINUTES
20 MINS
"CareCloud lays out your tasks for you—for example, identifying claims that need your attention—so you can get work done faster."
"The CareCloud system is intuitive and integrated... everything is just right there."
CareCloud.com · Miami, FL · 1-877-342-7519 · [email protected]
LOOKING FORWARD WITH ENTHUSIASM
Chase and the other members of Atrinea’s leadership team are happy not only about the profitability and productivity gains they’ve seen already with CareCloud, but also about the continued partnership they have with the CareCloud team. “You couldn’t ask for a better partner. Most other companies are done once they close the deal and CareCloud is far from that,” Chase emphasizes. “As we went live and since then,
all across the board—with the support team, our client manager, CareCloud executives—we’ve always been able to get what we need in a timely manner. It’s been the partnership we were looking for,” he says.
Want to learn more about the modern, integrated solution that
has helped Atrinea Health boost financial results and streamline workflow?
Visit
CareCloud.com/Concierge
or call us at 1-877-342-7519
to schedule a demo of our cloud-based software.
"You couldn’t ask for a better partner. Most other companies are done once they close the deal and CareCloud is far from that."
