C Sikina | PubMed Health

PubMed2000

C3: A comprehensive physician activity and billing tool

Purpose: The Clinical Charge Capture system (C3) was developed at the University of Michigan to increase the efficiency and accuracy with which information about physician activity and billing is tracked in academic medical centers. Description: This Oracle-based, Visual Basic system integrates the operating room scheduling system, transcription database, clinical data repository, referring physician database, and IDX to allow physicians and staff to perform paperless and on-line standard tasks such as preauthorizing procedures; creating a bill which describes the charges for procedures performed along with their supporting diagnoses; identifying inpatient daily care and consult charges; dictating, editing, signing, and providing attestations for procedural and inpatient notes (menu-driven boilerplate notes are used for common procedures); submitting of charges on-line to IDX; and downloading of payment data from IDX. A messaging system between physicians and billing specialists allows questions to be posed regarding coding issues and options. Summary information about charges is presented and the status of the bill as it progresses through the internal review and billing process is demonstrated. Any missing data are flagged such that delivery of a bill is accurate, timely, and complete. Outpatient clinic visit charges are acquired on line using bar code technology with direct download of clinic charges to IDX. Generation of charges and referral letters may be performed immediately following the performance of a procedure or patient encounter or subsequently in the office. Resident activity is also tracked. Finally, search functions are provided which allow the program to serve as a clinical information research database. Results: The time to bill submission for operative procedures in fiscal year 1996 (Pre-C3) when compared to 1999 (Post-C3) decreased in each individual surgical division (See figure)as well as for the overall Department (Total: mean Pre-C3=40 days, mean Post-C3=8 days). The average bill was increased by 9% for each primary charge submitted. Conclusions: We conclude that this system has the potential to enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and organization of routine physician documentation, billing, and data collection activities.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1999

Specialty networking in pediatric surgery: a paradigm for the future of academic surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To review retrospectively a 4-year experience with pediatric surgical networking at a major academic medical center in the Midwest. BACKGROUND: The growth of managed care in the United States during the past decade has had a major impact on the practice of medicine in general, but especially on academic medicine. In some academic medical centers, the loss of market share has not only affected clinical activity but has also compromised the educational and research missions of these institutions. METHODS: At the authors' institution, a networking strategy in pediatric surgery was established in 1993 and implemented on July 1, 1994. In 1994, one new satellite practice was established; over the next 4 years, four additional practices were added, including one in another state. To assess the impact on financial status, clinical activity, education, and academic productivity, the following parameters were analyzed: gross and net revenue, surgical cases, clinic visits, ranking of the pediatric surgery residency, publications, grant support, and development and endowment funds. RESULTS: Gross and net revenue increased from $3,273,000 and $302,000 in 1993 to $10,087,000 and $2,826,000, respectively, in 1998. Surgical cases and clinic visits increased from 1240 and 3751 in 1993 to 5872 and 11,604, respectively, in 1998. At the medical center's children's hospital, surgical cases and clinic visits increased from 1240 and 3751 to 2592 and 4729 during the same time period. During this 4-year period, the faculty increased from 4 to 11. Since 1997, the National Resident Matching Program has provided data on how pediatric surgery residency candidates ranked a training program. In 1997, this program received the second-most one to five rankings; in 1998, it tied for first. This exceeds the faculty's perception of previous years' rankings. Publications increased from 26 in 1993 to a peak number of 62 in 1996; in 1997 and 1998 the publications were 48 and 37, respectively. External grant support increased from $139,882 in 1993 to a total of $6,109,971 in 1998. Development and endowment funds increased from $103,559 in 1993 to $2,702,2777 in 1998. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric surgical networking at the authors' institution has had a markedly positive impact on finances, clinical activity, education, and academic productivity during a 4-year period. The residency training program appears to have improved in popularity among candidates, probably because of the increased referral of complex cases to the medical center from the various networking satellites. External grant support and basic laboratory research significantly increased, most likely because of the greater number of faculty with protected time for research recruited. Development and endowment funds dramatically grew because of the excellent fiscal health of the pediatric surgical program. This experience may serve as a model for other academic surgical specialties.

Academic Medical Centers↗