Mediaboss Marketing

ATLANTA, Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid the current debate surrounding the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed regulations regarding the development of Accountable Care Organizations (ACO), many leaders in the healthcare industry are looking to successful ACO and ACO-like initiatives for guidance on best practices and critical success factors. At this year's Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference and Exhibition, Craneware's clients, Todd Craghead, Vice President of the Revenue Cycle at Intermountain Healthcare, and Dale Sanders, CIO of the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA), will share lessons learned from their organizations on how to improve the business of healthcare through revenue integrity workflow processes.

The presentation, "Implementing Sustainable Revenue Cycle Workflows" will be held on Friday, February 24 at 10:00am – session 205, and will highlight key areas for C-suite executives to emphasize when working to improve an organization's operational efficiency and financial performance. Todd Craghead of Intermountain, the internationally-recognized non-profit health system cited as a "bellwether in healthcare" by President Obama, will speak alongside Dale Sanders of the Cayman Islands HSA, a public healthcare system comprised of two hospitals and six clinics with an insurance company in the Cayman Islands. These industry leaders will share their own unique experiences in how improvements to revenue cycle management processes through workflow technology can lay the foundation for success, regardless of whether the organization participates in an ACO.

"Our main priority at Intermountain is to provide high-quality yet cost-effective care to our community – goals that are strategically very similar to ACO objectives," said Craghead. "Based on our experience, organizations cannot achieve these revenue integrity goals without effective collaboration and automated technology to enhance compliance and improve charge capture. I am pleased to have the opportunity to share my experience with the HIMSS community alongside Dale Sanders and with the support of Craneware."

"A little over two years ago, we started the journey towards major healthcare reform in the Cayman Islands, starting first with reforms to pricing, insurance billing and the revenue cycle," said Dale Sanders, CIO of the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA).  "Prior to this, the national system had 14 straight years of eight-figure financial loss.  The first two years of the reform effort resulted in the first two years of profit in the system's history.  It's an amazing turnaround.  We are now implementing a point-of-care, real-time claims adjudication system that will cut the overhead of coding and claims processing by 60%.  It's an honor for me to share this story of the Cayman Islands as a national role model for healthcare reform, particularly together with Todd Craghead and Intermountain, where I spent the first 10 years of my healthcare career. "

"The ACO movement has sharpened the healthcare industry's attention to the importance of revenue integrity," said Keith Neilson, Craneware CEO. "Craneware is committed to helping healthcare organizations achieve optimal, appropriate reimbursement, increased operational efficiency, and compliance. It is gratifying to support our clients as they share best practices for achieving revenue integrity with the HIMSS community. We are glad Craneware software is a core component of these customers' revenue integrity accomplishments, normalizing data at the points where clinical information transforms into revenue transactions, while creating visibility and accountability for sustaining financial health."

Craneware, the market leader in automated revenue integrity solutions, is deeply committed to promoting revenue integrity within healthcare organizations. As part of these efforts Craneware maintains its Revenue Integrity Round Table blog at StoptheLeakage.com. Craneware invites all those in healthcare and related fields join the more than 200 members already committed to the movement to prevent revenue leakage by building a structure to support optimal revenue integrity. 

About Intermountain Healthcare
Intermountain Healthcare is a nonprofit system based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with 23 hospitals, more than 185 clinics, a Medical Group with over 900 employed physicians; a health plans division called SelectHealth, and other related health services.  Intermountain is the largest healthcare provider in the Intermountain West, with over 32,000 employees.  They are widely recognized as a leader in clinical quality and efficient healthcare delivery, having been ranked 12 consecutive years in a row among America's top 100 integrated healthcare systems. 

About Cayman Islands Health Services Authority
The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority provides primary healthcare and public health services through the 124-bed Cayman Islands Hospital (104 inpatient and 12 observation beds) and the 18-bed Faith Hospital on Cayman Brac. Ancillary services are offered at six district health centers, and clinics for dental and eye care.

About Craneware
Craneware (AIM: CRW.L) is the leader in automated revenue integrity solutions that improve financial performance for healthcare organizations. Craneware's market-driven, SaaS solutions help hospitals and other healthcare providers more effectively price, charge, code and retain earned revenue for patient care services and supplies. This optimizes reimbursement, increases operational efficiency and minimizes compliance risk. By partnering with Craneware, clients achieve the visibility required to identify, address and prevent revenue leakage. To learn more, visit craneware.com and stoptheleakage.com.

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Intermountain Healthcare and Cayman Islands Health Services Authority Executives to Present on Revenue Integrity at ...