January 26, 2011 – An enhanced coding issue management capability has been introduced. The Qualitative Intelligence and Communications System (QICS), by peerVue, is designed to streamline inter- and cross-department coding workflow to ensure that radiology departments fully capture appropriate imaging revenues.
Initiated by a coder or natural language processing software when a billing-related problem is recognized, QICS workflow automates the request for a radiology report addendum to clarify an exam or diagnosis. Common coding issues include reports with vague or absent clinical indications as well as improper descriptions of a test, protocol or other procedure.
“In many hospitals, follow-up on coding-related information is an ad-hoc process, burdening numerous individuals in various administrative and clinical roles,” said Kyle Lawton, CEO of peerVue. “The result is often sub-optimal revenue capture and inefficient use of department time.”
It helps manage these processes by automatically notifying appropriate radiologists about a newly submitted coding issue through email, SMS or pop-up window. If desired, the notification appears directly at the PACS workstation, enabling single click navigation to the flagged study.
Coding issues not immediately addressed by the radiologist are queued on Web-based worklists, where radiologists can click through to their PACS, amend the report as appropriate and note the issue closed within QICS. The amended report is then automatically transmitted to the coder involved. Real-time dashboards and management reports provide all the tools necessary to manage the overall process.
This workflow provides close-loop communications and enhanced visibility to all parties involved in the coding process, resulting in fewer missed charges and reduced manual efforts to track and follow-up on issues.
QICS helps automate and manage a virtually unlimited range of radiology workflow, from critical results communication to emergency room discrepancy management. At the same time, the unique platform takes advantage of this information to support continuous departmental improvements and maximizing of revenue.
Integrating seamlessly with HIS, RIS and PACS solutions, QICS simplifies the IT environment by eliminating workarounds in existing.
For more information: www.peerVue.com