Minneapolis, MN (February 23, 2009) – Cardiovascular information systems (CVIS) are not delivering quantifiable financial benefits, according to cardiac cath lab directors who participated in an independent national survey completed in January on behalf of Wolters Kluwer Health and ProVation Medical. The survey of hospital cardiac cath lab directors was designed to measure the use and satisfaction levels with CVIS and procedure documentation systems.
Thirty one percent of cardiac cath lab directors reported no quantifiable improvements in revenues or the revenue cycle since implementing CVIS, due in part to continued reliance on dictation for physician documentation. Overall, 69% of respondents reported that physicians continue to dictate, despite clinical procedure documentation for physicians being identified by 51% of cardiology directors as an “extremely important” CVIS feature.
“When properly designed and implemented, technological systems for cardiology should streamline workflow, reduce costs and increase revenue,” said Arvind Subramanian, President & CEO, Wolters Kluwer Health Clinical Solutions and ProVation® Medical. “However, when they are difficult to use, don’t offer a solid return on investment (ROI) or do not integrate with other information systems, they cannot deliver the full scope of improvements health care organizations require to achieve their patient care and financial goals.”
This was borne out in the survey. The majority of respondents reported being only “somewhat satisfied” or “satisfied” with CVIS. Lower satisfaction rates were most closely associated with problems interfacing with other systems and hardware (10%); failure to function as promised (8%); not user-friendly (7%); poor vendor support (6%); and failure to offer a comprehensive array of features (5%).
Of the 31% who reported using software for procedure documentation, fewer than one in five said the application produced automatic CPT and ICD codes based on that documentation. As a result, 22% reported no quantifiable increase in revenues since implementing the documentation solution.
However, interest in clinical documentation software remains high. The majority (68%) of those whose physicians currently dictate said it was at least “somewhat likely” that they would implement physician procedure documentation within the next two years. Among the features identified as having the most influence over that purchasing decision were the ability to streamline workflows and increase efficiencies (88%), ease-of-use (86%) and physician satisfaction rates (72%).
“ProVation software delivers these benefits and more,” said Dr. Stephen Claypool, Vice President of Clinical Development and Informatics, Wolters Kluwer Health Clinical Solutions and ProVation® Medical. “By eliminating transcription and automating the documentation and coding processes, ProVation software delivers a solid return on investment through reduced costs and improved reimbursement levels. Further, because it was designed by clinicians, ProVation software ensures a high rate of end-user adoption, allowing our clients to realize a much faster ROI.”
ProVation MD software for procedure documentation and coding compliance replaces dictation/transcription and streamlines the coding and billing process. Unlike Cardiovascular Information Systems (CVIS), which collect patient measurements and administrative data, ProVation MD allows clinicians to quickly and completely document medical procedures at the point of care, then applies the appropriate reimbursement codes to drive compliance and revenue recovery. ProVation MD interfaces with cardiovascular nursing, imaging and measurement systems to complete the electronic documentation process and free busy cardiologists and technologists from time-consuming dictation. The company will be exhibiting its ProVation MD Cardiology software at the American College of Cardiology’s 58th Annual Scientific Session in Orlando March 29 – 31, 2009.
ProVation is currently used by thousands of clinicians at more than 600 hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers, in specialties including Cardiology, ENT, Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Pain Management, Plastic Surgery, Pulmonology and Urology.
Renaissance Research, of Edwardsville, IL, conducted the national online survey Jan. 13-25, 2009. The survey was completed by 151 hospital cardiology and cardiac lab directors, providing a margin of error of +/- 8 percentage points.
About ProVation Medical
ProVation® Medical is part of Wolters Kluwer Health (Conshohocken, PA) is a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry. Major brands include traditional publishers of medical and drug reference tools and textbooks, such as Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and Facts & Comparisons®; electronic information providers, such as Ovid, UpToDate, Medi-Span® and ProVation Medical; and pharmaceutical information providers Adis International and Source®.
ProVation Medical provides procedure documentation and clinical decision support solutions for hospitals and Ambulatory Surgery Centers. ProVation MD, ProVation MultiCaregiver and ProVation EHR software reduce transcription, paper storage and image printing costs and deliver a high Return on Investment through electronic procedure documentation. ProVation® Order Sets put evidence-based healthcare into practice by establishing and maintaining standards of care.
Contacts:
Laura Gilbert
Director, Marketing Communications
Wolters Kluwer Health Clinical Solutions
(612) 313-1506
laura.gilbert@wolterskluwer.com