PQRS Initiative Yields $70,000 ROI For Clinic

Growth in patient population and provider ranks resulted in relocation to a larger facility in 2005, followed in 2008 by the opening of a satellite clinic in nearby Pell City, Ala. Between mid-2007 and the summer of 2008, Birmingham Heart Clinic added an interventional cardiolog! ist, EP cardiologist and a non-invasive cardiologist to its staff.

With a decentralized operation and continued growth, Birmingham Heart increasingly needed to coordinate patient care away from paper charts, reconcile administrative tasks and ensure that each patient was receiving optimal continuums of care as overall patient population increased. In addition, Birmingham Heart sought to modernize its technology to address public and private quality reporting initiatives such as Physician Quality Reporting, meaningful use and anticipated accountable care, in part due to its proximity and association with St. Vincent's hospital.

Birmingham Heart Clinic selected an integrated electronic health record (EHR), practice management and interoperability solution to accomplish its clinical, financial and administrative goals. In January of 2009, the practice began its go-! live utilization, and by the spring, its nine providers and 40-member clinical, mid-level and administrative staff were utilizing at the point of care and integrating administrative functions, led by Birmingham Heart Practice Administrator William Sester and Clinical Director Charlie Walker.

Following a 12-month period ending in May of 2010, Birmingham Heart realized substantial ROI compared to pre-deployment in several categories, and you can read them all when you access the full case study here.