T - System Showcases Emergency Department Solutions To Increase Hospital Revenue At HFMA's 2011 ANI
With nearly half of a hospital's revenue coming from the emergency department (ED), T-System helps optimize ED performance to improve financial health
Beginning recently at booth #229, T-System, Inc., will demonstrate how the right blend of technology and services in the emergency department (ED) can dramatically increase hospital revenue at the Healthcare Financial Management Association's 2011 ANI: The Healthcare Finance Conferencein Orlando. Armed with statistics, case studies and references that illustrate the critical value of an ED's performance to a hospital's bottom line, T-System will present a compelling business case for ED optimization as the healthcare environment undergoes transformative change.
T-System will showcase how its professional services complement T SystemEV, the company's leading ONC-ATCB-certified ED information system (EDIS), to help hospitals improve revenue cycle, clinical, financial and operational performance. T-System's technology-enabled services include coding and workflow optimization, risk analysis, educational services and more. Celebrating its 15th anniversary this week and partner to more than 40 percent of the nation's EDs, T-System stands out as the ED knowledge leader at the annual HFMA conference.
"We are excited to share our ED expertise with thousands of ANI attendees representing the industry's top hospital finance leaders," said Steve Armond, T-System chief financial officer. "With 45 percent of a hospital's overall revenue coming from the ED directly or from admissions through the ED, it is the underlying unit supporting the financial health of the entire organization. We're here to help hospital leaders understand that and discuss how T-System solutions can have a positive impact on a hospital's bottom line."
The challenges facing EDs are numerous. Among the top concerns is overcrowding. According to a study published in the May 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the number of hospital-based EDs decreased from 4,771 to 4,613, or 3.3 percent, between 1998 and 2008. During the same period, ED visits increased from 94.8 million to 123 million, or 30 percent.
Continued Armond, "The ED is the third highest revenue source for hospitals following surgery and cardiology service lines; but many facilities face enormous difficulties maintaining this vital revenue stream and associated margins as the number of ED visits escalates and as the patient mix shifts from commercial to Medicaid or self-pay. During the past decade, hospitals using our solutions report managing successfully rising patient volume, overcrowding, data access, declining margins and other concerns forcing their peers to close emergency departments."
T-System has worked with more than 1,700 clients to capture and analyze millions of ED patient encounters. One particular mid-sized ED averaging 40,000 annual patient visits credits the company for boosting its revenue by $7.5M over a five-year period. With T-System's help, the hospital also achieved $535,000 in cost savings and $515,000 in productivity gains. Looking to the future, T-System experts are preparing to provide much consultation and guidance on such topics as Meaningful Use, the transition to ICD-10, etc.
"The ED is truly the front door to the hospital. With an organization's clinical and financial outcomes significantly tied to the ED, it is essential that providers select the right partner specializing in solutions and services tailored for the ED environment," said Armond. "EHR technology coupled with our ED specialists make for a powerful combination in helping hospitals maximize performance and ROI."
About T-System
T-System, Inc. sets the industry standard for clinical, business and IT solutions for emergency medicine, with approximately 40 percent of the nation's emergency departments using T-System solutions. To meet the individual needs of hospitals, T-System offers both paper and electronic systems. These tools help clinicians provide better patient care, while improving efficiency and the bottom line. Today, more than 1,700 emergency departments rely on T-System's gold-standard content and workflow solutions. For more information, visit www.tsystem.com.
SOURCE: T-System, Inc.