McKesson today introduced Practice Partner® Complete, healthcare's only service for physicians that combines integrated electronic health records (EHRs) and practice management software with billing and accounts receivable management services. Also included is payor and patient connectivity powered by RelayHealth, McKesson's connectivity services company. This comprehensive service package is offered via a performance-based subscription service hosted over a secure Internet connection, eliminating the need for upfront capital investment and sophisticated information technology resources.
"This complete practice offering is designed to pay for itself and significantly furthers our commitment to create connected health communities," said Tom Leonard, senior vice president, Ambulatory Solutions, McKesson Provider Technologies. "With most practices today experiencing significant financial pressures from rising costs and shrinking reimbursement, we are offering a complete, affordable solution that funds adoption of EHRs by improving the financial performance of the practice."
Midwest Orthopaedic Center in Peoria, Ill., is an 11-member specialty physician practice already adopting Practice Partner Complete to address lagging accounts receivable (A/R) performance and insufficient staff to manage the billing office.
"Our interest in an EMR started with our interest in outsourcing billing," said Derek Armstrong, chief operating officer, Midwest Orthopaedic Center. "After looking at a few other vendors' systems, it became clear that they only addressed parts of our issues, while McKesson could deliver a complete revenue management cycle solution that also would serve to improve our overall office efficiency. This bundling of services was important to us, and is enabling us to save the expense of approximately five people to perform the same level of service. With Practice Partner Complete we no longer have systems. We have a solution."
Practice Partner software includes an electronic health record system, which is one of only eight to be certified in 2007 by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology. It also includes a sophisticated multi-clinic scheduler and a comprehensive practice management system. The Practice Partner customer base includes more than 1,500 practices representing approximately 6,000 physicians. Its applications recently received top rankings for the fourth consecutive year in the AC Group 2007 Practice Management System (PMS) and EHR Vendor Functionality and Company Rating Report. The AC Group report is an extensive evaluation based on physician responses.
McKesson's Revenue Management Solutions provides a complete, best-practices approach to billing and accounts receivable management services. Its business consultants, regulatory specialists and approximately 450 certified coders with specialty-specific reimbursement expertise help organizations improve operational efficiency and financial performance. The service currently guides more than 17,000 physician customers through the business complexities of healthcare to help increase revenue, decrease costs and mitigate compliance risks. McKesson received the NorthFace ScoreBoard Awardâ„ from the Omega Management Group Corp., specialists in developing and implementing customer and employee loyalty management programs.
RelayHealth is McKesson's connectivity services company. Included in Practice Partner Complete, its clearinghouse service supports the entire revenue cycle and processes nearly $1 trillion in healthcare payments and claims. RelayHealth services include real-time access to insurance eligibility and address/credit information checking prior to care; claims compliance and submission; remittance advice; and patient billing. Its services help physicians to automatically identify services that do not meet payor coding and billing guidelines as well as those that require additional documentation to support reimbursement. Future plans call for the inclusion of webVisit® consultations and other clinical and convenience services for patients.
"With McKesson's ability to provide a comprehensive solution that addresses all the needs of the physician practice, we are freeing physicians to focus their time on caring for patients," Leonard said.
Practice Partner Complete is on display at the MGMA 2007 Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Penn., Oct. 28-31.
About McKesson
McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 18th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes, and improving the quality and safety of patient care. McKesson is the longest-operating company in healthcare today, and will mark 175 years of continuous operations in 2008. Over the course of its history, McKesson has grown by providing pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients. For more information, visit http://www.mckesson.com.
