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Spring 2013
C E O p e r s p ec t i v e
Clinical Insights
The Client Connection
How to Explain “Downward
Trends” in Care Management
Software Functionality
Rob Pock, Founder & CEO
TCS Healthcare Technologies
M
y last column addressed the importance of
client communication at TCS and how we
partner with our customers to develop products
that meet their needs. We employed this strategy to
develop ACUITY software, for example, as well as
a host of other TCS products.
Allowing communication to
flow between TCS and actual
product users empowers us to
deliver effective support tools for
health care management. This
philosophy also allows TCS to
gauge client satisfaction—is our
software meeting the needs of the
organization and supporting its
ability to effectively fulfill responsibilities to patients
and providers? How can we alter our software
products to improve client return on investment?
As TCS CEO and founder, I’m responsible for
measuring our success in delivering health care
software services that meet our clients’ needs.
In addition to feedback received through daily
interactions between the TCS team and our clients, I
also look to industry reports as a way to qualify and
test my assessments.
TCS recently joined other sponsors to analyze and
publish the results of the 2012 Health Information
Technology Survey. As with past HIT Surveys, this
most recent one assessed case managers’ satisfaction
with vendor-supplied software that they use to
perform their duties. The longitudinal trend from
each respective survey year—2008, 2010 and 2012—
shows an increasing amount of dependence on
supporting software. In fact, the responses indicate
our clients continue to be “very satisfied.” While
this supports my belief that TCS delivers a quality
See CEO Perspective, page 4
Pat Stricker, RN, MEd
Senior Vice President
TCS Healthcare Technologies
T
he results of the 2012 Health
Information Technology (HIT)
Survey have been very interesting.
Of course this is a key interest
of mine, since I am both a care
manager and a nurse responsible for
helping to design care management systems.
While reviewing Trend Report #3, which was
recently released, I was surprised to find that only
17% of the respondents felt their care management
software allowed them “to spend more time with
their patients”! That was a decrease from 22%
in the 2008 survey. In addition, contrary to the
expectation that we would see more functionality in
care management systems this year than we did two
or four years ago, the survey reported a decline in
almost all areas.
See Clinical Insights, page 5
CEO Perspective: The Client Connection................1
Clinical Insights: “Downward Trends” in Care
Management Software Functionality......................1
Up Close and Personal: Matthew Fahner,
Director of Product Management ..........................2
Client Spotlight: HealthCorp and TCS celebrate
19 Years ............................................................3
www.tcshealthcare.com • page 1
spring 2013
U p C l o s e a n d Pe r s o n a l
Matthew Fahner, Director of
Product Management
M
atthew Fahner, TCS Healthcare Technologies’
director of product management and 2012
Employee of the Year, has worn many hats within
the TCS family and is an integral part of the team.
Fahner’s role involves utilizing business analysis
and market research, customer and
user feedback, customer usage and
competitive analysis to identify
new product opportunities and
enhancements.
Since joining TCS in 2005,
Fahner has held several positions
within the company. He started as a
system administrator and advanced
TCS is Heading to New Orleans!
We will be attending the 23nd Annual
CMSA Conference & Expo, Lighting the
Path…Leading the Way. Join us June
25–28 at the Morial Convention
Center.
The TCS family is looking
forward to the seminars,
educational sessions and
networking with case
managers and other
industry professionals
like you.
The Case Management
Society of America’s
annual conference is designed
to deliver clinical, professional,
regulatory and personal growth for the
present and future of cross-continuum
case management. Come by and see us
at booth A321; we would love to chat! n
to senior implementation specialist, overseeing the
setup and configuration of TCS software for new
and upgrading clients. Fahner then transitioned to
product manager where he facilitated the ICD-10
conversion for all products in the TCS suite. As a
result of his hard work and dedication, Fahner was
promoted to director of product management.
Responsible for all internal development, quality
assurance and IT functions for TCS, Fahner
finds his job both challenging and rewarding.
Every day he has a direct impact on the product
enhancements that will increase our clients’
efficiency and improve overall customer
satisfaction.
“I’m responsible for all internal development,
quality assurance and IT functions for TCS,” says
Fahner. “This role is very challenging and rewarding
because every day I have a direct impact on the
product enhancements that will increase our clients’
efficiency and improve overall customer satisfaction.”
“Matt is a vital part of the TCS team and was
the ideal candidate for our director of product
management,” says Rob Pock, founder and CEO.
“His ability to support corporate goals and objectives
to develop and champion a product vision, product
strategy and product roadmap is unparalleled.”
Fahner says he is looking forward to collaborating
with customers and internal departments to evaluate
and improve the TCS product line-up. “My position
is exciting as it directly reflects on company values
and standards,” he adds.
An Ohio native and graduate of Kent State
University with a degree in computer information
systems, Fahner enjoys spending time with his wife
of 13 years, Erica, their two children, Audrey and
Carson, and two dogs, Data and Indie. Fahner
enjoys golf, making wine, and camping with his
family. n
www.tcshealthcare.com • page 2
spring 2013
Client Spotlight
HealthCorp
H
ealthCorp, an Iowa-based subsidiary of Cottingham
& Butler, has successfully implemented the
ACUITY Advanced Care™ Management Software
system (ACUITY) from TCS Healthcare
Technologies. ACUITY is an integrated care
management system for performing utilization
management, case management, disease management,
and prevention/wellness.
HealthCorp and TCS have been partners for
19 years, where TCS has been providing medical
management solutions in support of HealthCorp’s
services, and this partnership will continue with the
new ACUITY care management software platform.
“Increasingly our customers are putting more
emphasis on compliance and member engagement
to make sure they are adhering to the recommended
care,” says David Becker, president and CEO of
Butler & Cottingham. “Thanks to ACUITY, we can
more easily help our customers achieve their goals
as the software more efficiently integrates our case
management, disease management and utilization
management functions.”
HealthCorp provides medical management services
in three areas: utilization management, catastrophic
case management and chronic care compliance.
According to Chris Lambert, MSN, RN, CCM,
HealthCorp nursing director, “All three areas are
interconnected, so we can use the same software for
all three functions.”
The company’s case management function focuses
on complex, high dollar cases where RNs are not
only ensuring the care that members are receiving is
appropriate and timely, but also cost effective for the
plan as well.
Accredited by URAC for CM, the HealthCorp
team believes the next accreditation process will
be straight-forward due to the documentation
and accessibility review functions of the ACUITY
software.
Another top priority for HealthCorp is medication
adherence. Chris notes that they reach out to
members to make sure they are getting and taking
their prescribed medications and that members
understand why compliance is important to their
health.
“Thanks to ACUITY, we can more easily help
our customers achieve their goals as the
software more efficiently integrates our case
management, disease management and
utilization management functions.”
—David Becker, Butler & Cottingham
The HealthCorp disease management program
focuses on conditions that have a high component
for self-management, such as diabetes, hypertension,
asthma, COPD and other respiratory conditions.
As for the software implementation process,
HealthHelp staff gives TCS high ratings. “We are
appreciative of the way TCS met our needs with the
assistance we received from the TCS technical team
during the software transition,” says Vickie LaGrotta,
HealthCorp’s director of information technology.
“TCS helped us work through issues we encountered
during the transition and everything is working well
from a technical perspective.”
Rob Pock, TCS CEO and founder, stresses how
much TCS values such dedicated clients. “A 19-year
partnership for TCS means going the extra mile to
insure everything is done right the first time,” he says.
“The TCS clinical and technical staff worked closely
with HealthCorp’s implementation team to ensure a
successful transition, and we would do nothing less
for any client that trusts us with their business.” n
Follow us on LinkedIn to find out the latest news from TCS Healthcare
Technologies, participate in discussions and hear about product updates!
www.tcshealthcare.com • page 3
spring 2013
CEO Perspective
from page 1
product, it is imperative our clients realize the
investment they made in vendor software was a wise
decision.
It’s interesting that numerous case managers
who participated in the survey said they were
only “somewhat satisfied” or “not satisfied” with
Allowing communication to flow between TCS
and actual product users empowers us to deliver
effective support tools for health care management.
the software provided by other vendors. In fact,
respondents to all three surveys since 2008 rated TCS
as number one in user satisfaction. No other vendor
can make this claim. TCS maintains close contact
with its clients to ensure we stay in the “satisfied/
very satisfied” category. When we talk with people
who are actually using our software daily as part of
their workflow, we know first-hand
they are pleased with the way the
software works and the many
ways it can be customized
to meet their specific
requirements.
The Health IT Survey is
a valuable guide to choosing
health care software. In fact, the
key message for case managers
is “buyer beware.” In evaluating
vendor software you must look beyond
a product’s marketing and strive to fully understand
precisely how software is being used in a health care
environment similar to yours, and determine whether
the software users are satisfied with the results. Ask
for multiple references and speak directly to case
managers who use the system.
If you haven’t seen the survey results, obtain
a copy by visiting www.tcshealthcare.com. You can
read the feedback to learn why TCS ACUITY users
are “very satisfied,” supporting the likelihood that
your relationship with the TCS team will be equally
rewarding. n
Case Manager Satisfaction (Composite Vendor Scores)
Source: Health IT Surveys, 2008, 2010 and 2012
www.tcshealthcare.com • page 4
spring 2013
Clinical Insights
n Uses a “task manager” to track daily activities or
automated scheduling (63% > 53%)
from page 1
n Automatically calculates patient severity or acuity
Can this be true? Can we really say that using a
system with automated workflows, letter generation,
automated care plans, templates that document
standard notes, and one-click access to the health
record to check previous history, etc., etc., etc.,
doesn’t save us time? Or is it that the extra time
it gives us isn’t devoted to “more time with a
patient,” but rather “more
patients to care for?” Using
a system has to be better
than documenting manual,
hand-written notes that
get filed in folders and file
cabinets; and using Word to
manually prepare each letter,
email to track follow-ups
and tasks, and Excel to do
manual reporting. Please
tell me an automated care
management system is more
efficient than this!
The Trend Report indicated
that more respondents said their systems did not
contain some of the basic, key functionality that we
have come to expect. It showed dramatic declines
in the availability of functions in care management
systems reported by the respondents in the 2012
survey compared to the respondents in the 2008
survey (2008>2012):
n Generates pre-defined care plans (28% > 21%)
n Stratifies data based on business rules to promote
screening or identification of program candidates
(37% > 30%)
n Automatically assigns, schedules, or executes
follow-up tasks based on stratification results
(33% > 24%)
n Allows all fields or data collected to be used in
reporting (53% > 41%)
n Tracks/reports clinical outcomes (47% > 30%)
score (51% > 40%)
n Calculates patient caseloads (44% > 24%)
Can these statistics be correct? Aren’t these the
main reasons for having a care management system—
to automate and streamline workflow and processes
so you can be more efficient and have more time to
focus on what’s really important—your patients and
their needs? It made me wonder why this downward
trend was noted and I felt I had to analyze the data
in more detail.
While the respondents in all three HIT surveys
(2008, 2010, and 2012) were similar, there were
some slight differences that could account for some
of the downward trends:
n The total number of respondents each year were
similar (521, 670, and 642)
n Respondents from larger companies (100 or
more) increased each year (66%, 68%, and 70%)
while those from smaller companies (under 100)
decreased in 2012 (21%, 21%, and 17%)
n Fewer respondents in 2012 were CMs (-4%) and
Operations staff (-7%) who work with the systems
on a daily basis versus more respondents who
were administrators (+5%) or physicians (+2%)
n Less respondents from Health Plans (-16%) in
2012 compared to those from Provider or Facility
Settings (+8%)
There were fewer health plan respondents and
more providers in 2012. Could this mean health
plans had more sophisticated care management
software, which accounted for more reported usage
of these functions in 2008? Could the increase in
providers (physicians and facilities) in 2012 indicate
they don’t have the sophisticated care management
technology yet that support the unique needs
they have for ACOs, patient-centered medical
home programs, and other new provider-oriented
programs? Could their use of care management
modules in electronic health record systems (EHRs)
n Keeps track of follow-up items (61% > 44%)
www.tcshealthcare.com • page 5
See Clinical Insights, page 6
spring 2013
Clinical Insights
from page 5
account for the decreases in functionality reported,
since the EHR modules are not as robust as systems
distinctly designed for care management? Likewise,
could the slight decrease this year in CM, QI, and
Operations respondents, along with the increase
in administrative respondents mean that there
were fewer respondents with specific
knowledge of care management
systems and how they are used
day-to-day?
So I wound up with a lot
of questions and no specific
answers. It is difficult to
determine exactly what has
caused these downward
trends. I tend to think we
are not dealing with systems
that have less functionality
or organizations that have
terribly outdated systems with limited
functionality, but rather that the changing health
care field is moving so quickly that it is difficult
to always have the needed functionality, especially
if you are an innovative organization that is on
the leading edge. We are also moving into more
provider-focused programs with different, unique
needs and not everyone has those systems yet.
I’m convinced the technology is there for
80–90% of the functionality needed to streamline
and automate workflows and processes, but we need
to quickly develop the other 10–20% that would
make the systems even more efficient, especially for
the new emerging programs.
On a positive note, the Trend Report did
show an increase in the integration of the Case
Management Adherence Guidelines (CMAGs) into
care management systems (14% in 2008; 16% in
2010; and 17% in 2012).
Of course the Trend Report also highlighted
other positive or neutral findings. To review the full
report or the series of nine Trend Reports go to
www.tcshealthcare.com or www.cmsa.org. n
The 2012 Health IT Survey was conducted by
TCS Healthcare Technologies (TCS), the Case
Management Society of America (CMSA), the
American Board of Quality Assurance and
Utilization Review Physicians, Inc. (ABQAURP)
and Trajectory Healthcare LLC. These organizations
teamed together for the third time to sponsor the
survey, which examines how various health IT
applications are changing the care management
field. Schooner Healthcare Services and Trajectory
Healthcare assisted in the 2012 analysis and an
advisory panel of volunteers also supervised the
administration, analysis and reporting of the survey.
Originally published in CMSA’s Member
eNewsletter (April 2013)
T C S C o n tact
Jason Scruby
Business Development Executive
TCS Healthcare Technologies
11641 Blocker Drive, Suite 200
Auburn, CA 95603
(530) 886-1700 ext. 211
[email protected]
W e b site
www.tcshealthcare.com
S u b scri b e
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Newsletter published quarterly.
Editing and Production by: Schooner Healthcare
Services Communications Department
Please send comments or questions to
Garry Carneal at [email protected].
www.tcshealthcare.com • page 6