HIP Health Plan Reduces Hospital Coverage Denials
New York, NY Nov. 1, 2005 - Nurses armed with computer tablets are busy helping HIP Health Plan of New York to reduce by 92% the volume of hospital visit denials associated with a lack of timely or complete information. HIP accomplished the reduction by developing a new secure software program called the Mobile Clinical Form Review (CFR). The program allows nurses to transmit the latest information in real time at the bedside of hospital patients using a secure wireless computer tablet.
Nurses using the CFR can access HIP's database to view patient-specific information. Updates are entered into the system or are handwritten, using the program's handwriting recognition feature. The CFR then sends updated information to HIP's database using secure, wireless technology. HIP's case managers in real time review the updated information.
Thereafter, the case managers contact physicians and or the hospital's discharge planning staff to discuss patient care plans, anticipated lengths of stay, as well as needed medications, testing and procedures. The ongoing updates allow doctors to respond quickly to changes in the health status of patients and adjust treatment plans accordingly. Paperwork is virtually nonexistent.
Because the CFR program keeps doctors better informed about their hospital patients on an ongoing basis, the volume of coverage denials associated with a lack of timely or complete information was reduced by 92% in the past year.
Recently, HIP announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMSW) have granted approval for a HIP Health Plan initiative to conduct field enrollment of Medicare beneficiaries in their homes and other convenient locations using the same wireless technology used by nurses. Developed as the HIP Mobile Sales Applications (MSA) system, it provides HIP's sales force with tablet PCs equipped with a cellular data card and point-and-click electronic forms tightly integrated into HIP's database and existing marketing and enrollment structure.
