The MedAmerica team combination of clinical and operational professionals makes the difference in accurately assessing and implementing opportunities for performance improvement. A wealth of hands-on experience enables us to develop implementation plans with realistic targets that produce bottom-line results. Our recommendations and programs increase efficiencies, optimize utilization of limited resources, and maintain performance to best satisfy the needs of your hospital and community. MedAmerica formulates a customized approach – individually designed to meet your site’s specific requirements.

Our expert and confidential consultations are available for:
1) Design and implementation of performance improvement solutions for the ED

• ED Operational and Patient Flow Assessments
• Physician and Nurse Staffing Analysis
• Program Development and Implementation
• Rapid Medical Evaluation Implementation

For more information contact us at 800-476-1504 or send your request for a proposal for an operational assessment to hays@medamerica.com.

1) Design and implementation of performance improvement solutions for the ED
MedAmerica has partnered with hospitals and physicians for nearly 30 years, providing innovative solutions to managing and improving emergency department operations. Our highly experienced consultants offer custom solutions designed to meet an organization’s specific needs. Our toolbox includes:

• Operational & Patient Flow Assessments
  Emergency Department and Urgent Care Operational Reviews provide a comprehensive approach to assessing the patient flow and general ED operations. The goal of these assessments is to evaluate current ED functions, identify problem areas and issues impacting ED efficiency, and recommend processes and solutions to resolve these issues. A specific methodology is followed to assure a comprehensive assessment of all areas and components of the ED. This methodology includes interviews with key stakeholders, direct observation of ED operations, and analysis of pertinent data. The Operational Review Team examines all areas of the ED, beginning at the front end of the ED with a review of registration, triage, and patient care processes. The team also examines ancillary activities, hospital admissions, and patient discharge processes.
  
  
• Physician and Nurse Staffing Analysis
  Based on staffing analysis of numerous emergency departments, we have developed a provider staffing model to optimize physician provider staffing and nursing staffing to best meet the needs of patients and the hospital.
  
  
• Implementation of Performance Improvement Solutions
  We recognize that concrete results are what make a difference to an emergency department and to the providers and staff that work in the department. MedAmerica has a proven track record of successfully reengineering patient flow in the emergency department and implementing best practices with long-term success.
  
  
• Rapid Medical Evaluation Program
  The Rapid Medical Evaluation©(RME) process was developed to expedite ED patient care and throughput. This methodology brings the provider to the patient early in the visit, enabling the provider to begin the evaluation and treatment as quickly as possible. This allows for the parallel processing of ED patients thus improving operational efficiency, patient flow, and patient satisfaction, while decreasing diversion time and the number of patients who leave without being seen by a provider. This innovative solution to emergency department crowding was featured in the February 23, 2004, edition of Physician’s Weekly.
  
  

2) Benchmarking and Data Warehousing
MedAmerica Analysis and Reporting System (MARS), a proprietary data warehouse, contains benchmarking information based on over 2 million emergency department patient visits. Through MARS, we have the ability to compare operational and financial performance of an emergency department to a wide variety of other EDs, based on size, volume, average acuity, and payer mix.

3) Patient Satisfaction and Service Excellence
MedAmerica brings a strong service excellence standard as part of our performance improvement activities. Service excellence and patient satisfaction tools and resources that are available to support our clients in achieving excellence in patient satisfaction include:

• Patient Satisfaction Training Program
• Patient Satisfaction Survey Tool & Analysis
• A Step-By-Step Guide to Building an Effective Patient Satisfaction Workgroup
• Other programs in our Patient Satisfaction Tool Kit include Scripting; Patient Call-Back Programs

4) Physician-Nurse Relationship Program
Strong, interactive and collaborative physician-nurse relationships are critical to a well-functioning team approach to emergency care. Our program fosters an atmosphere of mutual respect and teamwork. Our integrated team of facilitators includes physicians, nurses and experienced hospital managers. Encouraging a constructive work environment throughout the hospital been proven to:

• Improve job satisfaction for the physicians, nurses and ancillary personnel
• Improve patient outcome and satisfaction
• Decrease physician, nurse, and hospital liability
• Improve emergency department productivity and operations
• Decrease physician stress and burnout
• Increase nurse retention.

5) JCAHO Pre-Survey Preparation
MedAmerica can assist clients in preparing for JCAHO inspections, including a review of department preparedness, summary of findings, consultation with department management, assistance in correcting deficiencies, and preparation for the actual survey. Due to multiple site experience, we can provide current information on survey specifics to help prepare for upcoming inspections.

6) Facility Billing and Coding
Facility billing and coding services are available through our billing company, MedAmerica Billing Services, Inc. (MBSI). MBSI continually adapts to the ever-changing medical coding and billing environment, modifying and adding services to proactively meet the needs of its clients. A focus on employee education and comprehensive management reporting has positioned MBSI and its clients to operate successfully in a climate of increased governmental regulations, third party contracting, and declining reimbursement.

Today, MBSI serves sixty-one (61) practice locations in California, with a total volume of 1,500,000 patients per year. These practices include emergency medicine, hospitalist, general surgery, wound care, urgent care, skilled nursing facility, physical therapy, and family practice. Our extensive portfolio of services includes:

• Superior billing capabilities including custom electronic submission of claims (including EMS)
• Health care clinician education focused on coding and documentation
• Facility coding and documentation assessment
• Compliant coding by expert professionals
• Processing and coding for CPT, HCPCS, and ICD-9-CM
• Evaluation of facility charges such as pharmaceuticals and supplies
• Custom data analysis and reporting

Detailed information about billing products and services is available at www.medamericabilling.com.

7) Medical Group Formation/New Practice Development
MedAmerica has experience helping medical groups create a structure for long-term success. We can enable local community physicians to maintain autonomy, while accessing sophisticated systems to maximize financial performance and program operations. This model attracts and retains the highest quality physicians.