Industry Benefits

The health care industry is under constant pressure to streamline operations and cut extraneous spending while providing quality care to patients. Many health care organizations are forced to close because the incoming funds are exceeded by the cost of day-to-day operations. Regulation and intensified competition require business process reengineering for many healthcare organizations. With the pressure to deliver quality care under the constraints of time and money, providers are turning to information technology (IT) to gain a competitive advantage and to create a leaner operation.

HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability Act, also is providing some of the fuel for organizations to jump on the IT bandwagon. The requirements of HIPAA would ensure a standard for patient information privacy and security as well as improved health care through more efficient administrative processes. This initiative also forces health care organizations to embrace IT solutions that will not only save money in the long run, but also bring them in compliance in order to avoid costly fines.

The ultimate goal is to deliver the best care possible to the patients. The sharing of relevant patient information such as medical records, diagnoses, and health plans is crucial for quality medical care. In addition, providers need to reduce operations cost and eliminate inefficiencies in internal administrative systems. The solution is an IT infrastructure that would integrate existing disparate sources of information; connect different branches and offices; and provide easy, consistent access via an intranet, extranet, internet, or even wireless devices.

Hospitals and IDNs (integrated delivery networks) have been slow to embrace web-based and web-enabled applications. Their reluctance to bring any changes to mission-critical systems is well justified. Replacing legacy systems is very expensive and time-consuming. In addition, organizations are faced with the challenge of training personnel to use the new technology. Having invested all that time, money, and training on the current system, people are often resistant to change. Furthermore, many organizations who already have some sort of an electronic data interchange system (EDI) are concerned about re-engineering the system to fit HIPAA regulations because this would require enormous commitments of time and money. Compliance with regulations may require re-writing all internal existing systems and applications.

ResQNet.com specializes in solutions that extend and add functionality to time proven legacy systems that maintain the mission-critical applications for health care organizations. Applications and systems residing on AS/400 and mainframe back ends that are normally viewed through a green screen terminal can be presented as graphical user interfaces that are viewed through a web browser. The reliability and scalability of the original applications are maintained, and there is no threat to the host application since no changes are made to the underlying code. Not only does ResQNet technology enable the legacy back end data to be accessed through the web, it also can integrate information from disparate applications and systems throughout the organization as well. ResQNet allows organizations to leverage their current technology, which is an affordable option rather than investing in a complete overhaul of the IT infrastructure.

ResQNet.com offers a range of products based on the customer’s host-access requirements:

ResQNet. This is an intranet and extranet solution. ResQNet features a true terminal emulator. Legacy system green screens are web-enabled and rejuvenated, and viewed using a web browser.

ResQPortal. The ResQPortal solution allows remote access to legacy data via the Internet. ResQPortal can be utilized for self-service portals for customers, partners and employees.

ResQ/ME. ResQNet.com’s wireless-to-host solution extends legacy systems to PDAs, palms, cellular phones and other handheld devices. Nurses, doctors, and mobile executives are able to access real-time host data remotely.

With ResQNet.com, the information system is integrated with uniform access to the health care organizations’ critical applications. Furthermore, the access can be extended to a hospital intranet, an Internet self-service portal, or a palm pilot. With this added functionality, the uses are numerous. The following are some examples:

Facilitate claims processing. Real time claims resolution and processing. Customers can access and use healthcare insurance applications authorization, eligibility verification, and claims resolution. Integration of eligibility, claims, referrals, records and processes.

Improved customer service. Patients are checked in faster. Transactions are quicker. Customer questions and concerns are addressed expediently. Customer representatives can deal more efficiently with client inquiries, claims, billing, and reimbursement issues. Service representatives are more flexible and responsive to customer needs.

Greater efficiency and productivity through cooperation and sharing of information among different branches and offices of IDNs and the health care supply chain. Helps IDNs function as a connected unit delivering faster services. Standardization of data input. Workflow automation. Streamlining the operation by integrating and simplifying internal administrative processes.

Securing data access. For the purposes of protection of sensitive information, different parts of the same record can be made visible to different users: the primary care physician, the specialist, the laboratory, the nurse, and the billing department.

For example, if an insurance company can extend the claim submission and verification application to the hospitals, they will be able to key in the information directly. This would significantly speed up the processing times and guarantee greater satisfaction, while saving money and staff time as well as eliminate errors. The customer will be notified immediately if they key in the wrong information, and their claims will be processed immediately.

A hospital can wireless-enable its clinical systems with ResQME and provide mobile workers handheld devices with point-of-care host access for increased access to medical records data. Call center representatives are more responsive because they can obtain information faster and easier. Doctors can make better-informed critical decisions with greater confidence and speed. They can check and update the patient’s medical records with diagnoses and treatment regimens at bedside. Emergency personnel can complete the forms for admission from the patients’ homes or in the ambulance.

By extending the functionality of legacy applications to an extranet, hospitals and offices across the globe can be linked with access through a web-browser. A health care vendor may open its order entry application to a hospital. The hospital staff will place orders electronically without the hassle of handwritten prescriptions. Orders will be processed faster, improving quality of care. Most importantly, patients get the care they deserve.

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