How a Radiology Practice Remains in the Forefront of Automation Technology for 29 Years and Counting

What motivated GRG - a burgeoning suburban imaging center - to become a pioneer in the digital world?

GRG quickly realized that leveraging technology advances would add broad-based efficiencies to its practice compared to slow and clumsy manual procedures used at that time. Moreover, GRG believed these efficiencies would help the practice master the challenges of multiple locations and workflows apropos to their emerging business model.

After conducting an in-depth vendor search, GRG chose ADS for multiple reasons. The practice leadership was impressed by ADS’ reputation, even back in those early days. In particular, GRG was convinced ADS would provide both the personalized service and the system that would make automation a success.

That’s when GRG implemented the ADS Medics II practice management (PM) and billing software. From the start, the practice was extremely impressed with the speed and ease of use of ADS’ technology,” said Joann Corbisere-Ashley, GRG’s Practice Manager. “The Medics II system was reliable workhorse that served us well for many, many years.”

By the early 2000s, ADS introduced the MedicsPM system as its graphical upgrade from Medics II. Shortly thereafter, GRG implemented MedicsPM along with ADS’ MedicsRIS for ultra-enhanced imaging center automation, enabling not only the practice administrator but individual users to adapt virtually any Medics window or view to that user’s preference.

“ADS never imposed MedicsPM on us, which is another reason to admire ADS. We could have stayed with Medics II and have still been using it to this day,” Ms. Corbisere-Ashley said, adding, “The fact is, MedicsPM was just such a superior system along with MedicsRIS, it really was a “no brainer” to make the transition.”

MedicsPM flawlessly expanded GRG’s computerized capabilities with new features for automated billing and EDI, claims denial management, automated patient workflow, insurance eligibility and much more.

At the same time, MedicsRIS brought such functionalities as advanced scheduling, digital report transcription, and mammography tracking. GRG’s interventional radiologic procedures were not excluded from any of this automation, with the Medics Suite for Radiology handling both their interventional and diagnostic needs.

“The system identifies patient requirements prior to their appointments with alerts on pre-certs, patient amounts to be due on arrival, and verification warnings on coverage. These routines can be performed in batch mode for all patients by day of appointment, or individually as often as we want. All of this ensures that GRG captures every dollar we can,” Ms. Corbisere-Ashley said.

Updates have expanded capabilities and referrer communications with a referring physician web portal.

Maintaining its tradition of innovation, in January 2011, forward-thinking GRG become part of first wave of imaging centers to tackle the challenges of MU for radiology in order to obtain Medicare EHR incentives.

With its multi-site configuration and combination of interventional and diagnostic radiology procedures, GRG’s complex business model presented particular complexities in developing an MU program. A specific challenge was that the practice handled both diagnostic and interventional patient encounters.

According to Ms. Corbisere-Ashley, ADS worked closely with GRG staff in conjunction with the American College of Radiology (ACR) to interpret the nuances of CMS’ requirements and how these could be applied to GRG’s practice. This helped to map out a strategy that would most efficiently enable MU compliance with a minimum of interruption to existing workflows.

ADS reviewed how the MedicsEHR for Radiology would be able to support GRG’s MU strategy, and discussed how other ADS radiology clients successfully attested for MU.

“Once the system was implemented, a member of the ADS Training Department worked with our staff to ensure the successful entering of data into the EHR system, and then helped guide our radiologists to attest to their own, individual MU compliance as each one achieved MU,” said Ms. Corbisere-Ashley, who added “The built-in Medics MU Dashboard was an invaluable tool in reporting on the radiologists’ MU progress.”

“As part of the process, ADS worked closely with us to create the optimal reporting templates for our needs,” noted GRG’s Billing Manager and PACS Administrator, Karen Dirgins-Graves. “As required, we can create specific reporting templates ourselves, in-house as needed for certain types of procedures.”

It was noted that MedicsEHR enables the practice to easily drill down to build its own customized pick lists and pre-set responses as they continued to refine their MU workflow.

GRG’s radiologists successfully attested in January, 2014 to and received their first round of Medicare MU incentives in March, 2014.

After twenty six continual years of collaboration, GRG and ADS remain an excellent match. The dedicated ADS team helps keep the wheels of radiology turning at GRG which also includes supporting a seamless integration with GRG’s PACS.