| | October 20188UTLOOK Healthcare Tech IN MY OPINIONWhile clinical details of patient care are documented and accessible through the EHR, activity surrounding the revenue cycle does not always receive the same degree of documentation. Data collection occurs at every point of the patient encounter, beginning before the patient arrives at the hospital and continuing as providers work to coordinate care with physicians and insurance companies.Connecting Disconnected DataTexas Health Resources has taken steps to aggregate patient data from disparate sources and form a comprehensive view of patient information exchanged across departments and entities. The process is designed to standardize best practices across the revenue cycle, ensuring consistency and improving system outcomes.Texas Health implemented a technology platform to capture and integrate voice, fax and electronic exchanges that occur across the revenue cycle. Records are digitized and tied to the patient account for search, retrieval and sharing. Revenue cycle associates use the technology to record inbound and outbound phone calls with payers, physicians and patients. Associates record calls through a USB connection to their PCs and index recordings to criteria such as patient, physician, insurer and date of service.Hospitals capture and digitize faxes from physicians and payers, as well as electronic exchanges from payer websites and ancillary systems. Once indexed, recordings and documents are searchable and retrievable for playback and viewing through a web-based portal. Records can also be automatically exported to the EHR and placed alongside the care record to form a more a complete view of available patient data.By Patti Consolver, Senior Director, Patient Access, Texas Health ResourcesINTEGRATING REVENUE CYCLE Data with the Patient RecordPatti Consolver
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