Electronic Medical Documentation Interoperability Program

Pilot Overview

Stream

Pilot Name- From/To

Status

Pilot Use Case

Link to IPG
DME

Brightree Pilot - Kettering/Medical Services Company; Ochsner Health System/Ochsner DME(C)

Hospital

Interface
Vendor

Document Transfer Vendor

Transfer
Method

Document Transfer Vendor

Interface
Vendor

Durable Medical Equipment
KetteringEpicN/ADirectUpDoxBrightreeMedical Services Company
Ochsner
Health System		EpicSurescriptsDirectUpDoxBrightreeOchsner DME

Pilot Use Case: Order 

• An ordering provider sends a referral containing an order and other needed medical documentation to a service provider/supplier.
• The service provider/supplier decides whether to accept or reject the order. The service provider/supplier communicates this decision back to the ordering provider.

Content Type: CCDA

Pilot Date: Start:   End:  

COMPLETE
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Brightree Pilot Summary

Organization NameBrightree
Piloting Organization(s) NameKettering, Ochsner Health Systems, UpDox, Medical Services Company, Ochsner DME
Pilot Stream (e.g. DME, HHA)DME
POC EmailNKnowlton@brightree.com
Pilot Summary Date
 
CategoryQuestion/DescriptionPilot Response

Background

Describe what encouraged you to participate in the EMDI program

Brightree is proud to have participated in the CMS EMDI interoperability pilot program for HME ordering from EHR platforms. At Brightree, we recognized the problem and saw that we were in a unique situation to help solve this issue – we had mass, we had the correct architecture to scale interoperability across our customer base, and we had invested in the right human capital to understand not just the problems that exist for our customers, but also the landscape in which our referral sources operate. 

Business Workflow/
Requirements


What are some benefits to your customers from implementing EMDI?

Automating data input into our HME customers’ systems can save them several minutes per order, which translates to a huge number of manual man hours that they can reallocate to patient-focused activity.  Our providers using the system can also realize benefits to their financial performance – having consistent and accurate information auto-loaded into their system can reduce Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), eliminate data entry errors that can hold up claims and reimbursement, and expedite order and delivery of equipment.

Finally, the ability to interoperate has enhanced the relationships between HMEs and referring providers. Key to this last point is strong adoption and retention by referring providers. An early adopter of this integration, Ochsner Health System sees tremendous additional benefit in terms of how the interoperability works on the physician side. According to Ochsner’s HME operations director Tammy Ordoyne-Vial: “Referrals are the lifeblood of an HME provider. By putting the ability to order in the physician workflow, we know that their adoption of the solution will be very high, and that is what we have seen in practice.”
Detailed description of how the use case(s) helped the piloting participants meet their goal

We had three major goals –

1) demonstrate that physicians would order HME products and services just as they order other planned follow-ups for their patients:
2) demonstrate that the information could automatically flow to the HME providers; and
3) show that the solution could scale well.

We successfully achieved the goals of the pilot. We found that referring physicians would use and retain usage of the system, we found that Epic would help their customers and the HME industry through strong collaboration, and we found that customers experienced several benefits.

Describe any pain points that you’ve incurred before piloting and how electronic interoperability assisted in resolving them

First and foremost, getting patients the therapy they need is very difficult in a dis-jointed, non-interoperable world. We have customers that told us they could not fill orders for qualifying patients due to lack of information and lack of supporting documentation. This is unacceptable given the resources invested in HIT infrastructure in our country. In addition to patient needs, the cost of each order is too high in the HME space due to lack of automation and interoperability. Manual typing of information that exists in referral source systems and chasing referral sources for diagnosis codes and paperwork is archaic compared to other treatment paths that are triggered by clinical encounters. Finally, all of these problems create delays in our providers obtaining reimbursement, and we need to fix that.

Technical Specifications

Describe the lessons learned while implementing the technical standards

We leveraged Direct Secure Messaging and CCDA standards. We found both to be very suitable to the needs of referring providers and HMEs alike.
Additional Considerations

Note any additional implications

Josh Marx, VP of Medical Services Company, one of the providers utilizing the Brightree eReferral Management solution, notes the value to his organization: “Through this interoperability, we are not only helping to blaze a trail for the HME provider to be a more connected partner in care delivery, but we are improving patient care, improving our operations and removing costly rework from orders.”

According to Ochsner’s HME operations director Tammy Ordoyne-Vial: “Referrals are the lifeblood of an HME provider. By putting the ability to order in the physician workflow, we know that their adoption of the solution will be very high, and that is what we have seen in practice.”

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Brightree Case Study: Epic/EMDI Pilot

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