Wayne Memorial Hospital selects Ingenix’s computer-assisted coding solutions to support its transition to ICD-10

Advanced coding technology will help Wayne Memorial Hospital increase coding accuracy and productivity, and reduce administrative costs

GOLDSBORO, N.C. (March 30, 2011) –

Wayne Memorial Hospital, a 316-bed health care facility serving Goldsboro, N.C., is implementing Ingenix’s computer-assisted coding (CAC) solutions to increase medical coding productivity, accuracy and compliance by automating administrative processes associated with preparing medical claims to be submitted for reimbursement.

“Ingenix’s CAC solutions are easy to implement and use and provide comprehensive capabilities that will enable our medical coding staff to process clinical documentation more efficiently and with greater accuracy,” said Phyllis Dreading, director of health information management at Wayne Memorial Hospital.

Dreading noted that Ingenix’s CAC technology will also support Wayne Memorial’s preparations to code medical documentation using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10), a highly detailed system for indexing and describing medical conditions and their severity. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will require all health care organizations to use ICD-10 when coding medical documentation by Oct. 1, 2013.

ICD-10 includes more than 155,000 medical codes and replaces ICD-9, which included approximately 17,000 codes. The expanded code set will facilitate better analysis of disease patterns and treatment outcomes; however, it may also increase the time required to process medical claims and the potential for errors, which could lead to more rejected claims and higher administrative costs.

“CAC capabilities will help us manage increasing administrative challenges, such as the impending ICD-10 implementation deadline, while controlling costs,” Dreading said.
How Ingenix’s CAC technology works

Medical coding is the process of documenting clinical diagnoses and procedures by assigning numerical codes that can be used for billing and health care provider performance measurement programs. Ingenix’s CAC solution features Ingenix Web.Strat, which provides Internet-based reference and encoding tools, and LifeCode®, a proprietary natural language processing system that automates the reading of clinical documentation, deciphers the meaning and context of words within medical records and recommends the appropriate codes. The system then presents a consolidated view of each case to medical coding staff at Wayne Memorial Hospital, who can either confirm the suggested codes or conduct additional research to validate them.

For hospital managers, the system also provides comprehensive reporting tools that gauge individual coder productivity, assess Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) frequency and determine the hospital’s case-mix index -critical measurements for ensuring accurate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates.

“Ingenix’s CAC technology combines innovative natural language processing capabilities with leading claims encoding technology, and will play an important role in critical ICD-10 preparedness efforts at Wayne Memorial Hospital,” said Ron Jones, senior vice president of hospital solutions at Ingenix. “The advanced capabilities of LifeCode technology will ensure comprehensive, accurate results that help medical coders be more efficient and effective, while providing support for coding requirements across inpatient and outpatient specialties and all venues of care.”

Wayne Memorial Hospital joins Bethesda Healthcare System in Florida, Gwinnett Medical Center in Georgia and HealthEast Care System in Minnesota among leading regional health care systems that have recently selected Ingenix solutions to support their medical coding, compliance and financial performance improvement efforts.
About Wayne Memorial Hospital

Wayne Memorial Hospital has evolved from its humble beginnings 114 years ago as a one-room emergency hospital to a nationally accredited hospital in Eastern North Carolina, licensed for 316 beds and serving citizens of Wayne and surrounding counties. As a result of its growth and financial stability, the hospital has continued to expand and renovate facilities on its 97-acre campus, adding a new wing, a new MRI unit, a new cafeteria, new laundry and new power plant. It has also added new service lines such as outpatient behavioral health and wound care, and expanded some existing service lines such as radiology, rehabilitation, cardio-pulmonary. The hospital, a not-for-profit corporation, is part of Wayne Health Corporation, a not-for-profit organization which also includes a Foundation and Wayne Health Physicians. Specialties include anesthesiology, cardiology, critical care, dermatology, emergency medicine, endocrinology, family practice, gastroenterology, general and vascular surgery, gynecology, internal medicine, nephrology, neurology, neurosurgery, obstetrics, oncology, ophthalmology, oral surgery, orthopedics, otorhinolaryngology, pathology, pediatrics, plastic surgery, psychiatry, pulmonary medicine, radiation oncology, radiology, rheumatology, and urology.

Source: Ingenix