Company
Askesis got exactly what they
asked Pervasive to deliver:
an
embeddable application to meet
HIPAA compliance, fast.
"Askesis wanted a quick, accurate way to format our clients' data to meet
HIPAA 834, 835 and 837. Pervasive could get us up to speed faster than we
could do it on our own, freeing up our resources to do what we do best."
– Devendra Rao
Vice President, Development
Askesis
Executive Summary
Askesis offers software to providers of
behavioral health services including
community mental health centers,
substance abuse clinics, psychiatric
hospitals, social service organizations, and
other non-profit groups. Their applications
– PsychConsult Provider and PsychConsult
MCO – deliver clinical and revenue-related
functionalities in one system that help
their clients optimize the productivity of
staff, eliminate unbilled or denied claims
that result from administrative errors, and
demonstrate favorable outcomes which
validate that clinical services are effective
at achieving stated goals.
When HIPAA compliance became a
requirement, the company looked to
Pervasive to provide a cost-effective,
quick-hitting solution. Askesis needed
an integration engine that could meet
data compliance requirements, and
could be embedded within the
company's applications.
Situation
Askesis has been a Pervasive Alliance
Partner since 2002. The company
uses Pervasive's embeddable integration
engine within their software package. The
company requires a partner who offers
product reliability and a friendly licensing
relationship. And, given the complexity
and ever-changing nature of healthcare
compliance and regulation, that partner
must meet Askesis' need for fast turnaround,
if required. "When we needed to
meet HL7 compliance, Pervasive helped
us. And when we needed to meet HIPAA
834, 835, and 837, we turned to them
again," Devendra Rao, Askesis Vice
President of Development, stated.
Key Challenges
- Time. Askesis had less than six months
to launch its HIPAA interfaces.
- Volume. Askesis' clients vary in terms
of volume of transactions per reporting
period, which can be monthly to weekly,
or even daily. Volume can be anywhere
from tens of thousands of records to
hundreds of thousands of records.
- Resources. Rao's team needed a HIPAA
compliance solution that required neither
a lot of time to implement nor a steep
learning curve.
Solution
- Pervasive Data Integrator. Embedded in
the Askesis application, PsychConsult, the
Pervasive Integration Engine optimizes
performance. Pervasive enabled a
seamless solution to meet all necessary
compliance requirements.
Results
- Askesis IT professionals didn't lose
valuable work time learning HIPAA
compliance regulations. Pervasive's
integration solution handled the
heavy lifting, and the first version of
HIPAA transactions was implemented
and released within four months.
Askesis estimates that without Pervasive,
the first version would have taken a
year to complete.
- Pervasive technology allowed Askesis
to create a set of modules that could
be easily used.
- Technology such as its Integration
Architect with Schema, Process
and Map Designers made formatting
and compliance more manageable.
- Askesis found that the embedding
process was simple, developer
productivity increased (the initial
team included 5 FTEs, and now all
changes are maintained by just one),
and time to market was accelerated.
- Testing proved to be an easy process,
resulting in faster project turnaround.
Conclusion
Rao sums up the net effect of using
Pervasive Integration: "We get a complete
compliance solution, right out of the box.
We've had no problems meeting the
compliance requirements of HIPAA 834,
835, and 837, and we'll use Pervasive
again to meet other HIPAA requirements
as needed."
An embedded integration solution that can
meet tough compliance requirements is
ideal for a healthcare data company.
The fact that the Pervasive solution can
run behind an Askesis application, and
requires no coding, is a low TCO answer to
what can be a complex issue – regulatory
compliance. Plus, Askesis has saved
hundreds of hours of ongoing maintenance.
Best Practices
Askesis is always looking for ways to
improve its technology process. Rao
specifically looks for those paths of
improvement. Automation is one area
Rao is investigating – he is looking at
using Pervasive integration tools to
move toward greater automation of the
compliance process.
"Pervasive has helped us move from
manual data conversion to a quick-hitting
embedded software solution, and I next
see Askesis using Pervasive's integration
engines in helping us automate formatting
and compliance processes," Rao forecasts.
Askesis sees Pervasive as an aid to growing
its business, and that really makes for a
good partnership.
About Askesis
Pittsburgh-based Askesis Development
Group has been developing integrated
behavioral health applications since
1993. The company believes a successful
application must integrate clinical and
revenue-related functionality in one system.
Askesis' PsychConsult applications are
used by 80 behavioral health organizations
in 25 states. The PsychConsult Provider
applications suite integrates the behavioral
health provider's clinical workflow and
revenue cycle to seamlessly track services,
from the client's initial phone call through
receipt of payment for services. PsychConsult MCO provides a wide range of
functionality for risk-based behavioral
health managed-care organizations,
including: credentialing, member services,
referral, call center/triage, care management,
and provider relations.
|
