Discharge Software Goes Paperless To Boost Productivity Of Case Managers

Newton, MA - Curaspan has announced that a new module to its eDischarge application for discharge planning services provides paperless import of electronic medical records to substantially increase the productivity of case managers. In the past, case managers had to print medical record documents and fax them to eDischarge before Curaspan could electronically distribute them to post-acute care providers. With the new eDocManager module, case managers simply "print" the electronic medical record documents to a special port that intercepts them and electronically transmits them to Curaspan. This new paperless approach saves substantial amounts of time by allowing case managers to engage in on-the-spot discharge planning from their laptops without having to go back and forth to their offices. "The nurses and social workers that staff our care management department are saving one to two hours each per day by communicating directly from the laptops to qualified care facilities," said Elizabeth Wade, RN, Outcomes Manager for Chesapeake General Hospital, Chesapeake, Virginia.

eDischarge simplifies and streamlines the discharge process by providing patients, families, case managers, and payors with access to the most appropriate and timely post-acute care information. Designed by a team of clinical experts with extensive case management experience, this discharge planning tool replicates and modernizes the paper and phone intensive discharge planning process used at most hospitals. Subscribers log on to a secure server via their web browser to quickly identify the most appropriate facilities for each patient, exchange information with intake coordinators, and book the placement. The case manager can also use eDischarge to book transportation to the next level of care or home. Payors have secure on-line access to all clinical information needed to make payment decisions. eDischarge supports compliance with HIPAA regulations by providing confidential transmittal of patient data, nearly eliminating the need for paper documents that can easily be misappropriated. The streamlined process and improved information flow results in faster placements that reduce length of stays and delay days. eDischarge also increases the productivity of the case management team by eliminating time spent playing phone tag and standing over the copier and fax machine.

"In the past, our care managers were faxing medical records and other documents to nursing homes when they weren't on the phone trying to answer their questions," Wade said. "They had to continually run back and forth from the units to their offices to use heavy duty fax machines needed to send charts of up to 60 pages to care providers. Since we started using eDischarge, a substantial amount of time has been freed for more valuable work and patients are evaluated in a more timely manner. We have installed an 802.11 wireless network throughout our facility that lets the care managers access the network using their laptops from the units and elsewhere in the hospital. Instead of copying the chart or printing and faxing medical records, they call up the EMR and use the eDocManager module to send it electronically to eDischarge, which then distributes it to the appropriate care providers. This subscription service helps us be more cost-effective by reducing overtime and avoiding delay days."

Source: Curaspan