As with other divisions within the department, many of our administrators' most creative innovations were designed to manage our valuable patient resource. Imagine the paperwork and financing of a department with 89 faculty members, 71 residents, and a 207-member support staff. Organizing medical record, billing, and compliance issues associated with 21, 293 emercengy room visits; 162,583 prenatal visits; 116,248 gynecologic visits; and a combined total of nearly 19,000 deliveries, performed at two different hospital sites, is a staggering accomplishment.
UT*Smart is one tool helping us to improve medical record organization and access. A university-wide project, UT*Smart is a medical record software system currently used in 3 of our department's patient care areas: the Lowe Foundation Center for Women's Preventative Health Care; the James W. Aston Ambulatory Care Center Gynecology/Fertility Offices; and the UT Southwestern Ob/Gyn and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit at St. Paul University Hospital Professional Building. With this system, the department has begun transforming these areas from a paper-driven environment into a paperless one. Both medical content and billing records are now created and stored using palm-pilot technology. Benefits of this change are many. The management of patient records is improved as charts can always be easily accessed and "virtually" shared. The software's billing module allows for a checks and balance system to maximize coding and reimbursement.
Another innovation led us to recreate the traditional billing office to manage the insurance coding and compliance issues of our hospitalized patients. Insurance experts armed with laptop computers code from mobile work stations, moving from ward to ward. In this way, billing-related medical record deficiencies can be identified and on-the-spot coding performed. This preemptive approach improves claim accuracy and speeds filing and reimbursement.
Within Administration, we strive to accurately assess needs and then allocate technology and manpower resources accordingly. This philosophy is evident in our coding process for prenatal visit reimbursement. Because the number of insurance codes used for routine prenatal care is small, complicated forms and detailed computer software are not required. To perform coding and documentation of these visits, we use scanned recognition software, similar to the penciled-in bubble sheets used in standardized test taking. Approximately, 162,583 prenatal visits are efficiently coded with this system annually.
Administration has also focused more intently not only on providing superior patient care but also on configuring clinics which effectively use space and staff resources. Currently, monthly financial reports are generated for the private practice segment of the department. Our future goals involve using these reports to implement changes in scheduling and patient flow to better use these commodities.
In addition to taking advantage of the latest technology, the department presses into action employees with vast administrative experience. The OBCOM group comprises 6 highly-experienced administrative assistants who manage and mentor a 24-person administrative staff. Members of OBCOM organize administrative assistant schedules and training. Their expertise provides the faculty with seamless administrative coverage to manage project and grant deadlines, as well as day-to-day scheduling and secretarial responsibilities.
No doubt in the coming year, Administration will once again be challenged to adapt to meet new insurance, governmental, and medical record requirements. With our cadre of creative minds, we look forward with resolve to once again cross these hurdles with an efficient and innovative spirit.
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