Verisma to Extend Online Request App Beyond Patients and Proxies

Leader in automated disclosure management to make self-service available to requesters within client organizations, commercial health plans, attorneys

ALEXANDRIA, VA. – Sept. 28, 2017 – Verisma Systems, Inc., today announced plans to extend the functionality of Verisma Request Application (VRA), a self-service solution that enables patients and their proxies to request their medical records online 24/7/365. The company, an industry leader in technology-driven enterprise disclosure management, will develop functionality so internal requestors, commercial health plans and attorneys can benefit from similar self-service options.

“We consulted with clients and they sent a very clear message,” says Marty McKenna, CEO of Verisma. “They expect the same online access and convenience in professional transactions as in their personal lives. We have the technology and commitment to deliver, and will accelerate our plans to meet this emerging market need.”

Verisma will introduce functionality over the coming months that will enable each of the three expanded stakeholder groups to securely and easily request/receive records within applications and programs they use on a daily basis, according to Andrew McManus, Founder & Executive Vice President at Verisma. “Our objective is to make the request and release process convenient and seamless,” he says. “We will enable requesters to gain entry to VRA at the most logical point within their workflow while rigorously preserving a compliant release process.”

McManus says Verisma’s analytic tools indicate the most common disclosure requests are urgent in nature and typically support continuity of care. However, commercial health plans and attorney requests rank second and third in frequency, which drove the company’s decision to expand VRA to these specific users.

“We want to make requesters’ jobs and lives easier,” McKenna says. “These new features within VRA will certainly do that, while also allowing us to continue to exceed the expectations of our patient and proxy requestors.”

About Verisma

Verisma is a health information technology provider focused on delivering unparalleled Disclosure Management solutions. The company’s flagship automation system, Verisma® Release Manager (VRM), is utilized by well-known healthcare organizations nationwide. VRM automates workflow to improve turnaround times, reduce errors and drive down costs – effectively automating medical records release while delivering comprehensive release audit capabilities. It is the only release technology with integrated HIPAA guidance and compliance review support. For additional information, please visit  www.verisma.com, call 866-390-7404 or email solutions@verisma.com

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Glaser

Phone (770) 317-8831

Elizabeth@verisma.com

Enterprise Standardization Reduces Cost and Mitigates Risk

Exploring Driver #4 of the “5 Things You Must Know Now About Release of Health Information

By: Linda Kloss, MA, RHIA, FAHIMA

This blog series on transforming release of health information has examined the increased demand for information, the need to mitigate risk and control to costs. We outlined the need for sound work process design supported by workflow technology as an essential requirement for ROI today. In this third blog, we explore the need to scale technology-enabled workflow from a single site—a hospital or clinic—to the enterprise.

Enterprise may seem a lofty word but it works well to describe the need to scale-up ROI. Enterprise refers to a business (the entire health system) or a project (managing access and disclosure of protected health information). It is the term customarily used to describe the software version needed to support a whole organization. A healthcare organization doesn’t purchase multiple copies of the single user version of Microsoft 10 to support the whole organization, it gets the enterprise version to save money and ensure that the whole team is securely working together on the same platform.

Best practice for ROI requires a uniform set of policies and procedures that are sanctioned for use throughout the organization. It requires that mechanisms are in place to ensure that the sanctioned policies and procedures are being applied wherever ROI occurs in the healthcare organization, whether in a medical practice, the ED, or a hospital. ROI can no longer be siloed, with each part of the enterprise handling requests and releases as it sees fit. A standardized approach is needed, as is a process for escalating issues for timely resolution. In today’s complex work environments it’s almost impossible to ensure uniformity in a decentralized process without the use of uniform workflow technology.

Many healthcare organizations are going a step further and centralizing all release of information because this approach offers greater opportunity to mitigate risk, control cost, and improve service to customers. They may do this in-house with their own staff or outsource all or part of the function. Again, what ensures uniform practice is the use of a common technology platform designed to guide compliant workflow that allows managers to track and trend processing and release quality and productivity. Many successful Verisma customers are demonstrating the tangible value of this approach. In fact, Saint Luke’s Health System in Kansas City, MO will address their results at the upcoming AHIMA 2017 Convention in LA (Monday, October 9th, 1-2 pm).

HIM managers may consider the following questions as they assess how best to reduce ROI cost and risk while improving service through enterprise-wide standardization:

  1. Can we map the current ROI practices across the enterprise? Where are requests for information being received and processed?   Are current policies and processes well outlined and up-to-date?  How do we measure how well they are being adhered to?
  2. What is the opportunity to centralize using technology-enabled workflow tools? How can we make the case for cost savings, improved compliance and better service?  Whose support will be needed to effect this change?
  3. Given the organizations current capabilities, is it best to centralize through outsourcing, insourcing or a hybrid combination?

In our final post in the series, we will explore Driver #5 Enterprise ROI Improves Customer Satisfaction of the 5 Things You Must Know Now About Release of Health Information.” In the meantime, please send your questions or comments to solutions@verisma.com.

5 Things You Must Know Now About Release of Health Information

By: Linda Kloss, MA, RHIA, FAHIMA

How are leading healthcare organizations dealing with new regulations and challenges in release of confidential health information?  Verisma explored this question at its first annual Disclosure Management Summit (user conference) this past May and confirmed five critical drivers for transformational change.

1. ROI Volume and Complexity is on the Rise

A typical academic medical center may process over 150,000 health record requests from patients and third parties each year.  Requests are increasing in volumes year–over–year and the typical health system is more complex with the expansion of service lines and consolidations with ambulatory practices.  Electronic health records allow access to digital information, but require careful assessment that information to be released is accurately obtained from multiple systems and often in multiple formats.

2. ROI Process Variation Across a Health System is Costly

The only way to reduce cost is to reduce preventable process variation through an end-to-end ROI workflow design.   Healthcare is coming to understand this and is embracing lean and six sigma techniques across clinical and administrative functions. ROI processes that vary from site to site across the health systems adds costs. ROI is ripe for redesign to realize tangible cost reductions.

3. ROI Process Variation is Risky

ROI is an administrative process that must conform to federal and state laws and organizational standards and policy. The only way to reduce compliance risk is to build in compliance checks throughout the end-to-end ROI workflow and to build in full accountability to track and reduce errors and risks.   Health systems can no longer tolerate inconsistent and ad hoc ROI processes across the enterprise.

4. Enterprise Standardization Reduces Cost and Mitigates Risk

Best-practices in ROI calls for a uniform set of policies and procedures across the entire health care enterprise.  Uniformity in turn, requires technology to guide compliant workflow and allow managers to track and trend processing and release quality and productivity.  Health systems will organize ROI services according to their goals and objectives, but technology-enable standardization is essential whether ROI is centralized, decentralized or outsourced.

5. Enterprise ROI Improves Customer Satisfaction

Best ROI practice health systems report important gains in customer satisfaction from standardization.  Regardless of whether the patient initiates a request at the physician’s office or hospital, the request process is the same and he/she is able to secure the complete record without going from site to site.   Enterprise ROI is an important element of a health system’s overall customer engagement initiative.

It’s time to modernize Release of Health Information with enterprise-wide compliant technology and up-to-date management practices.  Learn how health systems using  Verisma’s ROI and disclosure management technology and services are moving from siloes to enterprise approaches that are reducing risk and cost, while improving the satisfaction of patients and staff. To learn more about how Verisma can help transform ROI in your organization, contact us at solutions@verisma.com or call us directly at 866.390.7404.

In our subsequent blog posts, we will explore and dive deeper into each of these five critical drivers and we hope that you will engage and share your thoughts with us.

Verisma Announces $12 Million Funding Round

Pueblo, Colo., November 10, 2015Verisma, the leader in Release of Information (ROI) Automation Systems for the healthcare industry, today announced it recently closed on a round of financing led by NewSpring Health Capital (“NewSpring”), the dedicated healthcare fund of NewSpring Capital. Blue Heron Capital and Jim Crook, former president of IDX Systems Corporation, joined the financing round. Verisma will use the total proceeds to enhance their existing infrastructure as well as grow their sales, marketing and product development teams. The investment will enable Verisma, which has more than a decade of experience in the health technology and services business, to expand their market reach and continue to address the need for compliant, secure and accurate ROI solutions.

“This investment will enable us to expand our organization in response to the growing demand in the healthcare industry,” said James C. Moore II, president of Verisma. “In our first round, it was extremely important that we partnered with firms such as NewSpring Capital and Blue Heron Capital, as well as a widely known and respected business leader like Jim Crook. Their deep understanding of the healthcare services industry aligned well with our expertise and proven track record. We are excited and confident that our new partnerships will be successful and mutually beneficial for our existing and potential clients.”

Verisma is a health information technology provider focused on delivering patented, cloud-based ROI solutions and services to healthcare organizations across the country. The company is a leader in technology-enabled ROI solutions, providing a compelling platform to aggregate and transfer secure patient data. Verisma’s ROI Automation System combines next-generation technology with highly trained teams of ROI, IT, legal and business experts that allows its clients to automate workflow, improve turnaround times and decrease errors. With the explosion of medical information captured by disparate, unconnected systems within a hospital or health system, the need for an efficient and compliant ROI provider is at an all-time high.

“Our mission is to make ROI simple and minimize risk better than any other solution available in the market today,” said Andrew McManus, senior vice president of Verisma. “We deliver on that promise every day for our clients. Now, with this infusion of capital, we will be able to expand our footprint into new geographic locales, as well as continue to serve the many healthcare organizations that rely on Verisma for its superior ROI Automation.”

With over 30 million new patients entering the healthcare system in the first year of the enactment of the Affordable Care Act alone, hospital administrators, HIM management and medical records departments must consider and implement newer and more robust systems to support the rapidly increasing flow of records.

“Verisma’s patented software solution streamlines release of information while increasing compliance and reducing costs,” said Brian G. Murphy, general partner of NewSpring Capital. “This model is aligned with our thesis of using technology to provide efficient and scalable solutions that help drive down costs for healthcare providers. We are thrilled to add Verisma to our growing portfolio of successful healthcare technology companies.”

“Verisma’s patented software solution improves the release of information by automating a formerly manual process, increasing compliance and patient data security — all while reducing costs,” said Tom Benedetti, co-founder of Blue Heron. “Our firm continues to invest in unique and innovative technology solutions to help reduce the costs of healthcare in America.”

 About New Spring Capital

Founded in 1999, NewSpring Capital invests in dynamic companies with the goal of partnering with management teams to develop their businesses into market leaders.  This philosophy has been a key tenet of NewSpring Capital’s approach to investing, and the success of our current and former portfolio companies demonstrates our commitment to offer consistent advice and support through any economic cycle.

NewSpring Capital has raised over $1 billion of committed capital supporting more than 100 portfolio companies across our growth equity, healthcare, control buyout and mezzanine debt funds.  For more than 15 years, our team of seasoned private equity investors and successful operators have partnered with management teams to provide them the financial resources, strategic guidance and a powerful network to assist them in achieving their goals.  Our experience has enabled us to effectively stand by our companies as they launch new products, expand into new areas and ultimately realize their full potential.


About Blue Heron Capital

 Blue Heron Capital is an operationally focused lower market private equity firm based in Richmond, Virginia. Blue Heron supports portfolio companies with a team of proven industry experts, including C-level executives and successful entrepreneurs with decades of experience building and managing vibrant businesses. The firm invests in buyout and growth equity opportunities in the healthcare, security, and business services industries.

About Verisma

Verisma is a health information technology provider focused on delivering unparalleled Release of Information (ROI) solutions to the healthcare industry. The company’s flagship ROI Automation System, Verisma® Release Manager (VRM), is utilized by well-known health care organizations nationwide. VRM automates workflow to improve turnaround times, reduce errors, and drive down costs — effectively automating medical records release while delivering comprehensive release audit capabilities. It is the only release technology with integrated HIPAA guidance and compliance review support. For additional information, please visit our website at www.verisma.com, call 866-390-7404, email solutions@verisma.com or follow us on Twitter @verisma

*US Patent Numbers 6,804,787, 7,191,463, and 9,049,314