medical billing transcription supplier information

Autumn was among the busiest on record in the $1.2 billion healthcare field, with more conferences, symposia, and gatherings than ever luring healthcare providers with the promise of bringing them up-to-date on the latest information system or technology. In fact, there were so many exhibitions showcasing the inventions and innovations unveiled in 1999 that our editors decided to bring you this "Round II" selection of products and services that grabbed our attention as the millenium wound down. Refer to our November issue for Round I of some of the products and services that are bound to boost productivity in hospitals, physician practice, managed care organizations, and other healthcare settings in the near future.

Handheld Coding at the Point of Care

DynaMedix Corporation has unveiled PocketCode, a portable coding tool for healthcare providers that is designed to eliminate coding errors and reduce the denial rate of claims by ensuring proper coding is captured at the point of the patient encounter. With PocketCode, the caregiver can easily document the diagnosis, select procedures and record notes for each patient on a personal digital assistant (PDA). When the encounter is complete, PocketCode transfers the data to a variety of systems for storage, such as a desktop PC, and allows links into management systems, billing systems or lab information systems. PocketCode software includes ICD9 codes, Procedure Codes, Fee Schedules, CCI data and HCFA's Medical Necessity Guidelines. The system beta tests have been based on use of Casio's Cassiopeia E-100 PDA, but it will operate on any system utilizing Windows CE, including a Windows-based desktop PC. By reducing time for proper coding and submitting proper claims the first time, use of PocketCode can also improve cash flow and revenues for physician practices.Amid a flurry of new Websites offering online purchasing of medical supplies and equipment, a "veteran" company operating since August 1998 announced its enhanced site. Medicalbuyer.com, founded by radiologist Edward Rollins, M.D., unveiled its new "trading exchange" that offers physicians, hospitals and long-term care facilities more convenient and user-friendly online purchasing. The system allows physicians the convenience of ordering from a selection of about 500,000 items, requiring only an Internet browser, a credit card, and UPS delivery. The system is open to manufacturers, distributors, dealers and end-users and offers discounts of 15 percent to 50 percent. Future services will include an RFQ auction, where buyers select products for open bidding, and a customer-initiated "reverse" auction that will allow selling overstock inventory

Patch cords that ensure uninterrupted flow of data are available from KRONE, Inc. TruePatch[TM] cords, when used with the company's TrueNet[TM] structured cabling system, the physical layer-between the NIC and server--is guaranteed a zero bit error transmission rate. When the cords are used to upgrade an existing installation, they improve network performance by increasing data throughput. The cords feature a high-pressure, injection-molded boot that locks each cable pair in place inside the plug; an extra-long strain relief that prevents kinking at the plug head; stranded conductors that are compacted into a near-round shape to enhance the cable flexibility;

A new suite of Internet and software-based knowledge tools that allows users to access a large national perioperative data warehouse is available through Picis. Savent is designed for advanced analysis and research to measure clinical performance and asset utilization in the perioperative environment. With Savent you can also benchmark practice patterns against national averages and make informed decisions to help reduce costs while improving patient outcomes. The tools are built specifically to meet the needs of the anesthesia provider. --Picis,

Advanced optics and scanning methodology allows 100 percent positive identification using the U-Match BioLink Mouse[TM] from BioLink Technologies, Inc. An optical fingerprint scanner is built into a fully functional mouse. Fingerprints are stored as templates that cannot be used to regenerate fingerprint images, thus eliminating any threat to personal privacy. Up to 10 users can register fingerprints on the mouse at a single workstation. --BioLink Technologies, Inc., alty mounting solutions for computers, introduces a new addition to its mobile cart line, the new MWS-102. This mobile computer cart was specifically designed to accommodate patients who are temporarily or permanently bedridden. The cart easily adjusts to users who are in an upright, semi-reclined or fully-reclined position while providing an ergonomically correct environment. Patented Adjustable Rotating Mounting Solutions (ARMS) allow users to swing, lift, tilt and turn a flat panel monitor and keyboard into an infinite number of positions for convenient computer access while in bed. Ergotron, Inc., Eagan, MN,

The Orator Pro Digital Dictation system is a multiline telephone dictation and transcription system from Bytescribe Development Co. The system has an open architecture that integrates with other systems and is expandable from four to 48 ports within the same dictation server. The system includes a conversion utility that automatically converts voice files into TrueSpeech WAV files, a standard Windows[R] WAV file format, for Internet transfer. It also can automatically re-record dictation from other digital dictation systems, and features such management tasks as purging old files, displaying system resources and automatically handle aborted and computed jobs. Transcriptionists can access the system using digital transcribe stations, which can connect to the system via phone lines or hard-wired connections. --Bytescribe Development Co., Birmingham,

A clinical information system that standardizes, coordinates and monitors patient care, and tracks the use of resources to improve patient outcomes and reduce medical costs is available from CliniComp, Intl. WinCIS, which uses a Microsoft[R] Windows graphic user interface, also helps to increase efficiency by collecting data, performing calculations and reducing administrative tasks. Primary features of the software include easy navigation, automated patient record, online users manual, interface for seamless information exchange between other on-site disparate systems, no redundant charting and automated calculations for intravenous drips and output fluids. --CliniComp, Intl., San Diego, CA