KANSAS CITY, Mo., Dec. 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) has entered into an extended relationship with Cerner, its health information technology (IT) supplier that supports the health system’s two acute hospitals and 38 ambulatory facilities.
Cerner, a global leader in health care technology, will displace another cloud-based technology supplier and take responsibility for revenue cycle management through Cerner Business Office Services (BOS) for NAH’s ambulatory clinics. This decision will establish NAH as a comprehensive Cerner client that will benefit from an integrated clinical, financial and population health management system.
This expanded relationship will also extend Cerner ambulatory EHR and BOS solutions to more than 200 community providers that make up PathfinderHealth, a regional accountable care organization managed by NAH and other local health systems, in an effort to improve quality and efficiency across the region. In addition, Cerner has established an on-site NAH alignment office where Cerner associates will work to identify and execute opportunities for optimization and improvement.
“As a longtime client, Cerner has given us the tools to better manage the patient and population transitions across the continuum, which have demonstrated measurable results in improving patient care and reducing costs,” said Rob Thames, CEO, NAH. “By adding Cerner BOS to our ambulatory clinics, we will leverage Cerner’s expertise and resources with the goal of improving the financial health of our organization.”
Cerner BOS is a full-service revenue cycle management offering designed to create an efficient and seamless experience for providers and their patients by helping relieve office staff of time-draining administrative activities. Skilled Cerner BOS professionals work directly with patients and external parties to assume tasks such as claims scrubbing and processing, payment posting, self-pay management, insurance follow-up, denial management and patient call center services. Cerner’s experienced team of certified billing associates work to consistently meet or exceed Medical Group Management Association benchmarks.
“One health IT supplier supporting the entire health system will allow us to experience a level of integration and seamless flow of patient information that we have not yet been able to experience,” said Marilynn Black, CIO, NAH. “Through Cerner and NAH’s long history, we achieved many accomplishments on disparate systems and look forward to the next level of success with a comprehensive Cerner suite.”
Since first selecting Cerner in 1997, NAH has achieved the following outstanding accomplishments based on advanced technology:
- Received HIMSS Stage 6 designation within both acute hospitals in 2015
- Ranked in the top 20 percent of small hospital systems in the nation by Truven Health Analytics in 2014
- Ranked as a Best Regional Hospital by U.S. News and World Report in 2012
- Reduced 30-day readmission rate for congestive heart failure by nearly half, from 13.6 percent to 7.1 percent, in three years using Cerner’s Acute Care Management
“Cerner is proud of the value we’ve helped create in Northern Arizona’s community throughout nearly two decades,” said Caleb Anderson, vice president of Ambulatory, Cerner. “We’re excited to expand the relationship to include the PathfinderHealth ACO and encompass Cerner’s BOS offering to help optimize the health system’s revenue cycle processes and to drive additional value and efficiencies across the region.”
To learn more about the NAH and Cerner relationship, watch this video.
About Cerner
Cerner’s health information technologies connect people, information and systems at more than 18,000 facilities worldwide. Recognized for innovation, Cerner solutions assist clinicians in making care decisions and enable organizations to manage the health of populations. The company also offers an integrated clinical and financial system to help health care organizations manage revenue, as well as a wide range of services to support clients’ clinical, financial and operational needs. Cerner’s mission is to contribute to the systemic improvement of health care delivery and the health of communities. On February 2, 2015, Cerner Corporation acquired substantially all of the assets, and assumed certain liabilities, of the Siemens Health Services business from Siemens AG. Nasdaq: CERN. For more information about Cerner, visit cerner.com, read our blog at cerner.com/blog, connect with us on Twitter at twitter.com/cerner and on Facebook at facebook.com/cerner.
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