EchoApps Returns Efficiency, Ease, and Reliability Download this Case Study

After ten years of education and training, physicians are ready and anxious to practice medicine. One barrier that stands in their way is the time consuming and tedious task
of completing applications for each hospital where they admit patients, and for each health insurance plan they accept.

Studies estimate that physicians send between 10 and 15 applications annually to various healthcare organizations.  For a medical group with 10 physicians, the total can exceed more than 150 applications each year. Most applications take approximately 2 hours to complete; since they often are over 20 pages in length. The office staff to support these physicians can spend weeks in staff time just to manage this process.

Credentialing Simplicity
One medical group was searching for a solution to eliminate the inefficiency, time and accuracy barriers in completing their physician applications, and to also support their group by offering application generation services.

The Radlinx Group, a Texas-based radiology staffing organization that maintains off-site interpretation service contracts with over 30 radiology practices, hospital systems, and medical systems was searching for a better solution.  Office staff members were filling out applications manually before one of the physicians told them about EchoApps, an Internet-based credentialing application tool.

"Our recommending physician told us that we could send all of our applications to EchoApps and a team would scan them for us into the EchoApps library. Then after entering each provider's information once, we could automatically populate any application for that particular provider," explains Shelley Dowdle, Director of Operations.

EchoApps was designed by HealthLine Systems, a credentialing software developer with more than 20 years of experience. HealthLine currently supports over 1,000 healthcare organizations in the United States and Canada.

"We specifically created EchoApps to simplify and enhance the provider application process and to help reduce administrative overhead through automation. EchoApps tools also improve communication, offering additional value and service that helps bond providers with their organizations," says Paul Holbel, HealthLine's Chief Software Architect.

According to Dowdle, "EchoApps was a dream come true.  Generally, to fill out an application manually, it would take us about 30 minutes to an hour for just one, and if I had to look up information on a provider, it would take longer.  We have a file on each provider that we work with, and not all the information is on one sheet of paper. Now with EchoApps we only have to fill out the provider's information once, and that information is used to populate any application in the EchoApps library."

Simple Tools and Navigation Ease Process
EchoApps was designed with an easy-to-use online interface and an extensive, stable and flexible database.  Clients are usually up and running within minutes of activating their accounts since very little training is needed to start.

"The way EchoApps is laid out makes it very easy to use.  I received a training session, but I wouldn't have had to have one, because when you go through EchoApps, it is self explanatory," says Dowdle.

EchoApps incorporation of pop-up tables, color-coded tabs, calendars and a search function makes navigating quick and easy, and readily assists with entering and retrieving information.

Dowdle says, "Having the information in one central location online is really helpful, and the retrieval of information is really quick. We can just enter the zip code and it will list the corresponding city and state."

Template Creates Efficiency
To further expedite the application process, EchoApps lets you create a template so that any information that is going to be repeated, like provider practices and groups or Medicare and Medicaid numbers, can automatically be populated. Once templates are created, they can be
quickly accessed.

Consistency and Accuracy with Automated Alerts and Warnings
Another benefit to EchoApps is its ability to catch omissions and oversights at the time of data entry. This function was incorporated into the initial development of EchoApps, based on HealthLine's knowledge that applications were often incomplete when they were submitted, resulting in delays in credentialing.

HealthLine analyzed the top 150 reasons why applications were considered incomplete, and built safeguards into EchoApps to help eliminate this problem. The safeguards provide each subscriber with a "Smart Assistant" that virtually edits each provider record. When subscribers
enter information, the data is analyzed against the rules, and errors or omissions are immediately noted for the user to remedy.

Along with errors and omissions, the EchoApps rules database also includes tips to help application processing by the healthcare organization. Tips include messages and alerts about entering fax numbers or e-mail addresses that could be used in the verification process, rather than letters.

New Applications Entered Quickly
The EchoApps library includes hundreds of applications that have been scanned by HealthLine Systems staff and prepared to merge provider data. New applications are generally available within days of the receipt of the application master.

Radlinx agrees, and likes the fact that the EchoApps applications look professional when they are sent to hospitals and health plans. Their hospitals have also noted how legible the application is when they receive it. "In this age of computers, we don't even have a typewriter
anymore. With legible and complete applications, we are helping our clients with their job," says Dowdle.

Provider Profiles Organize Information
Radlinx noted another feature that advances the application process is the EchoApps provider profile. The profile is a summary of each provider's general information, primary office associates, education and training, as well as work history, and malpractice insurance information. The profile is available to view online or to print and attach with each completed application.

Radlinx has found the provider profile to be very helpful, especially when sending the application packets to hospitals. "The provider profile has the phone and fax numbers for the medical schools and hospital affiliations, so it saves time that the hospital staff would use for looking up all of the information or searching for the right address to send the verification letters. Having the profile just makes the hospital medical staff coordinator's job easier," said Dowdle.

Automatically Attach Documents
EchoApps also automates the application process by attaching electronic copies of supporting documents to the application. Subscribers can send scanned copies of their license certificates and other documents to be printed and attached to each application. "When I actually receive the application in my e-mail, I can review it as an RTF. It if needs any changes made, I can
make changes right then. Before EchoApps I would have to handwrite my changes," says Dowdle.

EchoApps is Friendly and Ensures Security
Radlinx has found EchoApps to be very user-friendly and the support team helpful. "The support team has been wonderful to work with. I am very pleased with EchoApps - the speed is great and I am very grateful for whoever created the design," says Dowdle. 

EchoApps employs the latest Internet security to safeguard data from intruders. The database is housed on internal computers, rather than servers located on the Internet, in order to protect against unauthorized access to the database. Data is never transferred across nonsecured web pages. Along with this configuration, Cisco firewalls are utilized, the website is secured with SSL 128-bit encryption (a standard among banking industries) and HealthLine staff continuously monitors account management and system access to ensure account validity. 

EchoApps user friendly tools and impressive technology offers a secure and successful solution to change the administrative nightmare of filling out provider applications.

For more information:
sales@echoapps.com
clientservices@echoapps.com