Sometimes a software solution just doesn't work out the way it was supposed to (or at least the way you thought it would). You can point fingers, complain about your partners, or even go to court. Or you can go out and find another software solution that does work. FutureVision Technologies, a service bureau specializing in document and information management solutions, found itself in that unenviable position. It processes medical claims forms for third party administrators and HMOs, converting Health Care Financing Administration forms into EDI data for claims systems.
FutureVision has been in business for seven years, according to Devin Cox, vice president of marketing, and appeared to be an overnight success story. But that quick success also brought workflow problems. Claims forms overwhelmed the company and its initial response, hiring more data entry people, brought more issues such as quality control.
Unfortunately, the next step also went in the wrong direction. An automated claims processing system that it purchased did not achieve the results that FutureVision visualized.
Finally, the company turned to Cardiff Software and things began to straighten out. FutureVision knew what its problems were and felt it could find the answers through Cardiff's MediClaim software. "Those same issues had already been resolved by Cardiff," said Cox.
"Our system allows the company to apply business rules to data and make any corrections or changes," said Robert Weideman, of Cardiff. "An untrained person would not know if the file was wrong or not, but the software knows that you don't treat an ear infection the way you would a broken arm."
Cardiff introduced MediClaim in 1998 to help process HCFA 1500 and UB-92 medical claims forms and attachments. Medical claims processing time has been reduced from two to five minutes per claim to just 30 seconds per claim, allowing companies like FutureVision to add more clients without having to add more staff.
The company had looked at other solution providers, but found that some were too expensive. "We didn't have millions to spend," said Cox. Cardiff was one of three within FutureVision's price range.
"For our environment, it proved to be the best fit," he said. "We've been tracking this technology for five years." The three competitors were evaluated over several months before the selection was made.
FutureVision's bad experiences in the past actually made this installation go quickly – in a matter of weeks as opposed to 20 to 30 days. "That's not indicative of most installations," Cox said.
The installation took place in late 1999 and was first implemented with one of FutureVision's smaller clients. ("They were very forgiving," Cox said.) By testing with a client who filed approximately 1,000 claims a day, they were able to work out any kinks. "We were able to deliver what we said we would deliver," he said.
FutureVision's customers were anxious to get started. "Cardiff has a programming seminar, but our clients wanted to get on right away," said Cox. "We didn't want to turn them down, but it took the first year to get them where they wanted to be."
FutureVision also has clients filing thousands of claims a day and the results have been successful. "We offer advanced automation technology with zero capital investment on their part," said Cox. Business has grown by 400 percent in the last three years. That would have required five to six times the staff it had before Cardiff came into the picture. "We did not want to be a key entry shop," Cox said. "Most of those have gone out of business or out of the country."
Earlier this year, FutureVision expanded its operations to include ASP services and verification capabilities through MediClaim. The ASP option came about when Cardiff integrated MediClaim with Citrix MetaFrame, a third-party application server software.
"The model enables our administrators to increase claims input by 400 percent to 30,000 forms per day," said Cox. The ASP model allows smaller companies to take advantage of FutureVision's service bureau and larger clients that do not want to outsource to leverage the service's cost effectiveness.
"We've seen big market pressures, so we are offering different levels of service based on the client's needs," said Cox.
It took a misstep to lead to a happy ending, but now it appears that FutureVision can continue its growth with a partner it can rely on.
THE COMPANY: FutureVision Technologies
WEB SITE: www.fvtech.com
THE SOFTWARE: MediClaim by Cardiff Software
WEB SITE: www.cardiff.com
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