Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) share a common mission to meet the needs of an underserved area or population. As a primary source for outpatient medical services and establishing programs outside the healthcare environment that support overall well-being, FQHCs are the heart of communities in which the most vulnerable live. Fulfilling their mission requires funding, which comes from reimbursements and grants, both of which are directly correlated to health information data in the form of filing and managing faxes, scans, requests, referrals, authorizations, verifications and more.
To say the accuracy and timely filing of that data is critical to an FQHC would be an understatement. Given the sheer volume of records and requests, the cost to manage them requires a healthy budget and a dedicated medical records team, which are resources that could and should be redirected to caring for a community’s underserved. The big-picture challenges facing FQHCs are:
- They need funding to support their communities
- Funding is awarded based on timely, accurate filing, which shows care outcomes and program results
- Health Information Management (HIM) is challenging for an FQHC’s staff to stay on top of, undermining their ability to get faster reimbursement and more grant funding
The search for a solution to these issues can lead to working with a Health Information Management partner, like ScanSTAT. A full-service HIM partner can eliminate the burden of Release of Information (ROI) and Inbound Document Management – often at a lower total cost than managing everything in-house.
How HIM Affects Quality Measures
ScanSTAT streamlines an FQHC’s processes for ROI and HIM services, which better organizes data and makes operations more efficient. It results in improved quality measures and faster health plan reimbursements, plus opens more time for internal staff to focus on patients, all of which directly improves patient experience and care.
Breaking down that 30,000-foot view, these are the specific ways your HIM partner can and should transform your HIM functions.
Data and Reporting
Take Carevide, a Texas-based community health center with nine locations, for example. They had an internal medical records department of six handling Release of Information and Inbound Document Management. Their process worked, but the organization, like many today, was striving for even better efficiency when it comes to administrative tasks.
After choosing ScanSTAT as their long-term partner, they gained convenience, same-day communication and efficiency. When it comes time for grant applications, funding audits and results, and submitting reimbursements, the data Carevide needs is readily available and up to date.
DOWNLOAD THE FULL CAREVIDE STORY
Alleviating Staffing Challenges and Unburdening In-House Teams
Recruiting medical records personnel is usually a challenge for many FQHCs, particularly now, and especially for those located in sparsely populated rural areas. Staffing challenges often lead to backlogs, negatively impacting patient care and health plan reimbursements and funding.
Having an outsourced HIM partner eliminates the need for maintaining an internal medical record staff, and existing staff’s focus can be redirected to patient care. As FQHC staffs have a laundry list of items to achieve throughout the day, many have too much on their “to do” list and something has to give. With an HIM partner in place, patient care doesn’t have to be that something.
DOWNLOAD THE WHITE PAPER: FIVE WAYS AN FQHC CAN SAVE ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS
ScanSTAT Makes ROI and Inbound Document Management Easier for FQHCs
ScanSTAT makes it easier for hospitals, health systems, and medical practices to manage health information. Whether you are considering making a complete transition or supplementing your in-house Release of Information and Health Information Management operations, we can help. We place as much importance on privacy, security, and customer service as you do and are deeply committed to serving FQHCs to support their important missions.
Contact us at scanstat.com/demo to learn how you can leverage ScanSTAT experts to transform your ROI and HIM into faster reimbursements and more grant funding, and therefore better patient outcomes.