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Leslie Heidenreich, owner of Allegheny Health Computer Systems (AHCS), is a reseller of the MedisoftTM practice management system with over 200 active clients. In 2002, the software author, provided its resellers an official HIPAA statement drafted by the legal department, a pamphlet with some general HIPAA information, and eventually, technical documentation for the ANSI 837 billing module. Unfortunately, this was not sufficient for the reseller to answer the myriad of detailed questions posed by clients. In 2002 she engaged Eagle to assist with client training and other HIPAA-related services. Eagle created two customized client training programs, for HIPAA Privacy and HIPAA Transactions:
HIPAA Privacy Classes. The Medisoft system features were compared to the requirements of the HIPAA Privacy regulations. Eagle prepared a matrix detailing privacy rule requirements and recommended procedures in the medical practice. Half a dozen of these requirements could be facilitated with the practice management software. For these requirements, implementation approaches were developed which included the creation of custom screens and special reports. These techniques, combined with the new features created by the software author, were judged sufficient for most medical practices who desired to comply with HIPAA Privacy’s requirements.
A client training program was designed to train clients not only on the above procedures, but all of the HIPAA mandated policies and procedures for privacy compliance. Eagle prepared seminar advertisements which the VAR mailed to all clients. During the 2002- 2003 timeframe, a total of 4 seminars were conducted in different cities across AHCS’s Western Pennsylvania marketing territory.
HIPAA Transactions Classes. When the ANSI Transactions module was released by Medisoft, a training program was designed to streamline implementation. While the software author included a ANSI 837 crosswalk in their technical documentation, this material was designed for a computer technician. Eagle prepared an 18 page document, titled “Dummy’s Guide to the ANSI 837″, which was designed for office managers who needed to update their procedures, collect new data elements, and populate the software. This document combined the essential data from the Medisoft ANSI 837 crosswalk, the Official 800-page ANSI 837 Implementation Guide, and critical data from the “Companion Guides” offered by the two major payers in the VAR’s geographic region.
Again, Eagle prepared the training program advertisement and all handout materials. AHCS broadcast faxed the advertisement to clients and followed up with telephone calls. AHCS supplied the training room. Eagle conducted the training program, with assistance from AHCS who provided hands-on configuration training for the ANSI 837 module.
In total, during the year 2003, more than 70 clients were trained and completed evaluation forms which, on average, rated their satisfaction with the program 4.5 on a 1 to 5 scale. AHCS’s primary objective of providing important value-added services was achieved. With seminar fees approximately $200 per person, AHCS generated more than $15,000 in training revenue and netted approximately $7000 after all expenses. The education effort was instrumental in generating significant upgrade revenue for the EDI Services, Medisoft version upgrades, and additional Direct Remittance posting modules. “Face time” with clients during seminars helped generate unrelated add-on sales of Focus Reports. Finally, flexible payment terms offered by Eagle to this small reseller allowed her to minimize out-of-pocket costs.