Northwest Physicians Network (NPN), an independent physicians association with nearly 500 physicians in the Tacoma, WA area has successfully implemented the Acuity Advanced Care™ medical management software system (ACUITY) from TCS Healthcare Technologies.  ACUITY is an integrated care management software system for performing Utilization Management, Case Management, Disease Management, and Prevention/Wellness.

“We decided to look for a new medical management system because we were working in three different claims processing applications with varying degrees of utilization management and case management capabilities and sixteen Access databases used for reporting and identifying patient populations in need of care management,” notes Maureen Pence, RN, Director of Clinical Services Integration at NPN.  She further states, “We wanted to consolidate all our efforts into one system so we could streamline our workflow processes to be more efficient and standardized at managing patients across multiple lines of business in the commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid segments.”

After a comprehensive evaluation and selection process, NPN chose ACUITY over many other care management software vendors.  According to Rick MacCornack, PhD, NPN Chief Systems Integrations Officer and IT Team Supervisor, the NPN team selected ACUITY for the following reasons:

• ACUITY is patient-centric and truly integrated across the medical management functions of utilization management, case management, disease management and prevention/wellness management.
• ACUITY can automatically generate care plans for a patient based on an assessment of that patient.
• ACUITY included outcome-based care programs for Diabetes, Heart Failure, High Risk Pregnancy, Depression, Asthma and COPD.

“The implementation process was the smoothest I have ever seen,” says Shari Peterson, RN, NPN Manager of Clinical Services Integration. “The implementation project was on time; the expertise of the TCS team was outstanding and they meticulously evaluated every detail of our process so we could roll it into the system. The decisions regarding system set-up and process workflows were well thought out and done in a collaborative way; it was very reassuring throughout the implementation process.  There wasn’t anything in our work flow that we came across where TCS said ‘we can’t do that’ or ‘it’s not going to work.’  ACUITY is very flexible and configurable.”

Since the implementation has taken place, the staff at NPN has noticed a significant improvement in efficiency because of the consolidation of systems and the process uniformity.  For example, when responding to customer calls/requests, rather than searching multiple databases, the company now uses one system.  Peterson notes, “It is one of those little things that has made a world of difference.”

“TCS worked closely with NPN to ensure a successful implementation with the least amount of stress possible,” says TCS’ CEO and founder, Rob Pock. “We take pride in working with our clients throughout the implementation process, answering their questions and configuring ACUITY to fit their unique needs.”

For more information about TCS Healthcare Technologies, please contact John Sekerak at (530) 886-1700 ext. 211 or jsekerak@tcshealthcare.com.   For more information about Northwestern Physicians Network, please contact Maureen Pence at (253) 627-1151 or info@npnwa.net.

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About TCS Healthcare Technologies (www.tcshealthcare.com)

TCS Healthcare Technologies (TCS) is a leading provider of software and clinical solutions that support and improve population health management strategies for health plans, insurers, providers, third party administrators, medical management companies, and others. TCS is recognized as one of the premier healthcare software companies in the United States designing, offering, and hosting a number of products and services. The following TCS applications support a wide range of care management transactions:

• Acuity Advanced Care™, a comprehensive and integrated care management software system for Utilization Management (UM), Case Management (CM), Disease Management (DM), and Prevention/Wellness (PW) services;

• AcuCare™, evidenced-based care programs, which includes clinical assessments and outcome based care plans;

• AcuStrat™, a population stratification and automation tool that turns patient healthcare information into automated, actionable events;
• AcuExchange™, a provider portal that allows providers to submit authorization requests over the Internet and collaborate with the payer;
• AcuPort Advanced™, a middleware software (Extraction, Transformation, & Loading) solution to link disparate information, from multiple applications into one useful system; and
• AcuTab™, a seamless data-viewing system that allows users of ACUITY to view, search, sort, and report on data from other systems without having to log in to other applications or rely on third-party interfaces.

About Northwestern Physicians Network (www.npnwa.net)

Northwest Physicians Network (NPN) is the largest independent physicians association in the northwest.  With more than 500 physicians, NPN coordinates care across the spectrum of health services by employing a comprehensive set of strategies, like health information technology, chronic disease management tools, and employer wellness programs.  They are based in Tacoma, WA, and employ an administrative and care management team of over 65 employees, in addition to the practice staff in the 245 clinics throughout the Puget Sound region.