Manish Khurana, Chief Information Officer at Clinica Sierra Vista contacted me recently about Epic Referral optimization project. Manish had a backlog of approximately 20,000 physician referrals that were about to expire and needed help communicating this information to patients. A few hours later, I joined Manish and his team for a videoconference to assess the situation.
It was clear during the call that this project had become a burden, and Manish and I quickly recognized that we could help improve efficiency and realize significant savings. In no time, we had an NDA and data security agreement to them for their review.
Once completed, we contacted the USPS and identified an outdated non-profit mailing authorization, which was unknown to Clinica Sierra Vista. We managed the interface with the USPS to update their non-profit authorization, and wrote a letter on their behalf. They simply needed to review and sign the letter and return it back to us for expedited USPS processing to realize a 63% postage savings.
We then took a deep dive into their data and identified 24.7% of their patients had multiple referrals. The information was consolidated so that each patient would receive one letter instead of one letter for each referral. This streamlined patient communication and saved additional cost. We also redesigned the letter to accommodate multiple referrals and eliminate redundant information between English and Spanish, while enhanced branding and layout.
We also collaborated with Clinica Sierra Vista’s technical team to support archiving these letters within their patient database. In addition, move updates and undeliverable records were provided for data quality.
In the final analysis, we cleared the backlog of expiring referrals within a few days. We streamlined and consolidated messaging, saved 72.6% in postage with the consolidation of records and non-profit status, while enhancing patient record information and data integrity.
We appreciate the opportunity and look forward to growing our relationship with Manish and his team. There’s nothing better than delivering real and measurable results.
