The Power Of Scheduling
Software Version
14.0
Modules Used
- Cadence, prelude, Resolute Professional Billing, Eppicare Ambulatory, Optesia, Stork, ClinDoc, Radiant
Overall Satisfaction with Cadence Enterprise Scheduling
- Templates are much easier to build now in EPIC 2014. In some of our practices, Prior to Cadence, one of our largest practices (averaging 250-300 pts per day) would build out templates in their old systems and only publish one month in advance since their templates were so hard to change. With Cadence they now publish 1 year in advance because template changes are the fly are so easy to do . Patient satisfaction has grown tremendously as well since now patients are given "real" appointments not told to call back next month when the schedules open up
- Recalls: Recalls have been a tremendous asset to many of our practices. Our Cardiology practice utilizes recalls and we have built out a custom access data base that is accessed the first day of each month which prints out patient labels based on month of recall to put on postcards that are mailed to patients. Postcards state that your 6,9, 12 month recall is due, Please call the practice to schedule. Patients love it.
- Access to schedule Appointments thru My Chart" For some practices we have built time slots in Cadence for self scheduling. This is mostly in our Primary Care departments for physicals.
- DAR ( Department Appointment Report ) - everyone absolutely loves customized DARS. We have been able to add so many "at a glance" things to the DAR. We recently pulled in an abstract icon to the DAR to alert new practices as they come up, that charts have been abstracted prior to the appointments, saving time for the Med. Assistance doing this from scratch with the patients there. This saves the patient so much time as well as the practice. On time performance has improved. Two days prior to a scheduled appts, the DAR is accessed and at a glance, anyone without that icon, will need to have a paper chart pulled, and abstracted prior to the patients arrival.
- Auto Confirmation: We have contracted with a EPIC recommended service, to auto confirm appointments set on a standard criteria for some large practices saving staff time and monies.
- Questionnaires: EPIC seems to be very stringent on questionnaires and how may can be attached (only 1) on a Cadence level causing us to be quite inventive on how to get questioned answered on only certain visit types. One big stumbling block was the Ebola questionnaire. Currently we have a particular questionnaire for new Phy. Therapy patients which prevents us from adding the Ebola questionnaire to NEW patients. We are still struggling with this.
- Patient Itinerates used for multiple appointments: Not very professional looking regardless of how you set up (OP visits, instructions etc: Most practices will not use the itinerary therefore adding dollars to having printing cards with the practice name on them. (the old fashioned way)
- Building new DEP records: Wish there was a way to copy entire builds from one DEP to another.
- Security": EPIC security is a nightmare to develop for multi faced users. RN that schedule appointments. Many of our practices are small practices that only have 2-3 people (the doc, the RN and the scheduler/biller . This creates the need for everyone to do everything from a scheduling perspective and building this security can become very cumbersome from practice to practice as each is unique.
Our old legacy system was another vendor system interfaced to the current AD system. If was strictly a scheduling system, it did not pass information other than an account number to the ADT system for registration purposes so was very limited in what it could do beyond scheduled. It was a very easy system to work with (IT wise and user wise) due to it simplicity.
Once thing that this system had over Cadence was its ability to develop questionnaires (multiple) based on visit type, patient type, class of visit etc. it could build 1 or many and attach it to the department,
Epic Cadence Feature Ratings
Using Cadence Enterprise Scheduling
IT managers, analysts, corporate Operations department
Office managers, Practice administrators, clerical personnel, physicians, medical assistance, technicians and technologists.
Billing staff, financial investigators, third party ADT systems analysts, and vendor
Patients utilize self scheduling as well. Report writers utilize data to build Clarity Reports for practice usage
Statisticians utilize reports from Cadence for projections on staff utilization,
- Overall scheduling (obviously)
- Referrals (huge for authorizations and counting down authorized visits)
- Statistical reporting of visits, arrived, no show, cancellations etc.
- Auditing
- Scheduling provider time outside the practice
- Scheduling surgeries as a visit type created by an order and flowing that workflow though to billing.
- Utilizing the referral module for countdown of visits authorized by companies in our physical therapy areas as well as our Behavioral Health Clinics
- Building a patient intake questionnaire for our PT areas, prior to scheduling on order to ascertain of eligible and begin the intake from a non clinical perspective.
- More open scheduling thru Cadence and My Chart
- Expanding the communication between Cadence and Optesia.
Evaluating Cadence Enterprise Scheduling and Competitors
A McKesson vendor scheduling system from an overall IT supported perspective.
However in practices Cadence as replaced, PaceArt, ADS, and Centricity as well as many other various scheduling suystms.
- Product Features
- Vendor Reputation
- Existing Relationship with the Vendor
- Analyst Reports
We have purchased EPIC and all its applications therefore Cadence came along with the package. the initial decision was not to utilize Cadence in our hospitals but rather private practice only.
It soon became apparent that Epicare without Cadence was not a good flavor, so it was decided to implemented Cadence in all areas that were utilizing Epicare. especially since our third partyADT system does not like Epicare messages without Cadence intervention with dates etc.
Cadence Enterprise Scheduling Implementation
- Implemented in-house
straight scheduling, then referrals 6 months later (piece by piece), the Resolute professional Billing.
This was done for the first 15-20 practices and then it was implemented together but is every changing.
At first, EPIC assisted with the change control process since the analysts had no idea what INI or DEP records would impact something else. Everything went through change control. As our knowledge of the systems increased, we were ale to (wtith EPIC help) reduce the amount of change controls for certain Master files.
these have been identified, reviewed by our entire IT organization, reviewed by EPIC and finalized. We have a great process for change control now. (compliant as we00) but it was a long process.
- Not having the knowledge to know what should be added or not. We took EPIC word on this and were sorry that we did. We redid many of our decisions as our own knowledge grew
- Not implementing the referrals module until way after the fact and even then only built it out gradually. It is a constant catch up to publish the new pieces of the referral. We should have done a big bang implementation when we were ready.
Cadence Enterprise Scheduling Training
Cadence Enterprise Scheduling Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
Using Cadence Enterprise Scheduling
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using | None |
- Recalls
- DAR
- Practice scheduling
- Cancels and reschedules
- Questionnaires.
- Printing multiple appointment (patient Itineraries).
- While the end results are wonderful - recurring accounts are cumbersome to set up the criteria.
- While a wonderful tool - Referrals is a tough one.