BOSTON – June 23, 2008 – Experian QAS, a part of Experian® (LSE: EXPN) specializing in customer data quality software and services, announced today that its healthcare provider customer base in the United States and Canada has grown by 50 percent during the past 12 months. These healthcare institutions deployed Experian QAS to ensure patient data quality and privacy, shorten revenue cycles and increase patient satisfaction.
Experian QAS solutions improve the quality of patient contact data input into any underlying application, from market-leading enterprise solutions to internally-developed systems. The quality of patient contact information such as a patient’s address, has a direct impact on many clinical and business functions including finance, health records management, diagnostic imaging, decision support and scheduling.
Point-of-entry address verification ensures that patient data is complete and accurate before being submitted to hospital databases and information systems. In turn, clinical correspondence and follow-up care information will be sent to a deliverable address and billing documents reach intended recipients on the first attempt.
The importance of accurate, standardized patient contact information was evident from the results of a March 2008 research survey of patient finance and patient access decision makers conducted by MindSearch and commissioned by Experian QAS. Nearly 90 percent of hospital executives and managers surveyed rated patient address accuracy either extremely or very important.
“We have an obligation as a healthcare provider to make sure our data is accurate,” said Marnie Fletcher, director of health information services & chief privacy officer at St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton. “An incorrect address for a patient or family physician represents a potential breach of patient privacy. We looked for a tool that would help ensure that we always obtain the correct address and that the address would be captured in a standardized manner and is consistent with our external reporting obligations.”
The MindSearch survey also raises some concerns about the current status of patient address data in hospital systems. Approximately 40 percent of respondents are at best moderately satisfied with patient address quality at their hospital and only 18 percent indicate strong satisfaction with the address data quality they use. Registration staff at 30 percent of the hospitals responding to the survey do nothing more than reference the patient’s identification to verify their address. More disconcerting is that 10 percent do not verify patient addresses, even though it is viewed as critical to the quality of a patient’s experience.
“The need to have correct patient information can be quite literally a matter of life and death in an increasingly technology driven healthcare system,” said Joel Curry, chief operating officer, Experian QAS. “Our client hospitals recognize that patient contact data quality impacts many areas of the healthcare spectrum. Accurate patient data quality serves to improve not only the quality of patient care, but also the financial operation of the entire healthcare operation.”
Healthcare providers that have purchased data quality tools from Experian QAS, during the past year to improve the performance of patient access and patient finance processes include:
The Experian QAS product portfolio includes:
About Experian QAS
Experian QAS is an address data quality software pioneer. The company's products capture, validate, cleanse, standardize and enrich customer contact information. Experian QAS provides solutions to more than 10,000 customers worldwide in retail, education, healthcare, insurance, finance, government and other sectors. The company was established in 1990 has offices throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, visit http://www.qas.com.
Experian® is a global leader in providing information, analytical and marketing services to organizations and consumers to help manage the risk and reward of commercial and financial decisions.
Combining its unique information tools and deep understanding of individuals, markets and economies, Experian partners with organizations around the world to establish and strengthen customer relationships and provide their businesses with competitive advantage.
For consumers, Experian delivers critical information that enables them to make financial and purchasing decisions with greater control and confidence. Clients include organizations from financial services, retail and catalog, telecommunications, utilities, media, insurance, automotive, leisure, e-commerce, manufacturing, property and government sectors.
Experian Group Limited is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. It has corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and operational headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Nottingham, UK. Experian employs approximately 15,500 people in 38 countries worldwide, supporting clients in more than 65 countries around the world. Continuing sales for the year ended March 31, 2008, were in excess of $4 billion.
For more information, visit the Group’s Web site at www.experiangroup.com.
The word "Experian" is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries and is owned by Experian Ltd. and/or its associated companies.
Contact:
Chas Kielt
Senior Director of Marketing
Experian QAS
1 888 322 6201 Telephone
us.press@qas.com Email
Rick Sheehy
Emerge PR
1 617 729 3190 Telephone
rsheehy@emergepr.com Email