The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) 2009, provides incentives to providers for the effective use of Healthcare IT, specifically, Electronic Health Records (EHR) technology to reduce costs and improve care through the Meaningful Use of the EHR technology.

Challenges:

• Complex clinical and operational change project set against a compressed timeline (deadline of 2013 for stage 2 compliance),Non-compliance could lead to lost Medicare reimbursements and bonuses
• Upgrading systems and software to accommodate meaningful use requirements resulting in increased IT investments

GAVS Solution:

One of our main goals is to implement a customized and optimized IT Infrastructure solution that is compliant with the Meaningful Use Guidelines while at the same time generate a quick ROI for your organization. GAVS offers the following Meaningful Use Implementation Services in order to meet Federal Guidelines and qualify for incentives under Medicare and Medicaid:

• Clinical Decision Support System for enhanced healthcare outcomes. Under Meaningful Use, providers must implement one clinical decision support rule, including diagnostic test ordering, that has the ability to track compliance with that rule
• Patient Self Management allows your clients to login from anywhere to view their EHR, refill prescriptions, get lab results, receive health alerts, read educational materials and interact directly with their physicians
• Patient Demographics to electronically record, modify and retrieve patient demographic data including preferred language, gender, race, ethnicity, date of birth etc.
• Complete Patient History in a easy to use format for efficient analysis and improved care delivery. Helps healthcare providers to implement accurate treatment, customize healthcare services and avoid duplicate treatment methods
• Electronic Interface for processing of lab orders and results
• Revenue Cycle Management for streamlining your revenue cycles, integrating key revenue cycle elements such as patient registration, patient scheduling, patient financials and minimizing lost revenue by ensuring accurate claims
• Fully Customized HL7 EDI Interface Development to enable data transaction and reporting systems to seamlessly communicate and exchange data with each other in order to improve efficiency and produce synergies
• Mobile Interfaces for Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) to increase flexibility of usage and help reduce human errors relating to physician instructions and prescriptions

Business Benefits:

• Improve quality of care with increased access to relevant patient data
• Enhance decision making process with more information and clinical guidelines available for clinical decision support
• Reduce costs with significant time savings, workflow efficiencies
• Improve your ability to qualify for federal incentives

A Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation passed in 2009 requires the replacement of the ICD-9 code set (which is currently used to report diagnoses and procedures) with ICD-10 as of October 1, 2013.

Challenges:

• Healthcare Providers are working against the critical deadline of Oct. 2013, and non-compliance will have negative implications on payers and providers alike
• Each organization is unique and the extent of remediation required and the approach to migration will differ
• Companies need to manage the old and new systems during transition

GAVS Solution:

GAVS can help you achieve this complex transition within the stipulated time frame with minimal disruption during the transition. We leverage our end-to-end healthcare expertise and our regulatory compliance experience in order to deliver a customized and cost effective solution geared to meet your specific requirements. We combine industry best practices with meticulous planning, training and project management to, help you make a seamless transition. Our services include:

• Assessment and Feasibility Review of Current Systems and Work Processes - Understand current systems and work processes in which ICD - 9 is implemented and provide a cost-benefit analysis.
• GAVS helps you implement this migration in a strategic manner in order to help you identify new business opportunities that result in improved business outcomes. We Assess, Upgrade and Implement solutions in order to make the following systems ICD 10 compatible:
  • Clinical Practice Management System
  • Electronic Medical Record System
  • Quality reporting system and work processes
  • Payer system
• Clinical Documentation - Assess and Build detailed clinical documentation for coding diagnoses at the highest level of specificity
• Training and Change Management for a seamless migration from ICD9 to ICD10

Business Benefits:

• Increase accuracy in claims processing and management
• Improve coding for diseases and procedures resulting in reduced costs
• Enhance patient safety and satisfaction

As per a federal mandate, Healthcare Providers need to complete the 5010 transition by January 1, 2012. It provides new sets of standards that regulate the electronic transmission of specific healthcare transactions, including eligibility, claim status, referrals, claims, and remittances.

Challenges:

• Deadline on the compliance is looming large along with the compliance deadline on ICD9 - ICD 10 conversion
• Requires investment in software and system upgrades amidst growing cost pressures

GAVS Solution:

With the help of specialized tools and frameworks, GAVS provides focused solutions that help you meet compliance requirements in a cost effective and timely manner. A good percentage of top dollars are used on manual administrative functions many of which can be streamlined and optimized through our upgraded systems to provide you with substantial cost benefits. GAVS provides the following services to enable HIPAA compliance:

• HIPAA 5010 Assessment, Analysis, Solution, Implementation and Support - HIPAA compliance leads to administrative simplification, enhanced privacy and security. This compliance can be combined with continuous process improvement to enable improved productivity and profitability.
• Internet Security - Superior Security Solutions for modern day threat to email and the web in order to secure mission critical data, manage risk, and compliance.
• Information Security Audit and Implementation - GAVS provides a measurable technical assessment of how your organization's security policy is employed in order to define and maintain effective security policies
• Disaster Recovery (DR) Services - We help you be prepared for any type of unforeseen disruption with disaster recovery plan and services to ensure there is no long term negative impact to your business

Business Benefits:

• Increase transactional uniformity
• Simplify and enhance your revenue stream
• Streamline your reimbursement procedures

A dynamic healthcare marketplace combined with increasing competition, cost pressures and regulatory standards is forcing Healthcare Providers to look for ways of gaining competitive advantage and improving profitability. The need of the hour is information and data that is accurate, timely and relevant in order to improve business outcomes.

Challenges:

• Lack of an integrated repository of business critical data and information for informed and effective decision making
• Several disparate sources of clinical, operational and financial data
• Difficulty in making sense of exploding amounts of unstructured and poor quality data

GAVS Services:

GAVS offers an integrated solution for aggregating data from different sources in real time, and analyzing this data with the help of advanced analytics tools in order to ensure that the right users have access to the right information at the right time. We use a structured approach to churn raw data into competitive assets. These tools help you mine and drill down in order to monitor quality, improve patient safety, reduce costs and enhance efficiency. We have deep domain expertise in implementing clinical analytics and reporting, having executed several data repository upgrades and validated ~30% data for large data warehouses.

Business Benefits:

• Significant efficiency gains - Fine tuned and optimized reports executed over several hours to yield output in minutes
• Leverage integration benefits - Data integrations from several source systems to generate reports in critical data points to gain a overall picture of healthcare metrics
• Real time analytics enables you to get an accurate and holistic view of your organization, identify opportunities, gain competitive advantage and improve profitability

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Custom Application Development is completely client driven and allows you to tailor the product to meet both your professional and practical business needs. Our deep technology expertise, matured development methodologies and process frameworks leverage Agile, RUP, Incremental, Iterative and Waterfall models to ensure highest quality custom delivery.

GAVS Services:

• Custom Portal and Web Solution Development - Dynamic and efficient solutions customized to you business needs
• Legacy Modernization using SOA – Create new value from existing systems and improve flexibility and interoperability among a broad set of technologies
• Migration of Legacy Systems to Emerging - Most organizations face problems when integrating their existing systems with the emerging systems . Our migration services help you transform your legacy information systems into strategic enablers that support the growing needs of your businesses.
• Integrations - A2A integrations to gain a competitive edge, access intelligence quickly, share it with employees at every level, and leverage existing investments in IT. B2B integrations for managing your business partners and service providers as if they are a part of your company, B2C integrations to provide your clients with alternative communication interface without expensive infrastructure, D2D integrated solutions to cover the entire demand-supply chain, and Process integrations for a holistic optimization of processes within the organization.
• Mobilization – Mobilize business critical applications and make it available on smart phones for improved productivity. GAVS can enable applications to device browsers and also develop applications for the device
• Operations – We provide application enhancement and 24/7 support in order to enhance and redefine various applications to make them highly availabile and to generate real time view across your business

Business Benefits:

• Reduce software development and maintenance costs
• Increase efficiencies through the combination of right tools, technologies and several man years of development experience
• Address unique and specific business needs

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The Healthcare Industry is focused on delivering improved healthcare outcomes while addressing a number of daunting challenges. In the face of fierce competition it has become imperative for Healthcare Providers to reduce costs even while improving quality.

Challenges:

• Constantly changing regulatory compliance requirements
• Improving quality amidst rising cost pressures
• Ensuring patient safety
• Non-availability of quality data when needed

GAVS Services:

Our end to end healthcare solutions enable you to focus on your core business, while we handle the entire gamut of your growing infrastructure requirements by leveraging our deep domain expertise.

• Datacenter Hosting and Co-location Services – GAVS provides co-location and hosting services as an easy and cost-effective solution to house your company's powerful infrastructure without losing administrative control of the equipment. It also provides you with other business advantages such as flexibility, scalability, resilience and high security.
• IT Operations
  • Application Operations - GAVS offers application operations for both clinical and non-clinical applications. These services include Application Deployment, Change Management, Database management, Application Optimization and Compliance.
  • Server and Storage Operations - Includes storage monitoring and reporting done onsite or remotely with tools to provide utilization, performance and availability of all storage resources, administration and trouble shooting, installing upgrading and patching, removal of vulnerable and unnecessary services, patching security holes, and securing access controls, configuration and backup management
  • Network & Security Operations - 24x7 proactive problem monitoring, identification and resolution historical trend information and up-to-date performance snapshots, administration and troubleshooting of devices & services, install/ upgrade/ patching of devices , network security
  • Email and Collaboration Services - Experience a stable, low cost but high performance email environment to communicate and work together more effectively
  • Helpdesk & Desktop Services – Find efficiencies in problem logging, tracking and resolution for end-users without sacrificing quality of service

Business Benefits:

• Access real time clinical data for improved decision making
• Reduce operating costs through optimized processes
• Improve healthcare and business outcomes

Increased patient awareness and a rising demand for improved healthcare options are causing a shift in focus - from 'treating illnesses' to 'wellness care'. Set against a back drop of constantly changing regulatory environment and escalating costs, Healthcare Payers are increasingly forced to monitor trends, analyze data, and adopt new technologies to enable better healthcare outcomes and maintain a competitive advantage.

Challenges:

• Inadequate reporting
• Poor first-pass rate for claims
• Several disparate and redundant systems due to mergers & acquisitions
• Variety of proprietary data formats resulting in non-standardization
• Lack of defined process in specific departments or functions
• Standardized solutions with no room for customization
• High application maintenance cost

Business Benefits

• Improved operational efficiency and cost management
• Real time data for quick and improved clinical decision making and care delivery
• Customized, cost efficient applications for accurate reimbursements and improved first-pass rate for claims
• Enterprise IT landscape alignment with customers' business goals and emerging technological trends

Bronx Lebanon Health Center (BLHC) is a 100 year old, leading, not-for-profit health care center in NY, serving the south and central Bronx, with a large network of medical practices providing quality healthcare. As a not-for profit healthcare provider, BLHC regularly organizes free check-ups for schools, shelters, nursing homes and Senior Citizen Centers.

In the face of harsh Medicare and Medicaid cuts, BLHC's was looking to optimize and rationalize its data center operations, network services and desktop services through appropriate technology solutions, while at the same time enhancing its quality of service. Gavs leveraged its proven transition and delivery methodology to implement a comprehensive solution that resulted in 40% cost reduction in data center migration, and 30% cost reduction in establishing network connectivity infrastructure

The Challenges

With increasing competition and raising cost pressures, it became critical for BLHC to implement an effective Healthcare Infrastructure Service System that would help them deliver high quality healthcare services to its patients at significant cost savings. BLHC faced several challenges in managing its IT infrastructure, with its data center operations, network services and desktop services being outsourced to a local vendor. Some of the challenges that BLHC faced were

• High overall costs and monthly cash outflow for its data center and managed services operations
• Under optimized and non-scalable IT Infrastructure
• Inefficient quality of service
• Legacy IT infrastructure with limited scalability and support from vendors
• Transition to an optimized, scalable IT Infrastructure System within a stringent time line of 5 months

Gav's Approach

GAVS implemented a robust state-of-the-art, scalable and resilient infrastructure ((through appropriate technology solutions such as server virtualization, enterprise backup and WAN re-engineering ), by leveraging its cost effective delivery model in order to ensure hassle-free and seamless connectivity. The transition was completed within a short period of 5 months as per SLA stipulation. GAVS' overall implementation approach consisted of Data Center build, Migration & Transition of Infrastructure Services from current vendor through a phased approach.

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• Optimized & Scalable Healthcare Infrastructure: GAVS implemented a world class end-to end Healthcare IT Infrastructure system at BLHC that routinely follows ITIL aligned best practices resulting in increased operational efficiency. GAVS tied up with top-of-the-line providers such as HP, Juniper, VMware, Microsoft, SMS, Level 3, SingTel, and Optimum to provide 24*7, scalable infrastructure services, leveraging its co-shore delivery model.
• Cost Effective Delivery Model: Proactive and continuous process improvement initiatives were undertaken on an ongoing basis through a cost-effective delivery model with Y-o-Y productivity improvements. Opportunity costs were kept to a minimum by ensuring that critical application downtime was near zero.
• Painless Transition from current vendor to GAVS: A world-class co-location data center within close proximity to the client site, along with a dedicated "Global Support Center (GSC)" in Chennai, India, were set up to ensure a quick, hassle free transition.

Result

Cost savings resulting from Gavs end-to-end Healthcare IT Infrastructure implementation at BLHC is making a significant impact on BLHC's bottom line within a short period of 5 months.

• Cost of datacenter operations (server virtualization) has been cut drastically by reducing the physical rack-space and energy demands by approx. 40%
• Cost of network services has been reduced by approx. 30% through effective network re-engineering.
• GAVS helped BLHC save a significant amount on penalties by completing the transition with a period of 5 months as stipulated by the SLA.

Stephen Narigon

Stephen Narigon is an accomplished executive with a record of achievement in quality service delivery and project management with extensive experience in healthcare informatics, account management, strategic planning, and alliance management. He is a decisive, results driven leader with demonstrated success in delivering multimillion dollar consulting engagements on time and within budget, while maintaining client satisfaction. Stephen is a demonstrated leader who has served on various boards for professional Healthcare organizations and privately held corporations. His broad healthcare sector experience encompasses the pharmaceutical, provider, Inpatient, payer, and information technology segments. He has experience in leading teams through startup, acquisition, and transition type projects from single entity acute care facilities to multi-state organizations.

Mr. Narigon has worked in a variety of large nationwide consulting firms. Stephen is well known for a high level of commitment and passion related to delivering high quality customer service working with Electronic Medical Records. He is also a registered Nurse with 18 years of experience in multiple settings delivering Clinical expertise, in various healthcare organizations. Prior to his civilian healthcare career Mr. Narigon was a member of the United States Air Force and served in the emergency medical services department at Wright Patterson Air Force base in Dayton Ohio. Stephen is an active professional in many organizations, including DVHIMSS, ANA, NC HIMSS, NSA, and NCHICA.

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Julianna Ilgaz

Julianna Ilgaz has more than 15 years experience in healthcare, technology, and consulting. She works with healthcare providers across the US, helping them bring about positive change through improved processes, enabling technology, and the insights that come from business intelligence and EMR/EHR analytics. Julianna has assisted both small and large provider organizations with strategic planning, has managed large clinical transformation projects, and has served as IT Training Manager for a large academic teaching hospital.

Julianna has broad experience in healthcare and information technology in terms of advising and consulting for large EMR Projects nationwide. Julianna's career has also included leadership and participation roles in local Healthcare. Julianna is involved in healthcare and healthcare education at a national, state and local level. She is committed to improving the education of EMR/EHR of her local community.

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Krishna KR

Krishna comes with over 17 years of experience in the IT industry- out of which more than 12 years of experience has been in the US Healthcare industry, primarily focussing on the payer segment.

A Certified Professional of Academy for Healthcare Management, Krishna has worked with variety of payers and has sound knowledge in various Healthcare areas such as Claims Processing/Adjudication, Membership, Providers, Billing, Capitation, Care Management and Real Time Claim Adjudication.

Krishna has rich domain expertise gained through leadership in a suite of EDI engagements and product inception/development in a patient centric care management offerings. He has end-to-end implementation experience in developing Care Transitions Program for some of the leading home health benefits enabler in the US.