CareCore National’s Prior Authorization Function Debuts on New Cisco CiusTM Tablet

Today CareCore National announced the release of the first mobile authorization application that streamlines the process physicians use to get prior approvals for medical tests and treatments – while providing them access to vast information about diagnostics and therapies to confirm the most appropriate care for a specific patient.

The application, CareCore TouchMED, is featured on the Cisco’s Cius^TM, the innovative business tablet that delivers one of the most portable, powerful, reliable, and secure communications, computing, and collaboration experiences for a device of its kind. It will reduce administrative overhead by allowing physicians to review details of their patients’ past visits, update data based on new visits and check insurance and co-pay requirements. But the software will also enable a physician to identify the most appropriate therapies or diagnostic tests for their patients, based on detailed, evidence-based data guidelines.

The application is designed to permit physicians to share data instantly with insurers and benefits managers, select the most appropriate treatment or test and rapidly obtain authorization for the procedures. Practitioners can download CareCore TouchMED from the Cisco Cius AppHQ^TM marketplace.

“There has long been a need in the market to give physicians and payers a digital application tool for tablets that will help better manage patient care,” said William Moore, executive vice president and chief technology officer of CareCore National. “This application helps ensure that patients get the right treatment or test the first time, based on their unique condition and medical history to eliminate unnecessary costs. Our goal when designing this solution was to enable the evidence-based medicine driven guidelines to be more transparently placed into an individual physician’s unique workflow, rather than the other way around.”

Since the technology is available on a portable tablet that connects wirelessly to CareCore’s online authorization portal, it allows physicians to get approval for tests and other procedures before leaving the exam room, therefore streamlining communication between the healthcare payer and practitioner. This allows physicians to focus on patient care rather than burdensome administrative tasks such as using phone-based authorization requests. CareCore’s heritage in using evidence-based models to ensure that the test and treatment ordered is medically necessary was instrumental in building this application.

The application gives each member of the practice highly secure, multi layered system access and allows them to access the appointment/calendar feature, which includes patient history, vitals and records of past tests, among other data. Once a diagnosis is made, physicians can select a procedure and request an authorization directly from the payer, which often comes within minutes. The application also gives physicians evidence-based medicine options based on a particular ailment and relevant patient attributes.

The recommendations section of the application shows whether a procedure meets guidelines for care, and recommends an experienced provider in the area to perform the procedure. It even goes a step further to allow physicians the option to schedule the next appointment right from their tablet, saving time and allowing data to be shared directly with payers. Future enhancements of the application will include patient specific medical radiation history and notation of radiation safety thresholds.

This application is the first of several mobile technology solutions CareCore is currently developing to share data and imaging between physicians and payers. Next generation applications, already in development, will include access to analytically driven pathway content, a fine grained physician research mechanism, on-device peer-to-peer consult functionality, QR code file access for traditional paper environments, and access to three-dimensional optical images. CareCore will also support additional technology platforms, such as the Apple iPad. The new applications are being developed to meet the unprecedented demands of increased volumes of patient data through flexible and scalable IT solutions. These next generation decision making capabilities allow CareCore to drive quality patient care and healthcare efficiency through sophisticated analysis of medical data.

About CareCore National

CareCore National, LLC (www.carecorenational.com) is the nation’s largest specialty benefits management company. It has been in business since 1994, at which time it began to offer services for radiology benefit management only. Since that time it has developed programs and management specific technology in cardiology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, pain management, sleep apnea, lab services, and, in 2011, musculoskeletal services. CareCore currently contracts with more than 25 health plans with over 50 million insured. The company is headquartered in Bluffton, SC and has more than 1000 employees.

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