Holmdel, NJ Sep 29, 2010 – Sparta Systems, Inc., the maker of TrackWise quality management software and the market leader in enterprise quality and compliance management solutions, today announced that Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, a top-six provider of high-quality generic pharmaceuticals, has selected TrackWise® software to streamline multiple quality and compliance processes.
As the manufacturer of more than 600 high-quality generic pharmaceutical products, Qualitest’s mission includes operating current Good Manufacturing Practices/Quality at and above industry best practices. Qualitest management faced the challenge of maintaining its stringent quality requirements while enhancing efficiency to support business growth, and reducing the costs associated with its existing, resource-intensive processes. The company identified a need for a software solution that would automate these processes, lower costs and bolster efficiencies across the enterprise.
“The generics market is extremely competitive,” said Marvin Samson, Chairman and CEO at Qualitest. “Like many companies, we were adding headcount to address the increasing workload. The EQMS project was one of several initiatives in place aimed at lowering costs, preserving margins and maintaining our competitive advantage.”
After a thorough evaluation of multiple quality management solutions, Qualitest chose a phased implementation of TrackWise software for its ability to deliver a flexible, low-risk solution to manage a wide range of quality processes, and its scalability to meet the company’s future growth. Qualitest will first deploy Sparta’s quality management software to address customer complaints, investigations, deviations, corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs) and change control, and then will implement TrackWise software as a complete document management solution for the entire organization’s document repository and for training management.
“We chose TrackWise software not only because its technology offers the best possible solution for meeting our quality and compliance needs, but also because of Sparta’s reputation as a strategic partner for its customers,” said Goff Baker, Vice President of Quality at Qualitest. “Sparta’s experts demonstrated that they understood the intricacies of our business and could provide a solution to meet the complex challenges we face. The Sparta team helped us build a business case by assessing potential cost avoidances using industry benchmarks. We anticipate the efficiency improvements and cost avoidance measures resulting from our TrackWise implementation to exceed millions of dollars over a 5-year period.”
“Generic pharmaceutical manufacturers operating in today’s marketplace require technology solutions that not only address their quality and compliance requirements, but also add efficiency to their operation,” said Mike Jovanis, Vice President of Product Management for Sparta Systems. “Qualitest proactively identified an opportunity to automate critical processes that will result in tangible business gains. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership with the company in the years to come.”
Click here to read more about the extensive benefits of TrackWise enterprise quality management software for global pharmaceutical manufacturers.
About Qualitest
Founded in 1983, Qualitest has dedicated itself to being a preferred provider of high-quality, affordable generic pharmaceuticals. In addition to corporate headquarters and distribution facilities in Huntsville, Alabama, Qualitest operates multiple manufacturing facilities in Huntsville, Alabama and Charlotte, North Carolina providing a portfolio exceeding 600 products that is supported by a workforce of 1,200 dedicated employees. Qualitest is ranked in the top 6 for generic manufacturers in the U.S. As of November 2007, funds advised by Apax Partners Worldwide LLP, a leading global private equity firm, acquired Qualitest Pharmaceuticals.
About Sparta Systems
Sparta Systems, Inc. is the industry leader for global quality and compliance management systems. Its TrackWise product is a web-based software application used by quality, manufacturing, and regulatory affairs professionals to manage quality and compliance issues across the enterprise. The company has more than 14 years of experience and an extensive customer base in the life sciences and other highly regulated industries. Sparta Systems offers its customers a complete solution for global quality management needs, including the onsite support required throughout the project lifecycle. More information about Sparta Systems and TrackWise® can be found at www.spartasystems.com.
Month: September 2010
Oso BioPharmaceuticals Appoints Susan Schniepp VP of Quality
Albuquerque, NM Sep 28, 2010 – OSO BioPharmaceuticals Manufacturing, LLC, has named Susan Schniepp as vice president of quality.
In managing all operational quality–related issues, Schniepp is responsible for cGMP compliance of OsoBio’s facility. Quality–related matters concerning validation as well as regulatory affairs, records and filings also fall under her scope of responsibility.
Schniepp brings to OsoBio more than 30 years of professional experience managing quality assurance within the pharmaceutical industry.
Recently, Schniepp served as chairwoman of the Monograph Development–Psychiatrics and Psychoactives Expert Committee for United States Pharmacopeia (USP), a non–governmental, official public standards–setting authority for prescription and over–the–counter medicines and other health–care products manufactured or sold in the United States. USP standards for quality, purity, strength and consistency are recognized and used in more than 130 countries.
“Sue is so highly regarded for her expertise in pharmaceutical quality that industry leaders frequently seek out her knowledge and leadership for the benefit of the general public,” said Stuart Rose, president and CEO of OsoBio. “Sue is a great addition to the OsoBio team and an asset to the clients we serve.”
Prior to joining OsoBio, Schniepp worked in quality affairs at Abbott Labs, Antisoma PLC, Hospira and Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Schniepp is an active member of the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA), for which she has served on numerous committees and been a featured speaker at events. She received the PDA’s Distinguished Author Award for her book, Understanding the United States Pharmacopeia and the National Formulary: Demystifying the Standards–Setting Process.
Schniepp also received the PDA’s Distinguished Service Award in 2008 and its Gordon Personeus Award in 2010, which honors a long–time member for noteworthy contributions to the organization.
As the first woman appointed to serve on the editorial advisory board of Pharmaceutical Technology magazine, Schniepp writes the publication’s quarterly column, “Inside Standards.”
Schniepp holds a bachelor’s of science degree from Northern Illinois University.
Precyse Solutions Spotlights Breakthrough Automated Clinical Documentation Solution at AHIMA
Wayne, PA Sep 23, 2010 — Precyse Solutions, a leader in Health Information Management (HIM) services and technologies, will showcase its services and debut its new Automated Clinical Documentation software platform, including a unique Computer Assisted Coding software engine, at the upcoming AHIMA Convention & Exhibit in Orlando, Fla., September 25-‐30 (Booth # 1809). In keeping with the show’s theme, Prosper Through Change, Precyse will unveil the latest addition to its robust HIM portfolio at the show:
PrecyseCode™, the most advanced health information management platform available today.
“As the HIM partner for many of the world’s best healthcare organizations, Precyse is highly committed to finding innovative ways to improve productivity, quality and accuracy, streamline processes and increase revenue for our hospital and physician practice clients ,” said Ken Lacy, Chief Information Officer, Precyse Solutions. “In the Precyse AHIMA booth, the team will demonstrate PrecyseCode, in collaboration with our technology partner M*Modal. We are excited to show providers how PrecyseCode breaks through the clutter of an antiquated process to streamline and modernize the information management workflow.”
Today, the Baptist Health System (BHS) in Birmingham, Ala., uses PrecyseCode to resolve a variety of challenges in its coding department. According to Chloe Phillips, Corporate Director of HIM, BHS, “The BHS team was frustrated by a number of issues, including recruiting and retaining quality coders, optimizing the coders’ proficiency, capturing revenue that human error may have missed, retaining a coding audit trail and meeting changing compliance rules and regulations. Working with the Precyse team and technologies, BHS was able to increase productivity, accuracy and quality, while significantly reducing costs.”
In addition to PrecyseCode, while attending AHIMA, the company will showcase its total HIM services, interim management solutions for healthcare organizations, along with Precyse University and ICD-‐10 educational programming services. As hospitals and health systems transition from paper to electronic medical records, Precyse supports key initiatives, including EHR transition, clinical documentation improvement and program implementation, medical record purges, loose filing and analysis of backlogs.
Health systems can encounter unexpected volume shifts, management turnover, staffing gaps or the transition from paper to EHR software, which can negatively impact HIM operations. Precyse offers a variety of options to improve and streamline HIM departments, including management services, transcription, coding and other vital Precyse Solutions at AHIMA Convention department functions. Additionally, Precyse provides extensive HIM Department operational assessments that review current structure and procedures, revenue cycle and billing effects, and offer recommendations for improvements, based on best practices.
“Healthcare administrative managers face declining reimbursements, spiraling administrative costs, demands for quality information and ongoing staffing challenges, which can hinder HIM department efficiency,” Lacy continued. “Precyse Solutions is a proven, experienced business partner, focused on delivering quality services and technologies to enhance and improve operations. We look forward to showcasing our unique solutions, extraordinary track record and latest success stories while at the AHIMA conference.”
Precyse Solutions AND M*MODAL Announce Breakthrough CAC Solution
Pittsburgh and Wayne, PA Sep 22, 2010 — At the 82nd AHIMA Convention and Exhibit, Precyse Solutions, a leader in Health Information Management (HIM) services and technologies, and M*Modal, a pioneer of advanced Speech Understanding technology and provider of on-‐demand conversational documentation, announce their partnership to deliver a robust ICD-‐10-‐ready Computer Assisted Coding (CAC) engine in the release of PrecyseCode™, the most advanced health information management platform available today.
To best optimize coding operations and accelerate ICD-‐10 transition for hospitals and health systems nationwide, PrecyseCode capabilities have been built from the ground up to be ICD-‐10 compatible. As opposed to updating or reengineering a CAC solution to meet ICD-‐10 requirements, PrecyseCode has been specifically designed and engineered to be ICD-‐10 compatible. On the road to meaningful use of the Electronic Health Record (EHR), the HIM industry is challenged with integrating EHRs into the coding process. The CAC engine inherent in PrecyseCode now provides a bridge between EHR documentation, the transcription system and the healthcare provider’s financial systems.
“Facilitating the transition, implementation and management of health information systems that support an effective and efficient healthcare system and maintain health data integrity is of paramount concern to Precyse and our customers,” said Jeffrey Levitt, Chairman and CEO, Precyse Solutions. “In this same environment, where coding staff shortages challenge providers as they simultaneously face the most significant changes ever made to our coding structure, the quality, compliance and workflow benefits that PrecyseCode delivers are critical to overcoming these obstacles.”
For the past five years, Precyse has partnered with M*Modal and integrated M*Modal’s sophisticated Speech Understanding technology seamlessly into the Precyse dictation and transcription workflow platform, transforming speech into meaningful and usable clinical information. M*Modal’s industry leading Conversational Documentation Services (CDS) enables Precyse to deliver both extremely accurate and complete draft documents from speech, as well as coded and indexed discrete data in a machine-‐readable format, with immediate turnaround time.
“Stemming from our initial collaboration, M*Modal and Precyse have worked closely to develop the most powerful CAC solution available to the market today, maximizing EMR and HIS investments for healthcare organizations,” said Michael Finke, CEO and Founder of M*Modal. “Our unique solutions are designed to best assist in making clinical documentation intuitive and meaningful to the physician, the healthcare provider organization and the patient simultaneously.”
Demonstrating the Impact of PrecyseCode
In 2007, the Baptist Health System (BHS), a four-‐hospital system in the greater Birmingham, Ala., area, was having difficulty recruiting and retaining certified coding professionals and experiencing coding efficiency challenges. BHS had hired four separate teams of coders to handle each hospital’s needs. The workload volumes for each hospital fluctuated considerably, leading to backlogs and overtime during busy periods and underutilized staff during slower times. To overcome this, Precyse Solutions worked with BHS as a beta site for PrecyseCode.
PrecyseCode revolutionized the coding workflow at BHS, allowing BHS to “virtualize” the coding department, creating an integrated, seamless and productive team. Working with Precyse’s team and implementing PrecyseCode has helped BHS increase productivity, accuracy and quality, while significantly reducing costs and providing valuable management reporting tools. Since recently implementing this new process and technology, BHS has experienced a 20 percent increase in coding efficiency; a 5 percent increase in DRG-‐based revenue through more accurate coding and improved Case Mix Index (CMI); a 10 percent reduction in voluntary auditing; coder productivity improvement; reduced audit costs; and a revenue increase of 0.25 percent, due to better information and more accurate coding.
“We have found Precyse Solutions technologies to be instrumental to our coding department, delivering consistent outcomes that are at or above industry standards, enabling our team of coders to work remotely and streamlining information sharing through a new electronic model, “ said Chloe Phillips, Corporate Director of HIM, Baptist Health System. “With Precyse, we’ve seen a significant improvement in our coding department’s team dynamics, quality, productivity and accuracy. I am confident in the ability of Precyse Solutions to help BHS successfully transition to ICD-‐10 and have a smooth journey to meaningful use. ”
Phillips will be discussing the BHS beta of PrecyseCode in peer-‐to-‐peer conversations at the Precyse Solutions booth (#1809) during the 82nd AHIMA Convention and Exhibit, September 25-‐30, Orlando, Fla. Additionally, experts from Precyse and M*Modal will showcase the breakthrough capabilities of PrecyseCode at demonstration kiosks in the Precyse Solutions AHIMA booth.
Why PrecyseCode?
With transcription driven by M*Modal’s software-‐as-‐a-‐service (SaaS) model, PrecyseCode significantly enhances coding quality, delivering increased accuracy and improved coder productivity and enabling fast and easy completion of physician queries. Furthermore, the solution ensures compliance with industry standards, allowing users to seamlessly transition to ICD-‐10 and facilitate the drive to meaningful use standards. Additionally, PrecyseCode helps providers benefit from the auto-‐assignment of work pools, eliminating manual work assignments and prioritizing high-‐cost, high-‐LOS records for careful management of DNFB and improved charge capture.
Even with these advanced features, PrecyseCode does not eliminate the need for coding professionals to be fully involved in the coding process. Instead, it makes coding professionals more productive—reducing the average amount of time it takes to code a case—and more accurate—decreasing denials, reducing audit discrepancies and identifying lost charges that may have otherwise been under-‐coded. With PrecyseCode, coders are able to focus more time on reviewing clinical documentation against medical codes in a friendly user interface. Additionally, PrecyseCode allows coders to review, modify and validate coding against local and national coverage guidelines in real time.