With an extensive list of over 50 locations across southern and central California, Acuity Eye Group, a physician-owned and vertically integrated ophthalmology provider, has established itself as the largest ophthalmology group in the Western USA.
“Our biggest challenge in releasing information was really just having no centrality to it. It wasn’t a streamlined process at all, it was very manual-based.”
Rich Marotti
Starting in November 2005 as a single retina practice in Pasadena, they now employ over 100 ophthalmologists and optometrists with the expertise and equipment needed to treat essentially every condition of the eye.
Acuity Eye Group works tirelessly to find new cures and treatments for blinding diseases, leading several clinical trials at a time. For example, they were the first doctors in the world to deliver stem cells under the retina to treat geographic atrophy, a form of molecular degeneration.
CHALLENGES
Managing such a large network of practitioners is no small challenge, and the complicated release of information process is made substantially more difficult by the addition of each new moving piece.
Rich Marotti, general counsel and chief compliance officer of Acuity Eye Group, stated in an interview with ChartRequest, “Our biggest challenge in releasing information was really just having no centrality to it. It wasn’t a streamlined process at all, it was very manual-based.”
Having this manual-based release of information process opened Acuity Eye Group to the risk of delayed fulfillment, lost records requests, and non-compliance to HIPAA rules and regulations. As Acuity continues to be the fastest-growing eyecare group in the country, their medical record exchange needs have grown accordingly.
Considering the issues they faced before their partnership with ChartRequest, Marotti said, “It’s mostly frustrating because it’s unneeded friction. There’s always the concern that without the oversight and rigor that ChartRequest can provide, you’re providing too much, too little, you know, transmitting in a non-compliant way.”
Objectives:
- Reduce costs and labor hours by centralizing and automating ROI requests across over 50 locations across southern and central California.
- Improve turnaround time for ROI and reduce status update calls from requestors.
- Keep a complete, searchable log of medical record exchanges for HIPAA compliance and protection in the case of an audit.
- Ease the administrative burden for ophthalmologists and optometrists, so they can offer top-notch care.
SOLUTION
As one of ChartRequest’s full-service clients, Acuity Eye Group outsources all of their medical records requests to us, both incoming and outgoing. We made the transition easy, and our staff personalized solutions to fulfill their specific needs.
As Marotti said, “This is the third place I’ve been where we’ve had some kind of partnership with ChartRequest. We had different needs in each spot, and they’ve been flexible and accommodating for all of them. They work with you, which is nice.”
Acuity Eye Group’s motto is, “Our Vision is Your Vision,” highlighting their commitment to ensuring the highest possible quality of care for their patients. They make a constant effort to enhance the patient experience, working to mitigate the common causes of unpleasant visits. They want their patients to feel like family.
In a video detailing the history of Acuity Eye Group, Tom Chang, an Acuity Eye Group founder and co-CEO, stated, “We really focus the company based on two core principles. We wanted excellence in patient care, but we also wanted excellence in patient experience. And what we found is that oftentimes the biggest complaint patients have when they go to the doctor is that they wait.”
Similar to their concerted effort to ensure their patients have the shortest waits possible, ChartRequest works to ensure requestors get their records as quickly as possible. With our dedicated staff taking their ROI workload off their hands, a broad and growing network of users, and a secure and thorough process to ensure compliant medical records exchange, we have helped reduce turnaround time to just days.
BENEFIT
Acuity Eye Group has enjoyed relief from worrying about errors in compliance since outsourcing their release of information workload to ChartRequest. In addition to handling the medical records exchange needs for Acuity’s 50+ locations, we create complete logs of every action taken throughout the fulfillment process for every single request.
Marotti stated, “One of the specific things I like about ChartRequest is its auditability. You have an audit trail of where each record is being moved to, which was definitely not the case when we had a more manual process. So, I think that helps us keep more compliant, which is great.”
He continued, “I’m never sitting, wondering if I’m being heard or if my requests are being addressed. Everyone in the organization seems to get back to me or my team really quickly, which is great. It’s a great product, great leadership team, and it solves a headache for a lot of healthcare companies, especially growing ones. I’d recommend it to anyone facing those kinds of challenges.”
At ChartRequest, we are passionate about helping healthcare providers offer their patients the best service possible. We are thrilled to be working with Acuity Eye Group, and we look forward to seeing all of their incredible accomplishments yet to come.
To see how your organization could benefit from ChartRequest’s modern ROI solution, schedule a demo.
