heartbase<sup><font size="-6">tm</font></sup>

Improved Patient Care

Improved Quality Healthcare
The database sophistication of heartbase inherently creates improved quality. Data can be analyzed to determine the best clinical pathways for a patient with the least risk. Continuous feedback on procedures allows for adjustments in the treatment process. Clinical follow-up and SF36 systems track patient information, which is used in monitoring patient care. On-going upgrades to the base product and expansion of optional modules benefit the continuum of patient care and practice management.

Research
The vast amount of data collected can be used to perform research directed towards improving patient care. Long range survival analysis and complications can be studied by any criteria, including, Physician, Type of Procedure and Type of Equipment with a view toward quality care improvement

Risk Modeling
Facilitates Cleveland Risk and Parsonnet Modeling. The variables needed for risk scoring models like Cleveland and Parsonnet are maintained in heartbase. Constant review of journal sources and other published materials ensures that any model changes are also incorporated.

Integrated/Longitudinal View:
heartbase organizes patient data in a way that mirrors the clinical situation at any healthcare facility. Through the use of the Event Manager, a user of the system can easily negotiate through patient events both visually and for reporting.

So, why do you need heartbase? Let's take a look !
What you want to do with the data is what determined how we designed heartbase.

Payback: Return on Investment

Increased Revenue Streams
heartbase has a high level of sophistication allowing its clients to generate revenue through the sale of information collected by medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. Additional revenue can also be generated through requests for information, managed care contracting and loss avoidance.

Loss Avoidance:
heartbase can aid in identifying lost and additional billing by ensuring that all procedures and disease states treated during a hospitalization are accounted for billing purposes. The unique detailed and integrated structure of our database provides information regarding billing superior to any other database. All too often, billing can be overlooked, because complete patient related information cannot be gathered quickly and efficiently. heartbase information, on the other hand, can be compared to a hospital's financial system to reveal "holes" in billing operations. The power of heartbase in avoiding lost billings is demonstrated by the fact that one user alone has been able to recover over five million dollars per year in billings that had formerly been missed.

Inventory Reduction:
The inventory module allows actual equipment used in a procedure to be tracked overall and compared to Economic Ordering Quantities numbers. With a better handle on how equipment is used and when, inventory sizes can be minimized.

Requests for Information:
RFIs Management and Income Generation. heartbase contains information to answer even the most sophisticated Request for Information questions, allowing facilities to generate income from the database. The Request for Information registry allows heartbase users to answer Requests for Information with a minimum of effort. Under this registry, heartbase finds the parties interested in a client's data, harvests and reports the information and allows the client to receive the fees. Managed Care Issues

Managed Care Contracting:
To bid on and win Managed Care contracts, then to maintain them, requires the ability to demonstrate the efficacy of the facility. Providers must be able to show overall mortality, complications, and quality of life for patients over time. This requires a longitudinal database like heartbase that can store complete historical patient information. heartbase provides the best possible solution for tracking the coronary artery disease state.

All Diagnostic Catheterizations, Interventions and Open Heart Surgeries are combined into one patient folder, along with clinical follow-ups, tests, and quality of life assessment (SF36). This allows the heartbase user to provide information across procedure types. For example, heartbase can provide a five-year analysis of patients that received a stent procedure in 1991 and who subsequently may have experienced a Myocardial Infarction and had another procedure performed.

Financial Outcomes Control:
heartbase can be used as both a strategic tool and cost controller within a medical facility. Many financial variables are tracked in heartbase for improving the bottom-line and implementing strategic financial plans, including physician charges, hospital charges and cost of equipment used in procedures. This information can be used by a facility to get better control of costs, thereby increasing the profit derived from Medicare and Managed Care Providers. In a world of flat fees, it is becoming more important to control costs to remain profitable. Tapping into the abilities heartbase has on costs can pinpoint potential problem areas and direct efforts to where the most cost benefits can be attained. Administrators love the way we make their lives easier...faster...& most importantly, more cost effective!
Registry Reporting

Why shouldn't you stand out from your competition? heartbase can make it happen!

Meeting Registry Requirements:
A considerable amount of time and effort goes into ensuring that heartbase complies with widely used registries. Currently, the system inlcudes all variables required by the American College of Cardiology, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, National Cardiovascular Network, Daughters of Charity National Health System Level II (Ascension) Outcomes Science (GWTG) and The Joint Commission.

Competitive Advantage

Quantitative and Qualitative Competitive Advantage:
heartbase can be used to distinguish and validate competitive advantages both quantitatively and qualitatively within a healthcare facility. The information collected by the database can be used to benchmark against data registries, provide valuable information to potential customers, qualify claims made in marketing plans, and defend against statements made by competitors.

Hospital Accreditation Requirements
heartbase maintains all the elements reviewed by The Joint Commission. This makes the review process much easier, given the required data can be accessed in a timely and efficient manner as issues are raised. The fact that the data is housed in heartbase also answers the obvious question that the commission presents, regarding methods of Patient data maintenance.

Litigation Support
We hope you never need the extra help, but heartbase does simplify information gathering required for litigation purposes. heartbase has been used to successfully supply information critical in litigation. All too often, there is limited time to provide information for litigation. Many times, specific accurate information is inaccessible because of information overload and limited resources to perform record research. With the heartbase system, even the most complicated queries can be answered fast and efficiently. This has the effect of preventing unnecessarily large expenditures of money and resources while providing information with the specificity and accuracy necessary to assure the best legal position. heartbase also has a unique field and record memo system that allows comprehensive documentation of situations beyond the standard data elements, providing valuable information for legal issues.

heartbase^tm
Phone 773-267-7400
Fax: 773-267-7454
info@heartbase.net
3723 N. Elston 1 North
Chicago, IL 60618