Automation helps hospitalist provider better manage contracts

Ob Hospitalist Group, a provider of Ob hospitalist services in 32 states, 160 partner hospitals and with more than 700 clinicians, has selected software vendor Agiloft to better manage its contracts.

For years, Ob Hospitalist Group had a manual process for tracking and maintaining more than 200 vendor contracts, all done in separate spreadsheets with different fields and data points.

However, the time took to track, renew, double-check, export, synchronize, audit, regulate, approve, and administer its contract renewal rates was becoming unacceptable.

The company knew it had to automate. With the new Agiloft software, Ob Hospitalist Group first focused on three of its most troublesome business processes: insurance company requirements for the revenue cycle department, automated tracking of all physician equipment for asset management, and a full contract management system.

Also See: Why data is only one key to success in direct contracting

With automation in place, the practice also was able to use its data to develop best practices that improve outcomes, reduce care variability, and drive operational and financial efficiencies.

“Excel was workable, but we wanted to better stay on top of contracts with our vendors,” says Regina Flint, contract manager and a paralegal at Ob Hospitalist Group.

During implementation, the organization got help from Agiloft in customizing the database with the vendor pulling data and downloading it into the EHR. “Now, we run reports to capture what we want to see,” Flint explains.

For example, Ob Hospitalist Group can quickly check for important elements in a contract such as indemnity clauses, renewal and termination information.

A notification feature enables the company to know that a 2-year-old contract is coming up for renewal, which gives time for the contract owner to decide whether he or she wants to address any provisions within the contract.

“That is essential to any company to ensure contracts are terminating without you losing your data,” Flint says.