All Nations Health Center is branching out.
One of 41 Urban Indian Health Programs across the U.S., All Nations moved from Resource and Patient Management System (RPMS) to Intergy in March 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only did the clinic increase revenue, it added staff, and now plans to build a new facility that will bring healthcare to a greater number of patients.
Deep roots
Founded more than 50 years ago in Missoula, Mont., All Nations focused primarily on social services for its first 48 years.
When D’Shane Barnett joined as Executive Director in 2018, he saw the need to bring on additional providers to care for the community. The clinic added primary care services to its existing behavioral health and dental services and attained federally qualified health center (FQHC) status.
Beginning in 2019, D’Shane led a search for a replacement solution for RPMS. Although RPMS was free through Indian Health Service (IHS), the system was “clunky and outdated” and, from a user standpoint, “incredibly difficult to use,” D’Shane said.
Staff members wanted an EHR solution they could navigate without a lot of training or assistance. Following an Intergy demo, they were eager to move forward.
“We have not missed a beat because of Intergy. It would have been so much more difficult for us to have done that same thing with our old system.”D'Shane Barnett, Executive Director, All Nations Health Center
Critical timing
All Nations planned to go live on Intergy on March 25, 2020. But just days ahead of the planned go live, Montana’s governor declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19.
“We had to make the call to either push it off a month or two or just move forward with the remote kickoff,” D’Shane said. “We decided to do the remote kickoff.”
Any time a clinic implements a new EHR, a learning curve is expected. After a one-month revenue dip, however, the clinic was up and running at 100% by May.
“The fact that our (revenue) only dipped for one month, the first month of the pandemic, I think that's pretty amazing,” D’Shane said. “We have not missed a beat because of Intergy. It would have been so much more difficult for us to have done that same thing with our old system.”
While D’Shane has heard of other urban or rural clinics experiencing pandemic-related revenue reductions in the range of 25% to 50%, All Nations experienced a dip of just 4.5% for the 2020 calendar year.
D'Shane credits the successful launch to extensive pre-work. For months leading up to the launch, the Greenway team and clinic staff worked together two to four hours a day. While the pre-work was extremely thorough, it paid off in terms of a seamless transition and an improved experience for providers going forward.
“Intergy offers a more cohesive, connected healthcare documentation experience that feels more professional and current than our previous EHR.”Lida Running Crane, Wellness Specialist and Mental Health Provider
Caring for the community
As a primary care center, All Nations provides a medical home for primary care. Many patients experience poverty, have comorbidities, and require specialty care. The clinic has experienced mixed results with referrals.
“Almost all of our high-need patients require some kind of specialty care, and that's where we refer out and that's where they still experience a lot of racism,” D’Shane said.
All Nations has worked to build relationships with referral providers who provide a positive experience for patients. It is also working on plans to broaden healthcare access by building a larger facility that will include permanently affordable housing, in addition to clinic space.
‘Work off of our shoulders’
In addition to implementing Intergy, the clinic partnered with Greenway Revenue Services to handle billing. As a result of the partnership, the clinic’s third-party billing has gone up more than enough to cover the monthly fee for the EHR. Monthly billing has increased by 88% since the partnership began, D’Shane said.
Reporting is a top priority for All Nations. As an FQHC, completing reporting requirements is critical. So is making sure the clinic captures as much revenue as possible for the services it provides.
“We are getting paid (more efficiently),” D’Shane said of the move to Greenway Revenue Services. “That has just taken a load of stress and work off of our shoulders.”
Staying on track
At the onset of the pandemic, All Nations closed its facilities and began to offer telehealth services. It reopened on-site medical services in January. While behavioral health services were still remote as of April, All Nations plans to bring them back as early as May, and further ahead, to resume dental services.
Looking back on the past year and its challenges, D’Shane credits the Greenway partnership for helping the clinic stay on track and pursue its plans to expand.
“Our experience implementing a brand new EHR system during the pandemic was awesome,” he said.
Read more: Greenway announces new EHR partnership with All Nations Health Center
For more information, CLICK HERE to schedule a conversation with a Greenway representative. Or watch our 3-minute overview video HERE.
