Harris Data Integrity Solutions, the leading provider of best-in-class patient data integrity services and software, announced today the promotion of Rachel Podczervinski, MS, RHIA, to Senior Vice President. In her new role, Podczervinski oversees Harris Data Integrity Solutions’ mission to ensure accurate patient identity management through innovative services and software solutions.
Podczervinski brings nearly 25 years of healthcare experience to her new role. Previously, she was vice president of professional services for Harris Data Integrity Solutions, which was created by the integration of Just Associates, Inc. and QuadraMed Corp. Podczervinski originally joined Just Associates in 2005 as a patient identity expert, rising through the ranks with positions including quality assurance specialist, identity manager, and director.
“An unwavering focus on quality and innovation has made Harris Data Integrity Solutions the leading partner for hospitals and health systems that recognize the vital importance of protecting the integrity of their patient data,” says Podczervinski. “I am honored to be entrusted with guiding the future direction of this organization and am excited for what the future holds for our team and the healthcare organizations we support.”
A recognized thought leader in the field of health informatics, Podczervinski brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Harris Data Integrity Solutions and the healthcare industry. She speaks frequently at leading industry conferences, providing insights on patient identity and EMPI management, has authored numerous articles for leading industry journals and publications, and was named a Rising Star by the Colorado Health Information Management Association (CHIMA). Podczervinski, who holds a master’s degree in health information management and medinformatics, is active with AHIMA and is an avid volunteer and mentor.
Harris Data Integrity Solutions has responded to growing demand for faster and more affordable duplicate record cleanup with the launch of its latest innovation, Intelligent MPI Triage Solution.
Leveraging the efficiency of AI-driven logic paired with 20 years of data integrity expertise, Intelligent MPI Triage delivers precise and swift duplicate resolution to lower duplicate rates by easing backlogs created by higher patient volumes and fewer health information management (HIM) resources.
“A perfect storm of razor-thin operating margins, double-digit labor cost increases, and widening staffing gaps have HIM leaders scrambling to find ways to maintain the integrity of their patient data. Our clients reached out for help, and we responded with Intelligent MPI Triage Solution,” says Lora Hefton, Executive Vice President of Harris Data Integrity Solutions. “With it, Harris Data Integrity Solutions can partner with HIM teams and leverage our unique AI-powered ‘assess, treat, and refer’ process to quickly reduce potential duplicate queues, protecting patient records for a fraction of the cost.”
Intelligent MPI Triage increases HIM teams’ effectiveness and productivity by rapidly resolving confirmed duplicates through an automated three-step process that typically takes just two or three weeks and costs 50%-80% less than a full MPI clean-up.
Once Harris Data Integrity Solutions receives the client facility’s potential duplicate data file via an encrypted FTP:
AI-driven algorithms meticulously assess the data set.
Confirmed matches that can be processed with confidence are treated and resolved.
Remaining possible matches are referred to the client’s HIM team for manual review and resolution.
Harris Data Integrity Solutions, the leading provider of best-in-class patient data integrity services and software, announced today the appointment of Eric Helbig as vice president of sales.
He brings more than two decades of executive leadership to his role overseeing sales operations and designing and implementing sales strategies to expand the firm’s footprint among the nation’s leading hospitals and health systems.
“Eric’s expertise in change management, strategic marketing and sales planning, and performance optimization make him a great addition to the Harris Data Integrity Solutions leadership team,” said Lora Hefton, executive vice president of Harris Data Integrity Solutions. “His impressive track record of designing highly effective sales strategies and optimizing team performance are an asset as we continue to focus on expanding the reach of our innovative data integrity services and solutions.”
Helbig has deep roots in advanced sales, operations, Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), leadership team management, and national sales. Previously, he was director of enterprise sales and strategic partners for MedPro Inc., where he launched two new product verticals, expanded the company’s business and government process outsourcing footprints, and increased overall revenues by 19% in one year.
Past positions also include executive vice president with Pharma Logistics, regional franchise management-Midwest sales for ClearPayFS, and regional director of sales for EMG-First American Payment Systems. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international business management from Saint Louis University and is Six Sigma Yellow and Green Belt certified, as well as Sandler Sales Certified Silver and Bronze.
“I am thrilled to be joining Harris Data Integrity Solutions and working to expand its footprint in the critical patient data integrity market,” said Helbig. “Not only are patient identification and patient the foundation of quality patient care and safety, but a clean MPI is integral to effective revenue cycle management and advancing interoperability, as well as optimizing the impact of advanced health IT. I’m honored to have the opportunity to continue raising the profile of Harris Data Integrity Solutions and its ground-breaking suite of advanced technology solutions and services that address the many challenges associated with patient matching and data integrity.”
Harris Data Integrity Solutions, the leading provider of best-in-class patient data integrity services and software, has been engaged by University Hospitals (UH) to undertake a comprehensive cleanup of UH Lake Health’s Master Patient Index (MPI) in preparation for the facility’s migration to Epic. In addition to eliminating duplicate and crossover patient records, Harris Data Integrity Solutions will support UH in clearing the hospital’s Roster Management Engine (RME) error queue.
Lake Health, which joined the Cleveland-based University Hospitals health system in April 2021, consists of UH Lake West Medical Center, UH Beachwood Medical Center, and UH TriPoint Medical Center. It is currently migrating to UH’s Epic electronic health record (EHR) system. However, prior to its patient information being integrated into the EHR, Lake Health’s MPI must be analyzed for and subsequently cleaned of any duplicate and potential crossover patient records that may exist across the UH system.
UH’s transition to Epic represents its single largest transformation investment. UH has embarked on a multi-year initiative to implement a new and fully integrated Epic-based EHR. This new system will improve the point of care experience for patients and caregivers, better enable patients to access their personal health information, advance its population health analytics, drive quantifiable clinical and revenue cycle benefits, and enable research and academic excellence.
Harris Data Integrity Solutions, an authorized Epic data remediation consultant, will leverage the EHR system’s possible duplicate/crossover report to perform a cleanup of UH Lake Health’s MPI and provide batch files back to UH for processing within the system. Its team of credentialled and highly experienced patient identity experts will also manage remediation using Harris Data Integrity Solutions’ proprietary automated duplicate resolution technology and third-party data sources, as well as manually when necessary.
The Harris Data Integrity Solutions team will also assist UH with resolving patient record discrepancies that cause them to be placed in the EHR system’s RME error queue. This occurs when data such as order results, documents, etc. cannot be filed automatically into the EHR because of a mismatch or fuzzy match on demographic, medical record number (MRN), or other patient-level data points. Without manual review and remediation, the interface does not know where the information should “live” in the patient chart.
“Duplicate and overlaid patient records can broadly impact patient care, safety, and outcomes, as well as increase costs and sap the productivity of clinicians and HIM professionals by diverting their focus away from core responsibilities. We’re thrilled to be helping UH protect their patients and their EHR investment by ensuring the success of Lake Health’s migration to Epic won’t be hindered by a compromised MPI,” said Lora Hefton, executive vice president of Harris Data Integrity Solutions.
Harris Data Integrity Solutions, the leading provider of best-in-class patient data integrity services and software, has released a white paper that undertakes an in-depth examination of the healthcare industry’s chronic people matching problem. In addition to dissecting the challenges and impacts patient misidentification has on care safety, outcomes, and costs, People Matching in Healthcare: Challenges, Impact and Solutions explores efforts underway on multiple levels to identify a system-wide resolution to the problem.
Lora Hefton
“The tumultuous state of patient matching exposes patients to duplicative and unnecessary testing and services and care delays, exacerbates fraud risks, impacts public health emergency response, and costs the U.S. healthcare system over $6 billion annually in denied claims,” said Lora Hefton, executive vice president of Harris Data Integrity Solutions. “But the future is not as grim as the present might indicate, as our research also found that efforts to identify the right path forward are finding a foothold as stakeholders from across the healthcare continuum come together to remove obstacles and implement effective solutions.”
In People Matching in Healthcare: Challenges, Impact and Solutions, Harris Data Integrity Solutions’ patient identity experts highlight the efforts of Patient ID Now to eliminate legislative barriers hindering exploration of a unique patient identifier, and the collaborative’s work to establish the framework of a national strategy for effective patient identification and matching. They also look at the work undertaken by the Project US@ collaboration, spearheaded by the Office for the National Coordinator (ONC), that resulted in a technical specification for collection of patient addresses, and AHIMA for its related companion guide with operational guidance and best practices.
Harris Data Integrity Solutions