WaveMark And Lumedx Partner To Deploy Integrated RFID Solution

WaveMark, Inc., a leading provider of real-time inventory management (RTIM) solutions for high value medical products, and LUMEDX, the market leader in developing end–to-end cardiovascular information and imaging systems, recently announced that the WaveMark Clinical Inventory Management Solution (CIMS) will fully integrate with the LUMEDX Apollo Cardiovascular Information System to streamline charge capture and patient billing to ensure that high-cost inventory is accurately accounted for throughout the healthcare supply chain.

WaveMark CIMS leverages the power of RFID to provide hospitals with real-time product visibility to optimize inventory levels, track product usage, and more effectively manage expirations and recalls for high-value specialty medical devices such as cardiovascular stents and pacemakers. Now, WaveMark users are also achieving greater billing accuracy through a seamless interface to the LUMEDX Apollo Cardiovascular Information System to generate accurate and more timely patient charges for items used, right at the point of care.

The LUMEDX Apollo Cardiovascular Information System tracks product usage for specific patient events and procedures to enable accurate patient billing. In addition, by combining device usage with procedural data, the Apollo system provides a real-time look at clinical outcomes with various therapeutic devices, supporting quality improvement initiatives. The integration of WaveMark CIMS and LUMEDX provides a truly robust supply chain solution, enabling hospitals to reduce losses and improve charge capture of high-value specialty products.

A strategic customer to WaveMark and LUMEDX, Florida Hospital Orlando facilitated the development of this interface and is the first facility to benefit from the collaboration. As a result of the integration, Florida Hospital is already experiencing reduced billing errors and streamlined workflow for front-end clinical staff.

"Florida Hospital has always been an innovator and we are excited to be at the forefront of this wave to fully automate the supply chain process", said Sam Braga, Supply Chain Manager, Florida Hospital. "By working with vendors like WaveMark and LUMEDX to provide a seamless integration between supply chain and clinical information systems, we are folding efficiencies into the clinical work flow. The critical business benefits are seen by improved clinical documentation and accuracy in billing. WaveMark and LUMEDX have been incredibly responsive to our requests. Florida Hospital is excited that they also place quality and patient care as top priorities."

This integration between the WaveMark and LUMEDX systems will have an immediate, positive impact on a hospital's bottom line. The new automated process starts with a simple wave of the product in front of a WaveMark RFID reader, at the point of use. This wave automatically captures the item details from the RFID tag on the product packaging and simultaneously enters the event in the electronic medical record, updates the on hand inventory levels, and creates a billing record for the encounter. The use of RFID in the process ensures accuracy and timeliness of information captured, with no manual intervention required.

This highly automated process is a boon to hospitals as it immediately improves their cash flow situation by efficiently generating highly accurate patient billing and reducing the time to reimbursement. Some hospitals will also see an increase in revenue, as RFID enables the capture of all billable items used in a case to be accurately documented. At the same time, the streamlined workflow is praised by clinicians, allowing them to now spend more time on patient care and less time manually tracking inventory and product usage.

"The deployment of the WaveMark LUMEDX integrated offering continues our pledge to help hospitals reduce their costs and increase the quality of patient care," says John Wass, CEO of WaveMark. "We realize that hospitals often feel the tension between cost reductions and the ability to provide the utmost in patient care. We are excited to offer solutions with companies like LUMEDX that share our commitment to creating innovative solutions that do not require that trade off."

SOURCE: WaveMark, Inc.