The Reasons for A+Network

As this issue goes to press, the regulatory and technology segments of our HIM industry are reshaping right before our eyes, at a pace none of us would ever have expected. Twelve months ago Arrendale competed with Dictaphone, Lanier, DVI and SoftMed.  In the past six months we have competed with Speech Machines, Vianetta and MedQuist.  My, how things have changed.  AAI now has a dictation system that is bundled into TAeSeries® and sells for a fraction of the price of other systems.  AAI has added dictation to become a single source provider, complimenting our document management and transcription software.  Several of our previous competitors are now either owned by MedQuist, stunned because they have not prepared for the Internet and HIPAA, or still struggling to provide the document management needed after transcription is completed.

Due to federal HIPAA legislation, evolution in this environment is much trickier.  Remember, with HCFA, compliance was only voluntary. You did not go to jail for non-compliance.  With HIPAA, it is law.  There will be extreme penalties for failure to comply with HIPAA.  The pending Patient Bill of Rights legislation will further complicate matters.  Fortunately AAI had the foresight to not only monitor what HIPAA is about, but to listen to our customers.  This led to enhancing TA® so that the new TAeSeries® not only meets tough HIPAA standards, but it considers user demands for the Internet and security.  The A+Network concept is a natural progression for AAI.  TAeSeries® is the platform that allows you to share your workload with A+Network and also control that production with confidence through our Internet portal. 

Finally, AAI has solved an industry problem of integrating outside service transcription resources into your document distribution and access systems.  Here's how it works: AAI contracts with selective transcription service organizations that meet our customers' requirements for quality, turnaround time performance, line count methodology and price.  Since many services specialize in different areas, such as emergency or radiology or overflow work, A+Network can provide exactly the type of seamless, integrated assistance your facility requires. 

For our current Transcript Advantage (TA®) customers, AAI works jointly with A+Network’s systems staff to provide the interface for you. TAeSeries® interface allows demographics to be received by A+Network’s service center and manages document processing back into TA®, our AS/400 document management system, or TAeSeries®, now available as a stand alone, networked solution for our non- AS/400 customers.  By working in partnership with each service company, AAI insures that the interface is properly tested and working to our specification.  Arrendale’s involvement minimizes participation from your MIS staff.  You receive additional benefits with A+Network because, as our service partners, they are typing on the same TA® word processing system you are, so they effectively become an integrated extension to your staff. 

TAeSeries® provides the tools healthcare organizations and transcription services need to easily move work to their transcriptionists.  TAeSeries® is now Internet (and HIPAA) enabled, which lowers costs and expands your reach to qualified transcriptionists across the country.  When our A+Network partners are on the same platform as our healthcare customers, the movement of work occurs as if all the transcriptionists, including your in-house, your at-home and your service’s MTs, are working as a single integrated team.  However, your staff controls the process, i.e. they manage work in queue, monitor turnaround times and determine how much volume is assigned to your service as daily needs change.  With TAeSeries® and the A+Network, HIM directors can audit, not just trust, the viewing, faxing and printing activities of their service. 

No special interface and no special process is required for all documents to be processed in the same manner.  All documents transcribed inside by you or outside by the A+Network have the same appearance, and are immediately available on-line for viewing, printing, faxing, and electronic signature. In short, TAeSeries® and A+Network allow you to finally implement an automated, seamless solution for in- house and outsourced document creation.

HIPAA safeguards are built into all aspects of TAeSeries®; enabling HIM directors to have the control HIPAA demands in order to insure patient confidentiality.  HIPAA mandates full accountability of all confidential patient documents in your control.  Once a document becomes part of an electronic record, HIPAA mandates full auditing of all encounters, physical or electronic, with the document.  This requires auditing each transaction involving e-mail, facsimile, printing, viewing, editing and electronic signature.  With TAeSeries®, once again AAI is first to market with industry compliant products.  We will be equally adept at making software changes necessary to keep pace with the anticipated changes HIPAA will surely experience as implementation moves into full swing.

The A+Network solution is available in an ASP (Application Service Provider) model that provides payment for the services on a fee per line of transcription.  It can also be provided in a TSP (Total Solution Provider) model where the use of the systems (i.e. viewing, remote printing, automatic faxing and electronic signature) is included in the line fee you pay for document creation services from our A+Network partners.  Thirdly, if your enterprise prefers traditional software licensing, that option is also available. All options provide:

·         A single source solution with improved quality and timeliness
·         Reduced transcription costs
·         HIPAA-enabled systems

As you read this issue notice how we have transitioned to the Internet.  For AAI, the Internet was only an extension of our existing technology.  We have tightened our auditing and made sure healthcare managers and administrators have the tools for HIPAA compliance.  AAI now provides Dictation, TAeSeries® and A+Network services as a single source provider.

August 2001 TA® News