LeadingReach News

Community spread of COVID-19 in Texas has made primary care physicians the front lines in the fight against the virus, and North-Texas based Catalyst Health Network is working with Clinical Pathology Laboratories and LeadingReach to make testing efficient, safe, and effective. With a limited number of tests, locations, and protective equipment, providers are having to be absolutely sure patients need to be tested for the virus before sending them to a testing site, as they could be quickly overwhelmed by the public.

The three organizations have created a streamlined referral process for potential COVID-19 patients that will match patients with the most appropriate care setting, considering their insurance, location, and health needs. Catalyst also has a call center where patients can call in to get more information about the virus.

Coordination is key to the online retail industry. From the moment you click “order” on Amazon or Walmart.com, the retailer instantly starts packaging and mailing your item, providing you with each step the package takes until it reaches your doorstep.

The transparent and coordinated efforts taken by online retail companies have revolutionized the way we interact with everyday items. So, why haven’t we applied that same attention to our health?

“Amazon takes better care of our toothbrushes and toilet paper than we do human beings,” Christopher Crow, MD, recently said in a RevCycleIntelligence interview. “We’ve become numb to that even though we are dealing with the most precious things we have in our life, which is each other.”

Curtis Gattis, Co-founder and CEO of LeadingReach discusses the company’s low cost, high-value software solutions that empower healthcare professionals to ensure patients get the right care from the right providers faster, easier, and more cost-effectively than ever before.  From the largest health systems to independent offices LeadingReach helps care teams more effectively communicate with each other while monitoring and facilitating care transitions. The company also empowers patients with a better experience and access to happier, healthier lives.

Eliminating the fax machine in healthcare. This is the foundational mission for LeadingReach, and a major issue for all healthcare organizations. The fax machine was patented in 1843 along with the telegraph and yet, it is still the primary method for patient referrals and remains one of the most outdated workflows across any industry. Not only is fax-based communication not fully secure, but it has a high failure rate and ultimately leads to the anemic 50% conversion rate for appointment referrals. It is time for us to choose a better way.

Users on the LeadingReach Network can see upwards of 95% referral to appointment (RTA) conversion rates, and equally important, providers have an open communication channel with anyone on the network which provides 100% accountability for everyone involved.

The new technology enabled Catalyst Health Network to achieve all of its care management goals and create a fully connected information highway, its president says.

Dallas-based Catalyst Health Network is a clinically integrated network of 650 independent primary care providers and 85 care team members spread across 220 office locations. Its goal has always been to ensure high-quality, affordable care is provided to the near one million patients it cares for.

Christopher Crow, MD, is the president of Catalyst Health Network, an ACO based in Dallas, Texas.

The ACO is focused on providing value-based care to members. In May, it added Strive Clinical Network, a group of more than 100 primary care physicians in East Texas, and now has around 650 primary care providers with 220 offices serving around 1 million patients.

Here, Dr. Crow discusses patient data management and making care delivery more efficient for providers.

While we know exactly when our new pair of shoes are going to arrive at our house with a click of the mouse, finding out if a patient went and saw a specialist after a referral or picked up their medication and its refills is usually a bit more difficult for primary care physicians.

But a partnership between Austin-based LeadingReach and Catalyst Health Network is enabling physicians to know where their patients are in the care cycle. Catalyst is a network of 650 independent primary care providers and 85 care team members in Texas, and they have employed LeadingReach’s communication network to follow their patients to the tune of $50 million in savings for Catalyst’s ACO in three years on the network.