Mastering Data Management

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Traditionally, Medicaid and other programs have been system-centric, limited by the capabilities of the technology in use. However, as technology advances – and as citizens seek better customer service – this mindset is evolving to focus more on the beneficiary and all their data, regardless of which system holds the information.

Registry hubs provide the foundation necessary for state Medicaid programs to become beneficiary-centric. They can help states drive value across their MMIS initiatives, improve patient care and reduce medical risks, thus enabling lower delivery costs, better adherence to regulatory standards, and savings in administrative and operational costs.

For example, a beneficiary registry could improve the eligibility and qualification process by finding, matching and linking all the records about a patient from across multiple agency databases. Through this composite view of a beneficiary, Medicaid administrators can quickly and accurately determine eligibility, see if there has been any status change in the person’s records, and ascertain what benefits the person is entitled to.

This increases efficiency and productivity as administrators can make faster, more informed decisions.

A beneficiary registry can also help reduce costs. Besides the administrative cost savings that would come from increased efficiency, a program could also cut operational costs by having a complete, accurate view of a patient’s records at the point of care.

For example, if a patient presents at a clinic, the caregiver would be able to see any tests that had been performed for this patient at any other location in the network. This helps control costs by preventing redundant testing and duplicates records.

Think about it the next time you call into any sort of business. As a consumer, you expect that the customer service representative can see all your previous transactions in one view as they assist you. You likely get frustrated when you have to wait, on hold, while they comb through multiple databases to find the information they need.

Government is starting to get the message, as well. Registry hub technology helps enable this.