VNA of Cape Cod Reduces Cost and Improves Cash Flow with SutureSign

Cape Cod, MA, January 21, 2014 --(PR.com)-- The Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Cape Cod in Hyannis, MA has reduced their cost of managing orders with SutureSign, healthcare’s leading electronic signature service. “SutureSign has been a very positive move for us,” says George Haydon, Chief Information Officer at the VNA, which provides exceptional care for 2,300 patients daily. The VNA generates a lot of paperwork, and since launching SutureSign in June 2013, they have:

• Processed 18,500 total documents with 150 physicians, representing 80% of their top referral sources,
• Processed 1,600+ Face-to-Face (F2F) documents without a single denial,
• Reduced overhead expenses by more than $52,000, including the reduction of one full-time equivalent within the first five months, and
• Reduced days accounts receivable by 3.

Looking for a solution to shorten their reimbursement cycles, reduce the cost of orders management, eliminate order resubmissions, and improve F2F compliance, the VNA chose SutureSign because it enables physicians to eSign all of their orders in one place with easy-to-use and unique workflows. Furthermore, it helps physicians capture signature-related revenue and provides them a library to complete F2F documentation with the only Medicare-reviewed tool.

SutureSign is an eSignature service built around a web-based technology platform that provides a network where all doctors and agencies work together – maximizing adoption, profitability and compliance. Going beyond software, Suture Health personnel follow up with physicians to shorten sign times – something they call “managed compliance,” assist with on-boarding physicians, train agency marketing staff, and manage all technical support so agencies can focus on patients. “Suture Health support has been great and contributes to our ongoing success,” remarked Colette Silverman, Chief Administrative Officer of the VNA.

Armed with only three marketing staff, Suture Health-provided marketing materials, and SutureSign demo accounts, the VNA has successfully recruited 150 of their 300+ physician targets, amassing a substantial amount of service credits. Suture Health provides service credits to its agency partners that recruit physicians to demonstrate its commitment to partnership, while also providing an early adopter benefit. “My goal is to ensure that agencies are successful in reducing cost and improving compliance, so we have and always will take a partnership approach,” says Michael Blackstone, MD, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Suture Health. “We understand both sides of the transaction very well, which has accounted for much of our success. We often find ourselves in a matchmaker role.”

Some of the VNA’s 1,600+ SutureSign-generated F2Fs have been audited, yet none have been denied. Furthermore, very few have had to be resubmitted for physician rework. SutureSign’s F2F library makes physician completion much faster and easier, while also educating physicians and their staff on the type of documentation that Medicare is seeking. Consequently, SutureSign significantly reduces the risk of homecare providers and protects their hard-earned revenue.

Running an efficient operation, the VNA was paperless in everything but physician orders prior to SutureSign, and 70% of those paper orders were signed within 30 days. With SutureSign under way, 46% of SutureSign orders are signed within 5 days, 68% in 10 days, and 93% in 30 days. Across the US-based SutureSign network, 60% of orders are signed within 5 days, 77% in 10 days, and 96% in 30 days – increasing the working capital of the homecare industry.

“In contrast to vendor-driven, agency-specific portals that lack any service component,” Blackstone says, “the SutureSign model provides homecare the greatest chance for true success.”