FrontRunnerHC in Plymouth helps labs track COVID-19 with accuracy
by Dave Kindy, Wicked Local/Old Colony Memorial
PLYMOUTH – A prevalent perception holds that COVID-19 vaccines are free. The federal government has said they are available at no charge to any American who wants them.
That’s not quite true, according to John Donnelly of FrontRunnerHC, a software provider at Cordage Commerce Center in Plymouth that works with healthcare organizations. Somebody still has to pay for it.
Vaccine providers are allowed to charge a fee for inoculations, which are covered by insurance companies – not the patient. If accurate insurance data is not collected, then there is a problem. Responsibility for payment ultimately falls back on government.
“A lot of people think the shots are free, but they’re really not,” Donnelly said. “Vaccine providers need to get the information so it can be billed correctly. Otherwise, the state is on the hook for the fees.”
The FrontRunner president and CEO should know. His business helps healthcare companies and state and local governments track that data digitally. FrontRunner has developed software that captures patient information more completely to avoid missed payments.
“Our software series eliminates a lot of the issues common with other systems, or trying to track patient information on paper,” Donnelly said. “It collects all the necessary data so the responsible party can be billed correctly.”
Through the use of handheld scanners and central databases, FrontRunner software collects the critical information from multiple sources and provides it in a usable format. The systems save time and money while freeing up healthcare staff to do the important work.
“One independent national lab went from processing 200 COVID tests in a month to 1.2 million with our solutions,” Donnelly said. “Our systems are designed to be really simple and accurate.”
The software is particularly useful at drive-through vaccination sites, where staff is scurrying to administer shots while hurriedly jotting down names and numbers on clipboards. One wrong digit and the whole effort falls apart.
FrontRunner systems allow staff to use handheld devices to scan driver’s licenses to quickly identify vaccine recipients. By asking a few questions, the information is compiled in a central location where it then accesses databases with other crucial details to complete registration.
“It’s a heck of a lot faster and far more accurate,” Donnelly said. “We’re able to capture all the necessary data to bill the insurance companies.”
FrontRunner has created different software programs to speed up the data collection process, including COVID-Assist, PatientRemedi and others. Its newest offering is designed to help testing labs and local governments manage COVID-19 testing by obtaining accurate patient information at order entry with reduced chance of error. LabXchange simplifies the process so staff can focus on the important task of giving shots, not processing information.
Heath Wills, CEO and chief science officer of CUUR Diagnostics, is sold on the product. LabXchange has enabled his company to provide clinical lab testing for millions of patients across California, including large school districts, with ease.
“The automated program takes human error out of the equation,” he said. “It is a safe and secure process that enables the transfer of patient info and other data with virtually no mistakes.”
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is also impressed with LabXchange. N. Myron Gunsalus Jr., director of Kansas Health and Environmental Laboratories, stated the software plays an important part in protecting the health of his state’s residents.
“This new electronic order entry approach enables us to expedite the COVID testing process with confidence and provide more people throughout our state with the important results they need,” he said. “Both the public and our healthcare workers will benefit.”
Like many individuals and businesses, FrontRunner views the pandemic as a national health threat. Donnelly said his company took an unusual step when it realized early last year that most labs and governments were not prepared to deal with the surge of illnesses.
“We dropped the price of our products to a little over cost,” he said. “We believed it was more important to help the nation get through the pandemic.”
The importance of the FrontRunner software can’t be underscored enough, Donnelly said. Not only is it accurate, it is also effort-saving. Staff can focus on important healthcare duties instead of concentrating on collecting data.
“You don’t need to bring in extra people to write down names and numbers,” he said. “There are other things they can do, like testing.”
As published in Old Colony Memorial/Wicked Local. Original article can be found at: https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/old-colony-memorial/2021/02/22/software-plymouth-firm-helps-covid-19-labs-track-patient-data/6780722002/