FHCCGLA

Reliable Technology Supports Mission of Affordable, Accessible Care

Since moving to MedTech Solutions for EHR hosting and IT support, FHCCGLA has eliminated the frustrations that both staff and patients experienced due to system performance and availability issues. With reliable cloud hosting, IT management services, and expert training from MTS, FHCCGLA is able to serve more patients and increase revenue, while seeing higher patient satisfaction.

Results

 

• MTS hosting and level-one support ensure reliable, fast, and updated EHR access at a more affordable price.
• MTS experts provide regular software training, workflow optimization, and best practices for better patient care and overall efficiencies.
• Lean internal IT organization can focus on value-added projects to meet long-term goals while MTS handles all ongoing IT support and management services.
• MTS security risk analysis provides confidence for both staff and patients.

 

“Switching hosting over to MTS support has allowed us to see more patients. It’s provided a more reliable hosting service, which equates to our providers being able to depend on the system and having the EHR available to them 100% of the time.”

RODRIGO IBARRA
IT SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR, FHCCGLA

CHALLENGES

• Previous EHR hosting vendor suffered from regular system downtime as well as back-up, access, and connectivity issues.
• High vendor turn-over resulted in slow support response and no training for employees.
• Internal IT staff time was dominated by troubleshooting, managing access for employees, and trying to keep up with system updates, patches, and performance issues.
• Resource-constrained IT team struggled to address concerns such as patient security and privacy.

Family Health Care Centers of Greater Los Angeles (FHCCGLA) has supported the underserved and uninsured community in South Los Angeles, CA since 1925. The organization provides local and affordable healthcare in multiple locations to more than 13,000 patients, from infants to seniors, with services that range from family medicine, women’s health, and behavioral health to dentistry, podiatry, and optometry. Technology is the foundation that supports both patient and provider needs and allows the organization to fulfill its mission.

IT “chaos” impacts care delivery

Rodrigo Ibarra, IT systems administrator at Family Health Care Centers of Greater Los Angeles (FHCCGLA), sums up the organization’s past IT situation in one word: chaotic. FHCCGLA’s hosting service suffered from regular system slow downs as well as back-up, access, and connectivity issues. “Support was really horrible for us, and we weren’t able to have our issues addressed in a timely manner,” Ibarra says. “We suffered a lot of downtime, which affected our ability to provide services to our patients.”

FHCCGLA providers depend on electronic access to patients’ charts and the ability to exchange information with specialists, hospitals, and other providers and locations to provide better and more timely care. With access to their health information, patients also have more control over their health and well-being.

Like most healthcare organizations, the most critical part of FHCCGLA’s IT operations is ensuring that the electronic health record (EHR) is up and running all day, every day. “If we don’t have an EHR, we can’t see patients and we can’t bill,” Ibarra explains. “That is our bread and butter. We have over 75 of our employees using the system on a daily basis, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.”

While hosting issues made EHR implementation even more challenging, FHCCGLA also didn’t have the in-house expertise to provide effective EHR training and workflow for providers and medical assistants (MAs).“Moving from paper to electronic charting was really tough for us,” says Ibarra. “It was something new. No one went to school for this. We felt that we were on our own.” Even though FHCCGLA was paying for EHR support from its previous vendor, Ibarra didn’t see much involvement from the vendor, and the vendor’s high project manager turnover made support inconsistent. As EHR hosting issues became more costly and impacted FHCCGLA’s ability to meet its mission to care for patients in a timely manner, Ibarra reached out to Med Tech Solutions (MTS). Working with MTS, FHCCGLA has made dramatic strides in how its overall IT systems support its providers and patients.

Streamlined hosting and support enhances patient services

When FHCCGLA engaged with MTS, cloud hosting and level one support for the EHR were the first issues to be resolved. “Switching hosting over to MTS support has allowed us to see more patients,” Ibarra explains. “It’s provided a more reliable hosting service, which equates to our providers being able to depend on the system and having the EHR available to them 100 percent of the time.” The new MTS system is available remotely to all of FHCCGLA locations and patients, 24/7. Providers and medical assistants (MAs) don’t waste time waiting for the system to boot up so they can log into computers at their desks or exam rooms, which means they can tend to patients more efficiently. This has cut patient processing time in half, from 30 minutes down to 15.

Now that his hosting worries have been addressed, Ibarra is able to better assign duties for his staff. The internal IT team can focus on implementing new value-added projects while MTS handles everyday issues such as setting up new servers and licenses and managing access needs for new employees. MTS also manages server updates, patches, and security and system performance. Without technology frustrations, providers can focus on patients and be more productive. As an added bonus, Ibarra states that the improved service from MTS is even more affordable than FHCCGLA’s previous vendor.

Since the implementation, FHCCGLA has had no major issues and no major downtime, and the organization has come to expect full availability for the EHR. With MTS hosting the EHR, FHCCGLA is able to serve more patients and increase revenue, while seeing higher patient satisfaction. About the choice to partner with MTS, Ibarra says, “This was the best decision we ever made. I don’t dread coming to work. I can go home at the end of the day not fearing that the system won’t come up tomorrow.”

OUTCOMES

• Improved system performance cut patient processing time in half
• No connectivity issues for 100% EHR uptime
• Faster reporting
• Ability to quickly add and manage new users or printer
• Dramatic improvement in support ticket response time
• Easy ticket tracking on the MTS client portal
• Regular, timely software upgrades and updates
• EHR guidance and training for better patient care and efficiencies

“MTS typically provides us with trainings at least once a year. They analyze our workflows. They provide advice based on best practices. I’ve never experienced this level of excellence from any other consultants or software providers.”

RODRIGO IBARRA

IT SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR, FHCCGLA

Expert training improves overall efficiency

Ibarra describes FHCCGLA as a lean organization, focused on its mission of providing timely, affordable care for its communities. Training from MTS provides the expert capabilities that FHCCGLA doesn’t have in-house, and helps the organization meet its training goals. With deep healthcare experience, MTS trainers are a valuable resource across FHCCGLA’s departments, from billing to the front office, as well as IT. “MTS typically provides us with trainings at least once a year,” says Ibarra. “They create breakout sessions for our providers and medical assistants. They analyze our workflows. They provide advice based on best practices. They help us meet our training goals and they stay within our timelines. I’ve never experienced this level of excellence from any other consultants or software providers.”

Ibarra depends on MTS as a technology partner who has established a solid foundation for the organization’s ongoing goals. “No matter what goals the organization sets, we’re going to have the support of a strong company to help reach them,” he says. “We have a team we can depend on.”

MTS continues to help FHCCGLA implement new IT initiatives. Like most healthcare IT administrators, Ibarra worries about cybersecurity and privacy. With help from MTS, the organization has undertaken security risk analysis that gives Ibarra confidence in the system. “Community clinics and small operations are big targets for hackers,” says Ibarra, “so having our system hosted and monitored by a company like MTS provides us a sense of security. And it provides our patients with a sense of security.” MTS has also helped migrate FHCCGLA’s pharmacy software.

MTS provides a higher level of expertise and services at a more affordable cost, and Ibarra values the long-term relationships he’s developed with his MTS team of experts. “MTS is a good fit for FHCCGLA because they understand our business,” Ibarra states. “They understand what our barriers are. They understand what difficulties we run into when trying to serve our population. They understand the regulations around being an FQHC and a CHC. They understand us.”

Ibarra concludes, “Because of MTS, our organization is in a way better place and a way better position to serve our patients. MTS has facilitated our growth and we are definitely growing together.”

GET TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS THAT WORK THE WAY YOUR PRACTICE WORKS

Learn more about our Practice-Centered Care™ services. Contact us at info@medtechsolutions.com

Med Tech Solutions (MTS) creates technology systems that work the way healthcare practices work. Our Practice-Centered Care services use dedicated IT Care Teams to ensure that technology systems support essential clinical workflows. Provider organizations and networks get a secure, reliable IT infrastructure, optimized clinical and business applications, and full end-user support so they can focus on patient care. MTS was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Valencia, California. The company has been recognized as an Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Company and a Channel Futures MSP 501 provider, and has achieved HITRUST Common Security Framework (CSF) certification for its cloud platform. Learn more at medtechsolutions.com.

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