The Opportunity
Cullman Regional Medical Center is a 145 bed community medical center located in Cullman, AL with over 1000 Employees, including 80 active staff physicians and 101 consulting & courtesy physicians. The center is Joint Commission Accredited, serves 6 counties (150,000 residents) and includes a Level III trauma center, and Tier 1 heart & stroke center. Cullman has been recently recognized as the 2nd best hospital in Alabama for Value Based Purchasing (VBP), identified as a Tier I hospital by BlueCross & BlueShield of Alabama, and was honored in the August 2012 issue of the US News and World Report/Best Hospitals for accomplishments related to the American Heart Association’s “Get With The Guidelines” Program.
The opportunity for identifying and implementing a contract management solution was driven by a number of factors, including flexibility, ease of use, breadth of product, ability to satisfy all operational requirements, and total cost.
The Solution
The evaluation and identification of iContracts Universal Contract Manager as the best solution for Cullman was the culmination of a rapid, but deliberate process. Several companies were initially considered, each of which provided targeted web demonstrations, IT reviews, responses to a wide variety of questions from the selection team, and many other related activities. After iContracts Universal Contract Manager was selected, funding was requested from senior management and approved.
The Results
Cullman Regional Medical Center’s success with iContracts UCM is both wide and deep. Among the contract types managed in the system are Supply Chain contracts, Clinical service agreements, Physician Agreements,Insurance, Pricing agreements, Business Associate Agreements, and others. The system is also configured to support the Joint Commission process and other audits as necessary or mandated.
Specific benefits realized include:
- Easy access to contracts
- Not missing important milestones
- Simplified process of documenting all aspects of the contract life-cycle
- Use for Audits of all kinds
- Joint Commission requirements concerning clinical service reviews and service contract reviews
- Complete information concerning each contract
Cullman also cites iContract’s constant improvement to UCM functionality, the ability to create and utilize templates, and the ease of educating users as additional benefits of using the system.