Medical Group Management Association’s (MGMA) National Conference is arguably one of the biggest and best tradeshows for practice administrators and for medical billing professionals. Thousands attend from across the county and the 2013 event was no different this October in San Diego. Outsource Receivables was on hand to take in the seminars, presentations, networking and vendor tradeshow while enjoying the San Diego surroundings. Many others from the ORI’s focus area in the Upper Midwest joined in including administrators from Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, Des Moines, Souix City, and Fargo.
With the pace of industry change it is ever more important to stay informed and network among industry professionals. The MGMA exhibit hall was a key area to learn about new technology applications from a diverse group of vendors. Exhibitors are a big draw for attendees as demonstrated by 2012 statistics showing that 94% of attendees spent time in the exhibit hall learning and interacting with vendors. In fact, over 90% of MGMA conference attendees have significant responsibility for purchasing and wield over $100 billion in purchasing power. Not surprisingly, the 2012 MGMA Annual Conference reported that it generated more than 25,000 leads for exhibitors!
One exhibitor that was on hand for the conference was Zirmed, one of ORI’s primary medical billing clearinghouse partners. Zirmed has been a great company to collaborate with over the years for ORI. With Zirmed adding over 900 new clients for a total of 175,000 practices and 30% company growth worth 2.2 billion in transactions over the last year, it is apparent that the word has gotten out.
The working relationship between ORI and Zirmed has not gone unnoticed and when Healthcare Informatics requested an interview with one of Zirmed’s best clients, ORI was invited to the table. Rajiv Leventhal, editor with Healthcare Informatics, explained that he would like to interview ZirMed and one of their clients to discuss how they are using ZirMed’s technology effectively. ZirMed recommended Outsource Receivables for this opportunity to learn how ORI is working with ZirMed to enhance medical billing solutions.
Rajiv interviewed Dan Smits, ORI President, and Ken Willman who is the Vice President of Payer Solutions and Strategy at Zirmed. Mr. Willman holds responsibility for the management of payer interactions in order to ensure satisfaction for all stakeholders in the reimbursement process. Dan Smits described how Zirmed’s intuitive medical billing workflow provided a variety of routes to solve problems. This is especially important to transition clients using legacy systems to ease the workflow with advances features at the clearinghouse level. Running over $70 million in claims for 150 plus providers, Zirmed’s front end insurance eligibility features are also especially valuable. Another big feature is the tools, support and training for ICD-10. There will always be client specific and technical issues to resolve and a strong solution focused customer service approach is what has made the difference in the ORI-Zirmed relationship.
The interview was just one of many great networking opportunities realized at the MGMA conference in San Diego. ORI is already looking forward to 2014 and the next MGMA National Conference in Las Vegas. We hope to see you there!