MECKLENBURG NEUROLOGICAL ASSOCIATES

Charlotte, North Carolina – Mecklenburg Neurological Associates is the preeminent regional resource for patients with diseases of the nervous system. A faculty of eight academically trained and sub specialized neurologists looks after more than 35,000 patients. Mecklenburg Neurological Associates handles cases such as epilepsy, aging of the nervous system (Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease), neuromuscular disorders, and many others.

For more than a decade, Mecklenburg Neurological Associates has partnered with TriMed Technologies for Practice Management and Electronic Health Record (EHR) solutions and support.

TriMed EHR and PM Solutions Prove to be the Right Choice

When CFO Administrator Melinda Stevens joined Mecklenburg Neurological Associates, she began reviewing options for a new EHR solution, a new Practice Management system, as well as the associated service agreement. Ultimately, Stevens and her team landed on TriMed’s solutions.

“We did an exhaustive search of all available technologies, and we kept feeling as though there was something missing from each of them. That is, we felt that way until TriMed gave us a demo of the EHR. It just clicked for us, and we knew it would also help us prepare for Meaningful Use,” says Stevens.

TriMed’s EHR is ONC-certified for Meaningful Use and streamlines the management of the clinical side of practices like Mecklenburg Neurological Associates. The “note-driven” system seamlessly incorporates labs, orders, e-prescriptions, patient history, and billing into one platform. Today, Stevens notes that when physicians work with other EHR solutions when they’re in hospitals, “They miss being here and working with TriMed EHR.”

Practice Management & Revenue Cycle Management Work Together for Mecklenburg Neurological Associates

TriMed’s practice management solution is integrated with ZirMed’s Revenue Cycle Management. This integration helps reduce billing and payment errors for Mecklenburg Neurological Associates because there is no need for office staff to work in a separate, third-party solution to manage claims, statements, collections, and remittances. Thus, the integration between PM and ZirMed helps increase office productivity; reduce leakage, writeoffs, rejected claims, and slow payments; and improve cash flow issues and excessive A/R days. “We’re very pleased with how TriMed EHR/PM works for our practice,” says Stevens.

She continues: “As far as practice management goes, I’m very hands on. I can get in and run any report I need, or see where any patient is within our practice. There really isn’t any part of the system I don’t touch, and the day-to-day aspect is very important. Billing, collections, confirmations, eligibility from ZirMed—it’s all there for us. It’s really the most solid system I have ever seen.”

Support from TriMed Maximizes System Utilization and Technology Investment

Mecklenburg Neurological Associates has come to rely on TriMed to provide system support. “Although it’s rare for TriMed EHR/PM to go down, the support from TriMed is really phenomenal, and I don’t use that term lightly. When you have a question, you can’t afford to wait a day or two for support. And with TriMed, we are always up and running,” Stevens notes.

In fact, thinking back to her initial implementation of TriMed EHR/PM, Stevens notes that Mecklenburg Neurological Associates wanted both the new EHR and the practice management solutions to “go live on the same day. I knew we were asking for the sun, moon, and stars, but TriMed was able to deliver. We never had a problem with the conversion of data; we never skipped a beat with servers or support. We didn’t even drop a payment. It was a beautiful thing,” she says.

From that time, TriMed provided training to Mecklenburg Neurological Associates staff, so that they were well-prepared to use TriMed EHR/PM fully. “TriMed provided us with a great team who came in and trained our people very effectively. We’re now in a good position to train new associates when they join our practice; we can help them get up and running within TriMed EHR/PM, and then TriMed will support us whenever there’s a disconnect,” Stevens comments.

Although it’s rare for TriMed EHR/PM to go down, the support from TriMed is really phenomenal, and I don’t use that term lightly.

Because of the effective training they’ve received, Stevens says she is able to work closely with the TriMed team to continually increase system utilization and maximize Mecklenburg Neurological Associates’ investment in the technologies. “If there’s something we’re not using, or not fully taking advantage of, TriMed helps us identify ways we can better utilize the system. We’re just now starting email and text appointment reminders, which is exciting,” she says.