4th NATIONAL MEDICAL BANKING INSTITUTE

February 22-23, 2006

Nashville, TN

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Visioning Session #2:  Transformative Marketing Approaches in Medical Banking

Design:  Marketing health data management services through banks -- Moderated

Panel Discussion

Panel:

John Robert (J.R.) Thomas, President and Chief Executive Officer

MedSynergies, Inc., Irving, TX

Tim Murray, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer

ICSGlobal, Ltd., Sydney, Australia

First Presentation:  Show Them the Money:  Persuading Physicians to Adopt Advanced IT Systems

Session Focus/Summary:

One of the greatest barriers in creating a seamless national healthcare information network is the lack of advanced IT systems at many physician practices.  Some 60% of America's practicing physicians work in groups of 10 doctors or less. A system is a priority.  The vast majority of these physicians do not have either EMRs or an integrated IT system.  Most small medical group practice managers must juggle multiple, independent software programs.   What can the private sector do to motivate cash-strapped medical groups to adopt advanced IT systems?

Advanced financial management systems offer immediate ROI for physicians.  Automated claims capture and electronic transaction systems can greatly speed-up billing, improve cash flow and reduce A/R.  Data warehouse technology can be applied across many small practices to provide the business knowledge needed to identify denials by procedure and payer.  Having identified the issues behind a batch of denied claims, physicians can improve their office management procedures to avoid repeating the same mistakes.  They become more efficient deliverers of care.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will gain an understanding of the financial and administrative challenges faced by physicians in small medical groups.

2. Participants will understand key motivating factors in persuading physicians and medical group managers to adopt advanced IT systems.

Biography:

John Robert (J.R.) Thomas has been with MedSynergies since its inception in 1996.  He has held several positions, and has been President and Chief Executive Officer, as well as a member of the Board of Directors, since 1999.  Prior to joining MedSynergies, Mr. Thomas was the Vice President of the newly formed HealthCare Finance Group for Bank One, the Assistance Vice President for Texas Commerce Bank (Chemical Bank), and has experience in credit, real estate and economics.  Mr. Thomas received his Masters of Business Administration, with honors, from the University of Texas Graduate School of Business.  He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arkansas.

Second Presentation:  Medical Banking "Down Under"

Session Focus/Summary: The Australian healthcare system is undergoing a transformation.  Recently the government has issued an RFI that links banks with the Federal Medicare Program.  ICSGlobal, based in Australia, has implemented a medical banking infrastructure with leading health plans in Australia and is involved in paving new ground in the "down under" territory.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will understand how to setup a real-time system that meets the unique demands of the healthcare industry.
   
   
2. Participants will become aware of the types of cultural challenges that are likely to emerge as technology is introduced to improve healthcare administration.
   
   
3. Participants will understand why the country of Australia is conducting outreach to the banking community for their claiming needs.
   

Biography:

Tim Murray graduated as a Civil Engineer in 1983.  He spent the next 6 years in construction project management before diverging into IT project management, founding Infrastructure Control Services (ICS) in 1990.  By 1998, ICS had over 200 staff and consulting revenue of $20m from projects in over 30 countries, and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange as ICSGlobal Limited in 1999.  To leverage maximum benefit from it's public listing, Tim used ICSGlobal's intellectual capital to steer the company away from a purely consulting company to a more stable "utility" type business.  During 2000-2001, ICSGlobal built THELMA, the any-to-any Real-Time Interoperability technology for healthcare, which today ICSGlobal owns and operates as it's core business.  Since 2000, Tim has built THELMA into a strong brand in Australian healthcare, through reliable solution delivery as well as active industry participation through program sponsorship and speaking engagements at all major health industry conferences.  THELMA's customer base stands at over 60% of Australian private health insurers and 35% of private hospitals, plus THELMA is connected into the Australian Medicare system.  Since mid 2004, Tim's major focus has been the international expansion of the THELMA customer base.  THEMLA went live in the UK in July 2005, and a Proof of Concept in the US, including HIPAA compliance, was successfully completed in November 2005.  ICSGlobal is in discussions with another ten countries.