3M Announces Software Solution for Inpatient Rehabilitation Reimbursement.

Health/Medical Writers

SALT LAKE CITY--(BW HealthWire)--Oct. 4, 2001

- New Tool to Support Federal Prospective Payment System

Extends 3M's Market Leading Coding

and Reimbursement Product Line -

3M Health Information Systems announced today the release of 3M case mix finder for inpatient rehabilitation, a new software product designed to help customers implement Medicare's inpatient rehabilitation prospective payment system (PPS). The PPS is scheduled to be launched nationally by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on January 1, 2002.

The new federal payment system will require all inpatient rehabilitation facilities to change their current reimbursement systems to one that conforms to the final published rules from CMS for Medicare reimbursement. "Once the new PPS goes into effect, inpatient rehabilitation facilities will need to ensure correct patient coding and grouping so that reimbursement revenues are not adversely effected," says Skeeter Draper, post-acute care domain manager for 3M Health Information Systems Division. "With this new software product, 3M customers will be able to master PPS requirements immediately and be confident that their organizations are fully compliant."

3M case mix finder for inpatient rehabilitation provides a comprehensive coding, grouping and reimbursement system for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs). The software performs complete, accurate and compliant coding of principal, secondary and comorbidity diagnoses of IRF patients. It uses current coding and editing guidelines to help coding professionals capture CMS requirements and specified rehabilitation impairment categories, associated impairment category groups, and cognitive and motor score sums. Using the expert logic built into all 3M coding software products, 3M case mix finder for inpatient rehabilitation produces the case mix group codes and the reimbursement an IRF can expect to receive.

The Microsoft Windows-based software product includes a modified version of 3M codefinder software, a 3M case mix grouper (CMG), and a CMG reimbursement tool. According to Draper, 3M case mix finder for inpatient rehabilitation can be interfaced to an organization's billing system or health information system. "Tracking reimbursement is critical to the success of any health care organization," says Draper. "3M case mix finder for inpatient rehabilitation calculates an IRF's expected reimbursement and passes it back to the organization's host system, where it can be used to generate reconciliation reports that track expected versus actual reimbursement levels."

More information about 3M case mix finder for inpatient rehabilitation and 3M Health Information Systems Division is available on the Internet at www.3Mhis.com or by calling 1-800-367-2447.

3M Health Information Systems Division is an international leader in clinical information management with products ranging from medical records coding systems to a comprehensive computer-based patient record system. Home health systems, consulting, implementation, training and process improvement services also are provided. 3M products are based on open architecture and industry standards; they interface with legacy systems and offer fast implementation and a timely return on investment. 3M Health Information Systems is a division of 3M, a diversified technology company with a health care business consisting of over 10,000 medical, surgical, consumer, home health care, dental and pharmaceutical products.

3M is a trademark of 3M company.