Over the past two years, we’ve had the privilege of working with Northern Colorado Anesthesia Professionals (NCAP) on a custom web application. They are amazing people to work with, and we’re so excited to see the great results they’ve had from the software. We wanted to share part of NCAP’s story with you.
NCAP was founded in 1998 by three local anesthesiologists. Today, NCAP is comprised of over 80 physician anesthesiologists and Certified Nurse Anesthetists who serve the Northern Colorado region.
Because the providers are compensated based on production, which can vary greatly from one shift to another, NCAP early on developed a simple database program to manage the equitable distribution of work. The Access-based manual routine generated a bar graph and report of daily assigned workload for each provider, averaged over the preceding 12 months. The graph was then used as a scheduling reference. The problem with this method was that the report only showed the work assigned not the work performed (and therefore paid). The dynamic nature of healthcare meant that many providers ended up doing more or less work than assigned on a shift. This report was a source of confusion for many providers, who begged for an accurate report of their work.
As the practice grew, it became obvious that it was time for a new system. NCAP needed a practice management platform that could be integrated with billing data and the accounting and credentialing platforms. NCAP also needed a way to automated the manual reporting processes that were consuming valuable resources.
After reviewing vendor options, NCAP decided on Rocket Jones to build a custom web application. Together they identified three main goals for the project:
- More reliable system and data
- Rebuild the scheduling graph
- Automate provider pay packets.
After gathering foundational knowledge, Rocket Jones began creating wireframes (blueprints). The wireframes became a great tool for collaboration between Rocket Jones and NCAP. Wireframes brought together all the departments in a visual way that was easy to understand. Because of the complex logic involved in compensation, Stage 2 also involved detailed logic documentation.
The development stage (Stage 3), continued to be iterative. Weekly meetings kept NCAP and Rocket on the same page as we worked through logic together. NCAP was also closely involved in the testing process; they submitted actual data sets and helped validate the scheduling graph.
When we finished development and testing, the new web application, called Intelligent Practice Analytics (IPA), launched. In the year since launch, providers and staff have transitioned to the new system and seen the results. Rocket has continued to support the application (what we call Stage 4) with two more phases of updates and additional features since the initial launch.
The providers and staff at NCAP love IPA’s intuitive user interface, and more importantly, the results have been impressive. Month-end provider pay reporting that used to take 40 hours each month now runs automatically with just the click of a button, alleviating tedious and error-prone manual data entry form multiple departments. Staff members can focus on what they do best because they feel comfortable with IPA and the product it’s producing. Building custom software allowed NCAP to integrate multiple existing software systems, giving them efficient and comprehensive data in one place.
Congrats to NCAP! We are so excited to see your success!
To download the full case study, click below.