Vendor Notebook: Unity Mangement Group partners with Southwest Healthcare to expand network

Unity Management Group, Inc., a Miami-based provider of physician and hospital practice management programs, medical discount plans, business services and billing software and technologies, has announced a partnership with Southwest Healthcare to expand its network into Nevada.

The Harris Corporation has received a three-year, $72 million contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs to support the agency’s national expansion of its Consolidated Patient Account Center business model. The project will improve billing and collection activities across 16 of the VA’s networks and 108 associated medical centers.

RealMed, a developer of medical claims clearinghouse services, has announced a partnership with TIBCO Software, Inc., to use the company’s business process management technology and enterprise messaging server solutions to improve RealMed’s transaction processing platform.

Siemens Healthcare of Malvern, Pa., has announced that University Hospitals in Cleveland has successfully launched the company’s Soarian Financials solution at its University Hospitals Case Medical Center facility, reportedly becoming the first academic medical center in the nation to go live on an enterprise-wide, Web-based revenue cycle solutions.

TransEngen, Inc., based in Norwalk, Conn., and Passport Health Communications, Inc., of Franklin, Tenn., have reached an agreement to offer a comprehensive financial triage solution to healthcare providers. Passport will integrate TransEngen’s HelpEngen solution into its Patient Access Suite to provide medical assistance and charity care assessment for uninsured patients and others who are unable to pay for their healthcare.

Craneware, Inc., an Orlando, Fla.-based provider of automated revenue integrity solutions, has expanded its relationship with the Premier healthcare alliance to offer its Revenue Integrity Solutions and Consulting Solutions to the alliance’s 2,300 members.

Capario, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based provider of revenue cycle management solutions designed to connect health providers with payers, has achieved CAQH Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange (CORE) Phase II certification for its Phoenix Processing System.

MedAssets, Inc., based in Atlanta, has announced a deal with Cullman Regional Medical Center in Cullman, Ala., to improve the provider’s business office operations.

PreAxia Health Care Payment System, Inc., has announced the development of a new Web-based software solution for the emerging health spending account payment market in Canada. The solution, being developed under the codename “Mythodea,” will be available sometime next year and will be designed to connect key players in the Canadian health benefits arena and execute health benefit transactions in a faster and more cost-effective manner.

ClaimTrust, a Murfreesboro, Tenn.-based provider of revenue cycle tools and services for hospitals, has released InSight Audit, a fully hosted, Web-based solution deigned to provide healthcare organizations with a central location for managing all medical claims audits.

The McKesson Corporation of San Francisco has announced the release of its 2010 InterQual Criteria, an evidence-based decision support system designed to be used by health plans, hospitals and government agencies to manage healthcare appropriately and consistently.

Novation, an Irving, Texas-based supply contracting company, has awarded agreements to Steris, Skytron, Future Health Concepts, Inc., Becton Dickinson, Greiner Bio-One, Smiths Medical, Medipurpose and Retractable Technologies, Inc., for products to be made available to members of VHA, Inc., the University HealthSystem Consortium and Provista.

Wolters Kluwer Health, based in Philadelphia, has announced that Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in McComb, Miss., has selected the company’s ProVation Order Sets, powered by UpToDate Decision Support, as its electronic order set solution. In addition, the company has announced that Eastland Medical Plaza Surgicenter in Bloomington, Ill., has selected the ProVation MD software suite for gastroenterological procedure documentation and coding.

The Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation (PenFed Foundation), a non-profit working to meet the needs of military personnal and their families, is raising funds to build a new hotel for veterans seeking medical care and undergoing treatment. The new Defenders Lodge will replace the existing Hometel and be designed to serve more than 10,000 patients annually.

Med-Vantage, Inc., based in San Francisco, has launched the HealthSmart Enhanced Provider Directory, designed to allow health plans to empower member to search for providers and facilities from their mobile device.

The Eclipsys Corporation of Atlanta has announced that Robinson Memorial Hospital of Ravenna, Ohio, will undergo an accelerated activation of the Sunrise Enterprise integrated suite of solutions.

EDIMS, LLC, a Livingston, N.J.-based developer of interoperable emergency department information management systems for hospitals, has announced a multi-year agreement to license Calibria’s Discharge 1-2-3 solution, which automates the ED discharge process, including providing specific patient instructions and prescriptions. EDIMS will incorporate the solution into its EDelectronic health record.

Halo Benefits, Inc., of Allen, Texas, a subsidiary of Halo Companies, Inc., has launched the HaloRx pharmacy prescription card.

Perceptive Software, based in Shawnee, Kan., has announced that San Juan Regional Medical Center in San Juan, Puerto Rice, will use the company’s enterprise content management solutions in several back-office departments, including accounts payable, human resource/payroll, supply chain and patient financial services.

A-Life Medical, Inc., a San Diego-based provider of computer-assisted coding products and services, has announced an agreement with the Drs. Hill & Thomas Company, a Cleveland-based radiology group, to provide exclusive CAC services that directly address radiology procedures through its Actus Application Suite.

Hyland Software, based in Cleveland, has announced contracts to deploy enterprise content management software at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Tucson Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz., and The Vancouver Clinic in Vancouver, Wash.

Availity. LLC, based in Jacksonville, Fla., has selected HERAE, LLC, a San Diego-based provider of electronic payment services for the healthcare industry, to provide technology for its Availity Remit Manager solution.