SOURCE: Enclarity Inc.

 

ALISO VIEJO, CA--(Marketwire - November 5, 2008) - Enclarity Inc., a leading healthcare information solutions company, announced a series of Webinars focused on the economic value of improving healthcare provider information quality. The free, two-part Webinar series, to take place on Nov. 13 and Dec. 11, examines the substantial expense that inaccurate, outdated and missing information about providers -- including doctors, hospitals and other professionals and facilities -- adds to the cost of healthcare in the U.S., and offers solutions to combat the problem.

Enclarity carefully studied the current state of provider information at dozens of health insurance plans, preferred provider organizations (PPOs), third-party administrators and other healthcare payer organizations and the costs associated with wrong and missing data. Enclarity's analysis of these provider files revealed improvements in provider information quality that would result in hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of dollars annually, based on the organization's size and scope.

"Reducing the tremendous cost of healthcare is in everyone's interest," said Sean Downs, chief executive officer, Enclarity. "Our Webinar series can give the health plans, PPOs and other healthcare payers insight to the economic value of improving information about providers. This is information they use daily, and correct, current and comprehensive data adds a powerful new weapon to their fight to tame the rising costs of healthcare across America."

A $26 billion problem

Accurate and up-to-date information about healthcare providers is critical to the efficient operation of health insurance plans and PPOs, affecting more than 300 million Americans every day. The information about millions of healthcare providers across the nation is constantly changing, and over time, the quality of the data degrades significantly. As a result, inaccurate and outdated provider records affect how quickly healthcare claims are paid and processed. In addition to claims, inaccurate provider records can lead to frustrating searches for a doctor or hospital, significantly increased labor costs and reduced operating margins for health plans and other payers. Also, erroneous provider information disrupts automation critical to keeping healthcare costs in-line. For example:

--  It typically costs more than $5 to process a claim manually, versus
    under $1 to process it electronically.
--  On average, 9 to 14 percent of provider direct mail is returned -- and
    it costs $4 to $7 to resend each piece.
    

Hosted by Stephanie Rose-Belcher, vice president of payer solutions for Enclarity, the free two-part Webinar series will have seminar sessions on Thurs., Nov. 13 and Thurs., Dec. 11. To sign up for the Webinar series, visit: http://www2.enclarity.com/l/414/2008-10-17/6W9CJ.

"A growing number of leading healthcare payers have come to realize that accurate and up-to-date provider information is a key competitive advantage," said Rose-Belcher. "Our Webinar series will share the secrets that these industry leaders know and are using to be more productive, improve their margins and to help contain the cost of healthcare for all Americans."

To learn more about Enclarity's solutions, visit www.enclarity.com.

About Enclarity

Enclarity® solves healthcare's provider information problem. The company delivers correct, current and comprehensive provider information solutions by blending thousands of data sources, advanced analytics and healthcare expertise. As a result, its clients improve results in many areas, including claims processing, provider directories and network analysis. Named one of the Top 100 private technology companies in North America by Red Herring magazine and awarded the Global Healthcare Information Technology Excellence Award by Frost & Sullivan, Enclarity is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif. For more information, visit www.enclarity.com.