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Dialysis Clinic, Inc. Heals Financial Reporting Ailments With WebFOCUS
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
Applicable Industries
- Healthcare & Hospitals
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
Use Cases
- Predictive Quality Analytics
- Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (DCI) was facing significant challenges due to the wide diversity of its information sources. Operations related to general ledger, fixed assets, accounts payable, cash management, budgets, financial auditing, cost reports, and payroll were each supported by disparate information systems. This environment made it difficult for DCI stakeholders to track and measure important variables that offer insight and answer questions about how workers and departments spend money. For example, if DCI’s average cost per treatment increases, is it because fixed costs for drugs and nursing services are rising or because its clinics are treating fewer patients? Answering this kind of question might require accessing data from the inventory, payroll, and various medical systems – a cumbersome process that often requires IT intervention.
About The Customer
Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (DCI) is a Nashville, TN-based nonprofit healthcare provider. Founded in 1971 by a group of nephrologists responding to the scarcity of available dialysis services in the area, DCI is committed to patient rehabilitation and improving care. One of DCI’s key goals has been the continuous enhancement of in-house procedures. However, attempts to control costs while maintaining a high quality of care were significantly challenged by the organization’s wide diversity of information sources. Operations related to general ledger, fixed assets, accounts payable, cash management, budgets, financial auditing, cost reports, and payroll were each supported by disparate information systems.
The Solution
To unify these reporting activities and allow business users to access information on their own, DCI implemented Information Builders WebFOCUS business intelligence (BI) platform. This robust solution supports a wide array of financial reporting activities, empowering users with the insight they need to more effectively manage budgeting and spending. WebFOCUS not only eliminates the need for DCI staff to spend hours collecting data manually and printing reports, it also provides tools that enable users to immediately identify budget-related issues, so they can better control costs and preserve the bottom line. WebFOCUS offers native access to all of DCI’s clinical and financial systems, including Lawson business applications and a combination of legacy RMS files and SQL Server data stores. Using simple, parameter-driven input fields, users can choose columns, sort criteria, define measures, and output formats to generate personal reports.
Operational Impact
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