BOONE, NC – Three regional hospitals are using newly installed software to automate their supply chain and financial operations and improve human resources capabilities.

The hospitals, part of the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, recently deployed the QuickStep Healthcare software package from St. Paul, Minn.-based Lawson Software. The package includes the Lawson Business Intelligence, Human Resource Management, Enterprise Financial Management and Supply Chain Management suites, as well as the new Lawson Point of Use suite.

“Lawson had our health system live on the entire implementation after only five and a half months – early and under budget. This success lends credence to the Lawson process, the Lawson Professional Services consultants that managed the implementation and the dedication of the executives and our entire staff,” said Terry Prescott, IT director of business applications for the system, in a press release.

The Boone, N.C.-based system consists of 262-beds and more than 1,500 employees and operates Blowing Rock Hospital, Charles A. Cannon Jr. Memorial Hospital and Watauga Medical Center, serving residents of the so-called High Country area of North Carolina.

System officials said they replaced their outdated patient charge capture solution with Lawson Point of Use, which helps automate the supply chain, financial and patient billing processes connected with chargeable patient supplies. They said the old system was time-consuming, sometimes forcing employees to skip charge entry to take care of emergencies.

“Lawson Point of Use is easier for our staff to use, and as a result, we’re able to capture more accurate information for internal reporting,” said Sherrie King, the system’s internal auditor. “Previously, all our chargeable supplies were going into a single revenue center, but now we’re able to push charges out to the departments that are actually using those supplies, which helps improve accountability. This level of reporting will help us break revenues down to determine which departments are not doing as well as others in terms of capturing charges and help them to improve.”

"Improving accuracy of data and charge capture, especially at the point of use or care, is critical to the revenue process of any healthcare organization," said Jim Catalino, Lawson’s general manager of healthcare. "Our commitment and focus on healthcare result in purpose-built solutions, such as Point of Use, that help improve inventory management and provide better visibility into actionable information and clinical workflow. This information helps healthcare organizations deliver improved patient care and better management of business operations and financials."