Griffon Medical Center

CAC Encoder Product Report

Cheryl Helm, HIM Specialist
Griffon Medical Center St. Joseph Missouri
T: 816-271-5949 DD: 816-244-1086 E: chelm83@gmail.com

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Executive Summary
Griffon Medical Center invites proposals for installation of a Computer Assisted Coding program.
GMC is a suburban 100-bed facility just outside of Saint Joseph, MO. Our daily census is 30
inpatients, 30 swing-bed patients, 10 OBS patients, 75 emergency room and 300+ ancillary
patients. Ancillary patients consist of radiology, lab, PT/OT, Cardiac Rehab and OP mental
health services.
The purpose of this report is to compare three vendors for the purchasing and installation of a
new Computer Assisted Coding system in order to increase productivity of coders and thereby
increase the revenue of GMC.
The committee consisted of the IT department, Health Information Managers, Coding
Specialists, Revenue Department, and other significant personal who met with the vendors of
from 3M, Nuance, and Optimum.
This is a report of the committees findings and results of a weighted decision matrix focusing on
key criteria important to our facility.

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CONTENTS
Executive Summary 2
Criteria 4
Legend Colors 4
Summary of Weighted Decision Matrix Procedure 4
Results 6
Ranking with Weighted Totals
7


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Criteria
The criterion was decided by the committee and was weighted in a manner that was best for our
facility. Points were then given in each criteria category for each of the vendor ranging from 1,
meaning Poor, to 5, meaning Excellent. Below is a chart with the criteria and their weights.

Legend Colors

To help with product
identification in the charts,
the following colors will be
used in all diagrams and
charts.






Summary of Weighted Decision Matrix Procedure
A decision matrix evaluates and prioritizes a list of options. The committee first established a list
of weighted criteria and then evaluated each option against those criteria. The procedure that was
used by the committee consisted of three main steps.
1. Brainstorm the evaluation criteria appropriate to the situation.
2. The committee discussed and refined the list of criteria. Identifying any criteria that must
be included and any that must not be included. The list was then reduced to the list of
criteria to those that the committee believes are most important.
3. Assign a relative weight to each criterion; based on how important that criterion is to the
situation. We did this by distributing 5 points among the criteria. The assignment was be
done by discussion and consensus.



Nuance
Optium
3M
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0 1 2 3 4 5
Cost of installation
Interoperability
Cost vs. ROI
Service & Support
Number of Service employees
Training & Implementation Time
Interface with encoder
Interface with EMR
Scanned Docs?
Number of licenses
Age of system
Ability to be updated
Coder Productivity
(Vendor) Years in Business
(Vendor) Financially secure
The Vendors Weighted in Each Area
3M Nuance Optium
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
Cost of installation
Interoperability
Cost vs. ROI
Service & Support
Number of Service employees
Training & Implementation Time
Interface with encoder
Interface with EMR
Scanned Docs?
Number of licenses
Age of system
Ability to be updated
Coder Productivity
(Vendor) Years in Business
(Vendor) Financially secure
Criteria and Weights
Decision Factors Wt.
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Results
Using the decision matrix allowed the committee to evaluate the three alternative vendors.
1. 3M
2. Nuance
3. Optium
The scores were calculated by multiplying the vendors ranking by the weight given by the
committee in the areas of each area of criteria. Based on this data, Nuance is the vendor
recommended the committee. Nuance is a company that puts importance preserving medical
records by helping physicians navigates new technology by providing an efficient way for
physicians to create complete documentation that will improve coding. Their programs are
interoperable with our current 3M encoders and our EMR software by McKesson.







29%
37%
34%
Results of Weighted Decision
Matrix
3M
Nuance
Optium
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Ranking with Weighted Totals
The final totals and ranking of the three vendors analyzed are as follows: the committee is confident in these rankings.



1. Nuance 141
2. Optium 128
3. 3M 109
Comments Chart
An evaluation was taken at both the three
month and six month mark following
implementation of the three vendors the
committee evaluated. Both positive and
negative comments were listed. Notice that
3M and Nuance were balanced in both their
positive and negative comments. These
comments were evaluated while making our
decision.


71
71
54
29
29
46
Ranking Charts
%Comments Positive 6months
%Comments Negative 6 months
Nuance
Optium
3M
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FINDINGS
NUANCE
Had the features we
were looking for with
consistent and strong
ranking. We are
confident in the stability
of this company to give
what it has promised.
OPTIUM
An up and coming company
that shows potential,
however it is just too
young. Keeping a close
eye on the trends for the
future would be worth the
time.
3M
Has many of the features
we are looking for, however
did not rank as high as the
other two vendors.
This summary, based on the collective opinion of the diverse members of the
product review and while under no duress the committee make the recommended
decision to the Chief Information Officer. Hereby, we the formal decision of the
committee to recommend Nuance as our product of choice. This decision is our
final decision. Cheryl Helm, HIM Specialist; Griffon Medical Center.