Thank you to our Acumen Customers who have been with us through the years. We are taking a moment to look back at the accomplishments in 2019 and to provide some exciting updates for 2020!
A look back
2019 has been an eventful year with several changes for you, our clients, and for Acumen.
- President Trump’s Executive Order is transforming kidney care and accelerating the shift to Value-Based Care. Dr. Terry Ketchersid wrote 2 blog posts with great depth of information about the proposed rule—Kidney Care Choices: Trick or Treat? and Advancing American Kidney Care. We invite you to read the Acumen blog for the latest and greatest details on the new payment models and implications for your practice.
- In anticipation of home therapies and other medical advancements and recognition that payment models were shifting, we made the decision in 2017 to transition from Acumen 1.0 to Acumen 2.0 powered by Epic. Throughout 2019 and beyond, we’ve been committed to ensuring that Acumen 2.0 is the platform for your success in this changing future. The Epic platform makes the patient the center around which everything else revolves. Through the power and connectivity of the Epic platform, physicians are easily and seamlessly able to visit, care for, and bill patients within one system. To exemplify the success of interoperability, allow us to share a few statistics. In our instance of Acumen 2.0 Powered by Epic:
- 1,405,662 Patient Records were exchanged in 2019
- 598,820 Patient Records were exchanged in 2018
- 2,065,525 Patient Records have been exchanged since Care Everywhere go-live in 2017. This includes:
- 1,812 hospitals
- 1,673 emergency departments
- 40,757 clinics
- Another demonstration of our commitment to a quality platform for Nephrologists in 2019—our 1.0 EHR team passed our ONC certification test! This was a huge accomplishment with a lot of effort poured in to keep our 1.0 product certified and our 1.0 customers poised to support regulatory programs. We also added 2 additional quality measures:
- Diabetes Nephropathy (CMS 134)
- Influenza Immunization (CMS 147)
A look ahead
In addition to the accomplishments to celebrate for 2019, we have a lot to look forward to in 2020.
- We currently have 28 practices fully live and thriving on Acumen 2.0 and 22 practices in the implementation process right now will be going live over the next 4 months. Already for the coming year, we have 20 practices contracted and in line for implementation, with go live dates set for 2020. Remaining spots are limited and filling up quickly. If you would like to discuss your specific situation or if you have any questions about Acumen 2.0, please contact Ask@acumenmd.com, and we will connect you with the correct representative.
- For our smaller practices, we are currently refining our implementation process to provide an effective and robust experience that ensures you are prepared for the growth and other adjustments that come with the power of Epic. To accommodate the many practices that want to make the transition to Acumen 2.0, we are extending the sunset date of Acumen PM into 2020, and EHR will remain into 2021.
- We are making great progress with our Revenue Cycle Management service. 159 providers have signed up for Acumen Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), with practices varying in size from 1 to 35 providers. Acumen RCM is designed to optimize the delivery of patient care and improve practice revenue. We hope you’ll consider giving us the opportunity to help your practice achieve higher outcomes. To demonstrate our commitment and results of Acumen RCM, we have created Case Studies highlighting the stories of 2 of our first RCM participants, which will be posted to our website shortly after the new year.
We recognize that change is hard, and managing change on multiple fronts (clinical, practice operations, and your EHR) can be daunting. As we approach the new year, we are grateful that we have strong partnerships and engaged clients. Thank you for your willingness to work with us to manage this change and get to successful outcomes. As the cover of our calendar says, “Let the Journey Begin.” Transitioning a platform and sunsetting another will be an ongoing process, and we are committed to being transparent and open about our progress as we travel the path to success.
Sam Gopal joined Fresenius Medical Care in 2016. He leads the product management team focused on the physician solutions portfolio, including My eCube Rounder, Compass, Nephrologixx, and the enterprise secure messaging and HIE/Interoperability programs. Sam has more than 20 years experience in management consulting, corporate strategy, and product management across multiple industries. He also has specific experience launching and scaling startup service lines inside of a large enterprise organization, which he will utilize for the launch of the Acumen 2.0 powered by Epic and Acumen Revenue Cycle Management offerings.
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