Quickness

Askesis IT professionals didn’t lose valuable work time learning HIPAA compliance regulations. Pervasive’s integration solution handled the heavy lifting, and the first version of HIPAA transactions was implemented and released within four months. Askesis estimates that without Pervasive, the first version would have taken a year to complete.

Ease of use

Pervasive technology allowed Askesis to create a set of modules that could be easily used. Integration Architect with Schema, Process and Map Designers made formatting and compliance more manageable.

Productivity

Askesis found that the embedding process was simple, developer productivity increased (the initial team included 5 FTEs, and now all changes are maintained by just one), and time to market was accelerated. Testing also proved to be an easy process, resulting in faster project turnaround.

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Software company Askesis meets HIPAA compliance through embedded integration

Askesis offers software to providers of behavioral health services including community mental health centers, substance abuse clinics, psychiatric hospitals, social service organizations, and other non-profit groups. Their applications—PsychConsult Provider and PsychConsult MCO—deliver clinical and revenue-related functionalities in one system that help their clients optimize the productivity of staff, eliminate unbilled or denied claims that result from administrative errors, and demonstrate favorable outcomes, which validate that clinical services are effective at achieving stated goals.

When HIPAA compliance became a requirement, the company looked to Pervasive to provide a cost-effective, quick-hitting solution. Askesis needed an integration engine that could meet data compliance requirements, and could be embedded within the company’s applications.

HIPAA compliance

Askesis has been a Pervasive Alliance Partner since 2002. The company uses Pervasive’s embeddable integration engine within their software package. The company requires a partner who offers product reliability and a friendly licensing relationship. And, given the complexity and ever-changing nature of healthcare compliance and regulation, that partner must meet Askesis’ need for fast turnaround, if required.

Time, volume of data, manual process and resources 

Askesis had less than six months to launch its HIPAA interfaces, and Askesis’ clients vary in terms of volume of transactions per reporting period, which can be monthly to weekly, or even daily. Volume can be anywhere from tens of thousands of records to hundreds of thousands of records. Resource concerns also needed to be factored in. Askesis needed a HIPAA compliance solution that required neither a lot of time to implement nor a steep learning curve.

Pervasive Data Integrator provided HIPAA compliance answer

Embedded in the Askesis application, PsychConsult, the Pervasive Integration Engine optimizes performance. Pervasive enabled a seamless solution to meet all necessary compliance requirements.

"When we needed to meet HL7 compliance, Pervasive helped us. And when we needed to meet HIPAA 834, 835, and 837, we turned to them again,” Devendra Rao, Askesis Vice President of Development, stated.

Pervasive Data Integrator's role in Askesis HIPAA 837 compliance

Pervasive: A 'complete compliance solution, right out of the box'

Devendra Rao, Askesis Vice President of Development, sums up the net effect of using Pervasive Integration: “We get a complete compliance solution, right out of the box. We’ve had no problems meeting the compliance requirements of HIPAA 834, 835, and 837, and we’ll use Pervasive again to meet other HIPAA requirements as needed.”

An embedded integration solution that can meet tough compliance requirements is ideal for a healthcare data company. The fact that the Pervasive solution can run behind an Askesis application, and requires no coding, is a low TCO answer to what can be a complex issue — regulatory compliance. Plus, Askesis has saved hundreds of hours of ongoing maintenance.

A move to automation

Askesis is always looking for ways to improve its technology process. Davenda Rao, Askesis Vice President of Development, specifically looks for those paths of improvement. Automation is one area Rao is investigating —he is looking at using Pervasive integration tools to move toward greater automation of the compliance process.

“Pervasive has helped us move from manual data conversion to a quick-hitting embedded software solution, and I next see Askesis using Pervasive’s integration engines in helping us automate formatting and compliance processes,” Rao forecasts. Askesis sees Pervasive as an aid to growing its business, and that really makes for a good partnership.