Service info:
Piedmont Triad Ambulance and Rescue Service, Inc. is one of the largest rescue squads in North Carolina, running 16 units daily and operating a crew of 80 full- and part-time employees in addition to several volunteers. Formed in 1971, Piedmont Triad Ambulance and Rescue provides 24/7 BLS and ALS service, rescue service, convalescent transport services, wheelchair support services and stand-by service for special events in the Piedmont Triad area.
What makes our service unique:
Piedmont Triad Ambulance and Rescue is dispatched by the Guilford County Emergency Services Department’s 911 Communication Center and provides back-up service for Guilford County EMS as needed, as well. Given the nature of a ‘back-up service,’ Piedmont Triad Ambulance and Rescue ends up catering to many of the elderly and convalescent population, which normally involves more time with the patient. Instead of seeing them once for a few minutes, Piedmont Triad Ambulance and Rescue medics are often with them for hours and transporting them several times. This increased time allows for development of more relational aspects and customer service opportunities, as well as handling more details of the call. 
Software:
Sweet-Billing since 1999
Sweet-Field Data since 2000
Piedmont Triad Ambulance and Rescue began using the Sweet-Billing software in 1999 and soon realized an increase in collection rates and a decrease in days in AR. When the Sweet-Field Data system was incorporated in 2003 (and in full force by 2004), data entry time also decreased and the service was able to accommodate the increase in annual calls without needing to hire an additional staff member.
One of the resulting benefits of the field data system is a higher submission success rate on many of the claims, since the system prompts the medics for any required missing information. All the units are equipped with printers so that once the medic has all the information entered into the Sweet-Field Data program, it can be printed onto the PCR form and a copy left with the hospital. The process is efficient for the medics and appreciated by the healthcare organizations. Once the medics synch their computers to the Sweet-Billing database, the information they have entered is automatically uploaded into the appropriate fields within the Sweet-Billing program, eliminating the need for the information to be reentered by the billing staff into the billing system.
Although the medics were at first reluctant to learn the new system, which involved first learning about computers for some of them, they now “can’t do without it,” according to Paula Lineberry, Chief/Director for Piedmont Triad Ambulance and Rescue.
Advice:
“I wish I would not have been so intimidated by the technology when I first started in this business,” said Paula. “Ortivus has been there to help us through the regulation issues as well as the technical aspects. They have responded very well to our needs and are still the best in the industry, I believe, at staying on the cutting edge of technology and industry issues.”
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