A-Life Medical News & Events

CPU Annual Conference

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Manchester Grand Hyatt
San Diego, CA

Texas RBMA Annual Meeting

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Omni Shoreline
Corpus Christi, TX

American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Mandalay Bay
Las Vegas, NV
www.acep.org

Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA ANI)

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Gaylord Opryland
Nashville, TN
www.hfma.org

American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Gaylord Palms Resort Hotel & Conventions
Orlando, FL
www.ahima.org

American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC)

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Gaylord Opryland
Nashville, TN
www.aapc.com

RBMA Spring Educational Conference

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Broadmoor
Colorado Springs, CO
www.rbma.org

American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM)

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Caesars Palace
Las Vegas, NV
www.aaem.org

Interventional Radiology Coding Course

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Renaissance Austin Hotel
Austin, TX
www.rbma.org

RBMA Marketing Program

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Westin San Diego
San Diego, CA
www.rbma.org

HBMA Fall Annual Conference

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Hilton At the Ballpark
St. Louis, MO
www.hbma.org

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Georgia World Congress Center
Atlanta, GA
www.himss.org

HBMA Spring Educational Conference

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel
Baltimore, MD
www.hbma.org

RBMA Fall Educational Conference

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Renaissance Austin Hotel
Austin, TX
www.rbma.org

Radiology Coding Mechanics Course

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Four Points by Sheraton BWI Airport
Baltimore, Maryland
www.rbma.org

A-Life Medical, Inc. Expands Through Promotions and New Appointments

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:15:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO … February 16, 2010 … A-Life Medical, Inc., the pioneer and leading provider of computer-assisted coding (CAC) products and services to the healthcare industry, announced today that it has promoted several professionals while also appointing new employees to its team, expanding overall operations.

The ramp up in staff was done in an effort to address 2009 expansion in sales and implementation, which reached record levels. Additionally, the increase in staffing was put in place to fuel future growth. In 2009, A-Life has increased its employees by 33 percent while an additional 15 percent were promoted. Most of these professionals are based out of the company’s San Diego corporate headquarters.

The promotions and additional staff appointments reflect extensions in the following operational departments and functions:

· Sales force increased by 43 percent

· Product and research and development staff grew 82 percent

· Client services strengthened its support and implementation teams by 45 percent

“The additions to the A-Life work force across the board reflect the success we achieved to date from our innovative CAC products and services. As A-Life continues to expand its coding and billing solutions portfolio, we are continually adding staff to accommodate the continued growth and acceptance of our novel services. With an expanded team now in place, we are well positioned to serve our clients and capture additional market presence,” said Jaye Connolly, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at A-Life.

“Our CAC technologies are gaining more traction each day as we reinvest in our patented and proprietary natural language processing-based solutions. Clients are witnessing firsthand how CAC is helping them run more efficient operations while claims they submit are being processed faster, consistently and more accurately. Furthermore, with the ICD-10 conversion just around the corner, our coding solutions directly address the issues that can potentially arise with the changeover. We are also preparing for that shift internally strengthening our market offerings and demonstrating to the industry that A-Life products will help avoid complications and make for a seamless transition,” Connolly concluded

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

San Diego-based A-Life Medical, Inc. is the pioneer and leading provider of computer-assisted coding products and services for the healthcare industry. Using its proprietary and patented Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology, LifeCode, A-Life deciphers electronic transcribed patient encounters via the Internet through its data center, which are then appropriately coded for reimbursement purposes.

A-Life’s solutions address medical coding needs within the physician and hospital sectors. The company processes more than five million transactions monthly, has thousands of users and provides coding services to more than 40,000 physicians nationwide. Its customers include medical billing companies, physician groups, university medical centers and hospitals. For more information, please visit www.alifemedical.com.

For further information, contact:
Susan J. Lewis, 303-804-0494
slewis@alifemedical.com

A-Life Medical, Inc. Promotes Spencer K. Wood To The Post of Vice President of Client Services

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:15:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO … January 28, 2010 … A-Life Medical, Inc., the pioneer and leading provider of computer-assisted coding (CAC) products and services to the healthcare industry, announced today that it has promoted Spencer K. Wood to vice president of client services. Wood joined A-Life in 2007 as director of client services.

In his new position, Wood will be responsible for overseeing all customer service-related operations including new and recurring implementations of the company’s coding services as well as customer and internal training, technical support and application assistance for A-Life Medical’s suite of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications.

Woods has 20+ years of software services, support and development experience. Prior to joining A-Life Medical, he held a number of management positions with increasing responsibility at Epicor Software Corporation, a global provider of software solutions. Most recently, he was senior director of professional services responsible for technical and programming services.

“During the past several years since joining A-Life, Spencer has demonstrated a clear commitment to client care and service and a keen understanding of the process and implementation relating to our software-based coding solutions. He has worked closely with our client base and internal software team to ensure seamless transition to our services. In his new role, Spencer will continue to ensure customer satisfaction and operational excellence. We look forward to the contributions he will make in his new position,” noted Jaye Connolly, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at A-Life.

Wood commented on his new role, stating: “My goal in my new capacity is to drive significant top and bottom line growth by accelerating implementations while maintaining high levels of customer service. I also plan to work with the A-Life team to deploy new tools and processes to maximize operational efficiencies. A-Life brings a broad array of cutting-edge coding services to the market, and we will strive to continue to enhance these by offering the latest in coding expertise and solutions.”

Wood, a Hawaii native, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Hawaii. He received his Master’s of Science in Software Engineering from National University. He resides in Poway, Calif.

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

For further information, contact:
Susan J. Lewis, 303-804-0494
slewis@alifemedical.com

A-Life Medical, Inc. To Exhibit At RSNA 2009

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:15:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO … November 18, 2009 … A-Life Medical, Inc., the pioneer and leading provider of computer-assisted coding (CAC) products and services to the healthcare industry, announced today that it will exhibit at the upcoming RSNA 95^th Scientific Assembly and Annul Meeting. The convention will be held November 29, 2009 – December 4, 2009 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

At its booth #3058, A-Life will host demonstrations featuring its various radiology-based CAC products and solutions. These include, Actus, A-Life’s CAC product; RecoverIt, its automated reconciliation solution; and CoAudit its compliance coding platform. Visitors to the booth will learn about the benefits and applicability of A-Life’s radiology products, all of which incorporate LifeCode, A-Life’s patented Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology. A-Life staff will be on hand to show how their products assist in ICD-9 and CPT code assignment while increasing productivity through advanced, automated workflow. Additionally, visitors can see how traceability is incorporated through A-Life’s proprietary and patented natural language processing (NLP) technology, LifeCode to ensure compliance.

“We pioneered computer-assisted coding, introducing the market’s first radiology-based CAC solution back in 2000. Since that time, we have built a strong leadership position in working with radiologists and imaging entities to improve their coding practices. Over the years, we have established a proven track record within the radiology sector and have worked closely with thousands of radiologists to reap significant cost-savings and achieve efficiencies in their billing practices and coding efforts. At RSNA, we will share these results and benefits by demonstrating to the marketplace how A-Life’s NLP technology distinguishes us among radiology practices and throughout the industry,” said David Byrd, vice president of business development.

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

For further information, contact:
Susan J. Lewis, 303-804-0494
slewis@alifemedical.com

A-Life Medical, Inc. Unveils New Web Site

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:15:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO ... November 09, 2009 ... A-Life Medical, Inc., the pioneer and leading provider of computer-assisted coding (CAC) products and services to the healthcare industry, announced today that it has unveiled its new web site at www.alifemedical.com.

The new web site reflects the company’s broad range of computer-assisted coding products and services while highlighting its proprietary and patented Natural Language Processing (NLP) LifeCode® technology, which serves as the platform for all its coding solutions. A-Life is the only computer-assisted coding company that owns its technology and possesses a patented NLP coding engine.

The new, user-friendly site also includes various case studies and scientific papers emphasizing the benefits of CAC and NLP.

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

For further information, contact:
Susan J. Lewis, 303-804-0494
slewis@alifemedical.com

A-Life Medical, Inc. Introduces New Reconciliation Solution For Healthcare Industry

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:34:00 GMT

RecoverIt™ Designed to Maximize Revenue by Properly Reconciling Required Reimbursement Data for Prompter Processing and Payment

SAN DIEGO … October 12, 2009 … A-Life Medical, Inc., the pioneer and leading provider of computer-assisted coding (CAC) products and services to the healthcare industry, announced today that it is introducing its newest reconciliation solution, RecoverIt™.

The new RecoverIt™ product will be launched during the Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA) 2009 Fall Educational Conference to be held October 11-13, 2009 at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa in Phoenix. Demonstrations will be available at A-Life’s booth #603.
RecoverIt™, the first true reconciliation solution for the healthcare industry, is designed to automate and reconcile the charge capture process and is a fully scalable web-based tool. RecoverIt™ maximizes revenue by appropriately reconciling all necessary data required for the healthcare reimbursement process.

Targeted for any organization that directly bills for healthcare outpatient services, RecoverIt™, offers real-time visibility into the reconciliation process allowing outpatient medical billers to reconcile all healthcare information that has been processed for reimbursement. RecoverIt™ provides complete coverage of all aspects of reconciliation using a platform based on five separate modules that focus on the beginning for the revenue cycle.

RecoverIt™ expedites billing turnaround time and the recovery of unrealized reimbursement by identifying lost data and eliminating reconciliation errors such as those related to transcription and patient demographics. This product and its automated processes enables medical billers to improve relationships with hospitals and physicians; identify system problems that affect the integrity and reliability of the revenue cycle; and recognize highlighted, detailed problem areas within the billing cycle.

“Improper reconciliation in the upfront process of collecting all patient encounter data is the primarily culprit in delaying rightful revenue collection. A-Life’s RecoverIt™ solution confronts this head on by addressing the issues medical billers face when processing data for reimbursement.

“RecoverIt™ helps to omit and/or resolve charge capture errors quickly and efficiently so that physicians, groups and practices can quickly recover potential revenue lost in the charge capture process. It provides the most efficient solution currently available since it completely captures and audits the reconciliation process. We believe that RecoverIt™ will aid coders, billing clerks and those administrative personnel responsible for reimbursement obtain payments more quickly, efficiently and seamlessly,” said David Byrd, vice president, business development at A-Life Medical.

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

A-Life Medical's Hospital Subsidiary Introduces Partnership Program To Market In-patient and Facility-Based Computer-Assisted-Coding Solutions

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:03:00 GMT

First Distributor Agreement for A-Life Hospital’s Novel CAC Products Solidified

SAN DIEGO … October 05, 2009 … A-Life Medical, Inc., the pioneer and leading provider of computer-assisted coding (CAC) products and services to the healthcare industry, announced today that A-Life Hospital, its wholly owned subsidiary, introduced a new distributor program, A-Life Partners. A-Life Partners is designed to assure rapid distribution and easy market access to A-Life Hospital’s fully integrated hospital in-patient and facility-based CAC application and technology.

Under the A-Life Partners program, A-Life Hospital will identify and align with entities throughout the health information management arena that possess complementary technology to A-Life Hospital’s CAC solutions. A-Life’s solutions are built on its proprietary, patented Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology, LifeCode®, which deciphers electronic transcribed patient encounters via the Internet through its data center, which are then appropriately coded for reimbursement purposes. This significantly expedites the billing and coding process for users.

A-Life Hospital forged it first partnership under the new A-Life Partners program with Ingenix, Inc., a leading provider of health information, technology and consulting services. Ingenix will represent Actus®, A-Life Hospital’s CAC application in the marketplace and also connect it with its Ingenix Web.Strat™ encoder. Extending Ingenix’s product portfolio and combining these complementary medical coding technologies will deliver greater value to coders by helping hospitals complete billing processes faster and more accurately, ultimately accelerating payments and reducing administrative costs.

The Actus hospital-based product has been in use for about one year at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where executives from its health information management and finance team have validated significant increased coder productivity, reduced coder overtime, enhanced coding accuracy, reduced third party audit fees and realized an optimized Case Mix Index, which denotes revenue capture.

Ron Jones, senior vice president at Ingenix, said: “Our agreement with A-Life allows Ingenix’s customers easy access to the market’s leading CAC technology, which will expedite the coding process for them. Coding quality, compliance, productivity, proven market success and hospital financial returns were among the key criteria we used to evaluate CAC capabilities before choosing A-Life’s unparalleled solution. We look forward to working together to bring the market a powerful and robust CAC product.”

Tom Bang, chief executive officer at A-Life Medical, added: “A-Life Hospital, along with its partners, is committed to improving healthcare information technology and data management processes by empowering coders with complete and relevant clinical information. A-Life Medical’s patented, state-of-the art NLP, LifeCode, provides coders optimal efficiency within one application. We are pleased to align with companies such as Ingenix to further enhance the presence of our CAC solution within the coding marketplace, where users can witness firsthand the value of LifeCode and innovative solutions. Now, through our A-Life Partners program, healthcare providers have the opportunity to quickly access A-Life’s technology and improve their coding operations while optimizing reimbursements.”

About Ingenix

Ingenix, a UnitedHealth Group company (NYSE: UNH), transforms organizations and improves health care through information and technology. Organizations rely on its innovative products, services and consulting to improve the delivery and operations of their business. More information about Ingenix can be obtained at www.ingenix.com.

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

For further information, contact:
Susan J. Lewis, 303-804-0494
slewis@alifemedical.com

A-Life Medical’s Hospital Subsidiary To Present and Exhibit at 81st American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Convention and Exhibit

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:58:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO…DATE, 2009…A-Life Medical, Inc., the pioneer and leading provider of computer-assisted coding (CAC) products and services to the healthcare industry, announced today that A-Life Hospital, its wholly owned subsidiary, will exhibit and present at the upcoming 81st American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Convention and Exhibit. The convention and exhibit will be held October 3-8, 2009 at the Gaylord Texan Resort Hotel & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.

At its booth #2029, A-Life will host demonstrations featuring its leading hospital-based CAC product, Actus, which is designed for health information management. Visitors to the booth will learn about the benefits and applicability of Actus, which incorporates LifeCode, A-Life’s patented Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology. A-Life staff will be on hand to show how Actus seamlessly integrates with industry encoders, streamlines ICD-9-cm and CPT code assignment and increases productivity through advanced, automated workflow. Additionally, visitors can see how traceability is incorporated through LifeCode to ensure compliance.

In addition to the exhibit, A-Life’s Vice President of NLP and New Technologies Mark Morsch will deliver a presentation during the convention, entitled: “Computer Assisted Coding with Standard Documents Types – Advancing Best Practice in Health Information Management.” The presentation is scheduled for Saturday, October 3rd at 1:00 P.M. as part of the Clinical Coding Community Meeting and will be held in the Texas Ballroom #4-6 room. Morsch’s presentation will focus on the synergy between standard document types and CAC. Attendees of Morsch’s presentation can expect to better understand the role that standard electronic documents can have in the CAC workflow, based upon implementation experience. Through examples, they can learn how to appreciate the differences between standard and non-standard electronic documents and identify best practices in implementing CAC technology with both standard and non-standard electronic documents.

At A-Life, Morsch leads a team of computer scientists, linguists and coding experts who work together to develop computer-assisted coding technologies. He is an expert in NLP-based computer-assisted coding applications and has spent considerable time researching, writing and presenting on the effective use of CAC in the healthcare industry.

A-Life Medical, Inc. - AHIMA Convention and Exhibition Participation

Also during the AHIMA convention and exhibit, health information managers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) will be presenting case study results from its deployment of A-Life Hospital’s CAC product and the return on investment received as a result. Their experiences and financial findings include increased coder productivity, reduced coder overtime, enhanced coding accuracy, reduced third-party audit fees and case mix index optimization. The UPMC presentations will be held on Saturday, October 3, from 3:00- 4:15 pm., also in the Texas Ballroom #4.

“The AHIMA conference is an excellent platform where experts throughout the health information management arena are able to gather, converse and collaborate on advancements and successes across health information technology, data management and other key areas. We are pleased to participate as both an exhibitor and presenter at the upcoming AHIMA conference,” Morsch said.

About AHIMA

AHIMA is the premier association of health information management (HIM) professionals. Its 53,000+ members are dedicated to the effective management of personal health information required to deliver quality healthcare to the public. Founded in 1928 to improve the quality of medical records, AHIMA is committed to advancing the HIM profession in an increasingly electronic and global environment through leadership in advocacy, education, certification, and lifelong learning.

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

For further information, contact:
Susan J. Lewis, 303-804-0494
slewis@alifemedical.com

A-Life Medical, Inc. To Exhibit At The American College of Emergency Physician (ACEP) Scientific Assembly

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:42:00 GMT

Company to Showcase its Leading, Custom Coding Product, Actus for EM, During Industry Exhibition

WHO:		A-Life Medical, Inc., the pioneer in and leading provider of computer-assisted coding (CAC) products and services for the healthcare industry.
WHAT:		A-Life Medical to Showcase its CAC Capabilities to the Emergency Medicine Marketplace at leading industry trade association platform.
WHERE:		OCTOBER 5- 7, 2009 AMERICAN COLLEGE OF EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN (ACEP) SCIENTIFIC ASSEMBLY Boston Convention & Exhibition Center 415 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210 BOOTH 602
WHY:		CAC is a growing component within the healthcare information management, technology and reimbursement sector. During this convention, A-Life will be demonstrating its Actus for Emergency Medicine (a component of its Actus Application Suite). The Actus application is a patented computerized coding and workflow management tool that can increase coder productivity by up to 350% through improved coding automation, consistency and compliance. The emergency medicine application allows emergency medicine physicians and those engaged in billing for this sector to appropriately code claims more efficiently, accurately and quickly.
ABOUT:		A-Life Medical pioneered the CAC sector. The company uses its proprietary and patented Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology to decipher electronic transcribed patient encounters via the Internet through its data center, which are then appropriately coded for reimbursement purposes. A-Life’s solutions address medical coding needs within the radiology, emergency medicine, pathology, cardiology and hospital sectors. The company processes more than five million transactions monthly, has thousands of users and provides coding services to more than 40,000 physicians nationwide. Its customers include medical billing companies, physician groups, university medical centers and hospitals.
CONTACT:		Susan Lewis, slewis@alifemedical.com, 303-804-0494

A-Life Medical Chief Financial Officer Named CFO of the Year by San Diego Business Journal

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:22:00 GMT

Diego, California – August 31, 2009 – A-Life Medical, Inc., the pioneer and leading provider of computer-assisted coding products and services to the healthcare industry, announced today that Jaye Connolly, who serves as chief financial officer and chief operating officer, has been named CFO of the Year in the private company category of the 2009 San Diego Business Journal (SDBJ) CFO of the Year awards program.

Winners of the third annual SDBJ CFO of the Year awards were selected according to company size and span each of the following categories: nonprofit, government agency, private company and public company. Nominees were judged on criteria that included: contribution to financial growth, positive impact on other areas of the organization, career achievement, personal character and community involvement.

Robert Gellman, managing director at CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE: CBZ), a professional services company providing a comprehensive range of business services, nominated Connolly for the award. He commented on her win, stating: “I believe this award is a very well deserved accomplishment. Jaye continually demonstrates a broad strategic focus, clearly defined direction and a strong sense of leadership.

“Under her direction, A-Life’s portfolio of products and services has reached new levels. In her role as CFO, Jaye continually operates at a strategic level beyond that required of a typical CFO and in doing so, earned her the well-deserved promotion to the additional post of COO earlier this year. Since joining A-Life, Jaye’s contributions have added significant value to the company’s stakeholders. We congratulate Jaye and A-Life on this esteemed achievement.”

Connolly joined A-Life in 2005 as chief financial officer and was promoted to the additional post of chief operating officer in 2009, managing all day-to-day activities of A-Life Medical. Connolly has extensive finance and merger and acquisition experience having worked at six publicly traded corporations as well as with both start-up and IPO companies. During her career, she led 18 accretive acquisitions adding more than $1.0 billion to revenue. For more than 25 years, Connolly demonstrated leadership across a variety of roles spanning the healthcare sector including those in diagnostic imaging, clinical laboratory, physician practice management and hospital services. Before joining A-Life Medical, Connolly served as vice president of business development/mergers and acquisitions at InSight Health Corp. and director of internal audit at Laboratory Corp. of America.

Connolly holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Texas Tech University. She resides in San Diego.

San Diego-based A-Life Medical, Inc. is the pioneer and leading provider of computer-assisted coding products and services for the healthcare industry. Using its proprietary and patented Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology, A-Life deciphers electronic transcribed patient encounters via the Internet through its data center, which are then appropriately coded for reimbursement purposes.

A-Life’s solutions address medical coding needs within the radiology, emergency medicine, pathology, cardiology and hospital sectors. The company processes more than five million transactions monthly, has thousands of users and provides coding services to more than 40,000 physicians nationwide. Its customers include medical billing companies, physician groups, university medical centers and hospitals. For more information, please visit www.alifemedical.com.

Contact:
Michael Gans
A-Life Medical
Tel: 888-224-6300
mgans@alifemedical.com

A-Life Medical Announces Appointment of Linda Wiedeman as Senior Account Manager

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:25:00 GMT

San Diego, California – June 10, 2009 – A-Life Medical, the nation’s largest healthcare provider of Natural Language Processing (NLP) solutions and Computer Assisted Coding applications, appointed Linda Wiedeman to the position of Senior Account Manager – Western Region. Linda will be responsible for working with A-Life Medical clients in the Western Region to ensure client and market satisfaction for A-Life’s product solutions.

Linda is a registered Radiologic Technologist (RT) and also holds Radiology Coding Certification (RCC). She has over 20 years experience working in hospital imaging departments, performing radiography, CT and interventional procedures. She also has extensive experience working with hospital charge masters, procedure coding and billing processes. Prior to joining A-Life Medical, Linda spent 6 years at Zotec Partners, formerly Health Management Partners, a Southern California radiology-focused billing company, serving as the Director of Coding.

"Linda’s radiology and coding backgrounds make her an ideal candidate to ensure A-Life’s clients receive maximum revenue cycle benefits from A-Life’s patented, computer-assisted coding software,” commented Jaye Connolly, Chief Operating Officer of A-Life Medical. “Her unique skill set will be a tremendous asset for our Western Region clients.”

A-Life Medical’s coding product streamlines and simplifies the work done by human coders. Using A-Life’s sophisticated NLP technology, which reads and understands English and medical terminology, the system analyzes text-based medical records throughout a dozen data sources. The system provides coders with recommended ICD-9-CM codes, principal diagnosis, possible complications and co-morbidities. It improves audit outcomes by producing automatic audit trails and links to documented evidence for each code selected. Integrated with an existing electronic medical record system of a client’s choice, A-Life’s coding product helps coders navigate the increasing regulatory complexity healthcare organizations and their staff must deal with.

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

A-Life Medical Inc., a privately held technology company based in San Diego, CA, is the leading provider of Natural Language Processing (NLP) based solutions for the healthcare industry. A-Life Medical’s products extract meaning from unstructured free text and automate tedious, complicated and labor intensive tasks. A-Life Medical’s mission is to provide world-class solutions to streamline and computerize the code to collection process while fundamentally advancing the way the healthcare industry gathers, applies and reports on patient information. A-Life Medical is the leading NLP provider for computer-assisted coding and billing product solutions for the healthcare industry. For more information about A-Life Medical and its products, call 888.224.6300 or visit www.alifemedical.com.

Contact:
Michael Gans
A-Life Medical
Tel: 888-224-6300
mgans@alifemedical.com

A-Life Medical Announces Appointment of David Byrd as Vice President of Business Development

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:03:00 GMT

San Diego, California – June 4, 2009 – A-Life Medical, the nation’s largest provider of Natural Language Processing (NLP) solutions and Computer Assisted Coding applications, appointed David Byrd to the newly created position of Vice President of Business Development. In a position demanded by A-Life’s continual growth of both clients and employees, David will drive client and market satisfaction by expanding A-Life’s sales and NLP product reach into further segments of the healthcare market.

Prior to rejoining A-Life Medical, David spent 18 months at Language & Computing, Inc. where he was Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Before that he was Vice President of Sales and Marketing at A-Life Medical for seven years.

David is eager to grow A-Life’s NLP solutions and coding offerings, saying; “A-Life is a fast paced, forward thinking high-tech organization. It’s exciting to be part of a company that shows extreme passion for our customers and markets, but with a professionalism that exist in more traditional industries.”

A-Life Medical’s coding product streamlines and simplifies the work done by human coders. Using A-Life’s sophisticated NLP technology, which reads and understands English and medical terminology, allowing the system to analyze text-based medical records throughout a dozen data sources. A-Life’s system provides coders with recommended ICD-9-CM codes, principal diagnosis, possible complications and co-morbidities. It improves audit outcomes by producing automatic audit trails and links to documented evidence for each code selected. Integrated with an existing electronic medical record system of a client’s choice, A-Life’s coding product helps coders navigate the regulatory complexity created by the introduction of Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Groups (MS-DRGs).

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

Contact:
Michael Gans
A-Life Medical
Tel: 888-224-6300
mgans@alifemedical.com

A-Life Medical Announces Acquisition of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Stake in Partner A-Life Hospital to Offer Computer Assisted Coding Directly to the Inpatient Market

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Tue, 19 May 2009 10:11:00 GMT

San Diego, California – May 19, 2009 – A-Life Medical, Inc. today announced the acquisition of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s interest in A-Life Hospital Coding, LLC. Tom Bang, President and CEO, A-Life Medical, will head the A-Life Hospital entity. Jaye Connolly has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, A-Life Medical, in combination with her existing role as Chief Financial Officer and will manage A-Life Medical’s day to day operations. A-Life Medical is the leading Natural Language Processing (NLP) provider for Computer Assisted Coding and Billing product solutions in the healthcare industry.

With this strategic acquisition, A-Life Medical extends the reach of their patented NLP engine, LifeCode®, into the inpatient hospital coding domain. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) will continue as the national showcase and customer reference site for A-Life Hospital’s Computer Assisted Coding product. The acquisition, made possible through shareholder support and assistance from the San Diego-based banking team at Bank of America, further expands A-Life Medical’s market leadership, with the addition of outpatient facility coding.

“Our unique partnership with UPMC combined the expertise required for developing a hospital-based Computer Assisted Coding product, with the industry’s most advanced NLP engine, and the extensive clinical and health information management experience needed to identify and address users’ needs.” said A-Life Medical’s CEO, Tom Bang. “The product, which incorporates the latest generation of our patented NLP LifeCode® engine, has exceeded our expectations in enhancing coder productivity and accuracy, while improving compliance and audit outcomes, resulting in a very compelling ROI. Working together with our partners, A-Life employees have demonstrated their commitment to delivering highly robust and efficient solutions that meet the demands of hospitals in these unprecedented economic times.”

A-Life’s hospital coding product streamlines and simplifies the work done by human coders. Using A-Life’s sophisticated NLP technology, which reads and understands English and medical terminology; the system analyzes text-based medical records throughout a dozen data sources. The system provides coders with recommended ICD-9-CM codes, principal diagnosis, possible complications and co-morbidities. It improves audit outcomes by producing automatic audit trails and links to documented evidence for each code selected. Integrated with the hospital’s existing electronic medical record system of choice, A-Life’s hospital coding product helps coders navigate the regulatory complexity created by the introduction of Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Groups (MS-DRGs) in 2007.

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

A-Life Medical Inc., a privately held technology company based in San Diego, CA, is the leading provider of Natural Language Processing (NLP) based solutions for the healthcare industry. A-Life Medical’s products extract meaning from unstructured free text and automate tedious, complicated and labor intensive tasks. A-Life Medical’s mission is to provide world-class solutions to streamline and computerize the code to collection process while fundamentally advancing the way the healthcare industry gathers, applies and reports on patient information. A-Life Medical is the leading NLP provider for computer assisted coding and billing product solutions for the healthcare industry. For more information about A-Life Medical and its products, call 888.224.6300 or visit www.alifemedical.com.

Contact:
Michael Gans
A-Life Medical
Tel: 888-224-6300
mgans@alifemedical.com

A-Life Hospital Implements First ICODE™ Customer for Inpatient Hospital Computer Assisted Coding

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:19:00 GMT

San Diego, California – October 13, 2008 – In an effort to dramatically improve the accuracy, consistency and productivity of inpatient hospital coding, A-Life Hospital deployed its new ICODE medical coding software at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) on September 8, 2008. UPMC is one of the nation’s largest and most well-regarded academic medical centers. A-Life Hospital will be demonstrating the market ready ICODE software at the 80th Annual AHIMA Convention and Exhibit in Seattle, Washington from October 13-15, 2008 at booth number 1209.

Leveraging the combined strengths of A-Life Medical and UPMC, the A-Life Hospital partnership has extended the patented LifeCode® Natural Language Processing (NLP) engine into the inpatient hospital coding realm. This second generation of LifeCode® delivers superior performance to meet and exceed the rigors of inpatient hospital coding, delivering NLP to multi-EMR, multi-document hospital environments. The true strength of the A-Life Hospital partnership is that it combines the expertise required for developing a superior hospital-based NLP engine with the vast clinical workflow experience required for identifying and addressing a HIM operation’s needs.

“Our newest A-Life product, which incorporates the latest generation of our patented NLP LifeCode® engine, is changing the way hospitals and their coding professionals process detailed physician notes and patient records to support the growing complexity of the acute care billing process,” said A-Life Medical Chief Executive Officer Tom Bang. “By enhancing coder productivity and accuracy, while improving compliance and audit outcomes, this tool will create healthier bottom lines for our hospital customers. Our employees have once again demonstrated their commitment and the extensive capabilities of the patented LifeCode® technology.”

ICODE is currently deployed in five UPMC facilities, including the flagship UPMC Presbyterian and Shadyside Hospitals, as well as UPMC Montefiore, UPMC Southside, and UPMC Eye and Ear. Additional facilities deploying the ICODE product in 2009 include other UPMC hospitals such as Magee Women’s Hospital of UPMC.

Using A-Life’s sophisticated NLP technology, which reads and understands ordinary English and medical terminology, ICODE rapidly analyzes text-based medical records throughout multiple data sources. The system provides coders with recommended ICD-9-CM codes, principal diagnosis, possible complications, and co-morbidities. ICODE improves audit outcomes by producing automatic audit trails and links to documentary evidence for each code selected. Integrated with the hospital’s existing electronic medical record systems, ICODE helps coders navigate the regulatory complexity created by the introduction of Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Groups (MS-DRGs) in 2007, and will provide much needed support for hospitals as they prepare for RAC audits in 2008 and beyond. “Our coding and management teams are delighted with ICODE as it assists in our coders’ accuracy, consistency and efficiency. In this era of increased compliance scrutiny, complexity, and looming RAC audits, ICODE also provides a reproducible record of coding decisions to support our claims,” said Dr. Adele Towers, UPMC Medical Director, HIM.

The partnership with A-Life Medical was established after an extensive review by UPMC of all available competitive NLP technologies in the health care space. A-Life Medical’s NLP was found to be both robust and accurate by leading academic experts in language technologies. Rebecca Kaul, President of A-Life Hospital reveals, “We are lucky to have two tremendous partners who combined provide A-Life Hospital with superior Natural Language Processing technology and sophisticated coding practices to optimize the workflow capabilities resulting in a first class product unlike any other.”

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

A-Life Medical Inc., a privately held medical informatics company based in San Diego, CA, is the leading provider of Natural Language Processing (NLP) based solutions for the healthcare industry. A-Life Medical’s products extract meaning from unstructured free text and automate tedious, complicated and labor intensive tasks. A-Life Medical’s mission is to provide world-class solutions to streamline and computerize the code to collection process and to fundamentally advance the way the healthcare industry gathers, applies and reports on patient information. A-Life Medical is the market leader in computer-assisted coding solutions for billing services companies and physician groups. For more information about A-Life Medical and its products, call 888.224.6300 or visit www.alifemedical.com.

About the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is the largest integrated health care enterprise in Pennsylvania and one of the leading nonprofit health systems in the country. It has appeared eight times on the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll of “America’s Best Hospitals,” most recently earning 13th position in 2007. Widely recognized for its innovations in patient care, research, technology and health care management, UPMC has transformed the economic landscape in western Pennsylvania. The region’s largest employer, with 48,000 employees and nearly $7 billion in revenue, UPMC comprises 20 tertiary, specialty and community hospitals, 400 outpatient sites and doctors’ offices, retirement and long-term care facilities, an insurance plan with more than 1 million members, and commercial and international ventures. About 5,000 physicians are affiliated with UPMC, including more than 2,400 employed physicians. For more information, visit www.upmc.com.

Contact:
Rebecca Kaul
A-Life Hospital
Tel: 412-473-6909
kaulrl@alifehospital.com

A-Life Medical Announces ICODE™ to Automate Hospital Coding

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:26:00 GMT

San Diego, California – February 21, 2008 – In an effort to dramatically improve the accuracy, consistency and productivity of hospital coding, A-Life Medical announced that its A-Life Hospital partnership will be deploying its new ICODE medical coding software this summer at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), one of the nation's largest and most well-regarded academic medical centers. A-Life will be demonstrating the new ICODE product at the HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) conference in Orlando, Florida, February 24th-28th, 2008 at booth number 6981.

ICODE, which uses the power of Natural Language Processing (NLP), was developed by A-Life Hospital, a partnership between A-Life Medical and UPMC. A-Life Medical, Inc., a privately held medical informatics company based in San Diego, CA, is the market leader in computer-assisted coding solutions for billing services companies and physician groups. This partnership combines the expertise required for developing a hospital-based computer-assisted coding tool, including a superior NLP engine, and the vast clinical experience and documentation required for identifying and addressing users' needs.

"This new A-Life product, which incorporates the latest generation of our patented NLP LifeCode® engine, will forever change the way hospitals and their coding professionals process detailed physician notes and patient records to support the growing complexity of the acute care billing process," said A-Life Medical Chief Executive Officer Tom Bang. "By enhancing coder productivity and accuracy, while improving compliance and audit outcomes, we believe that this tool will create healthier bottom lines for our hospital customers. Our employees have once again demonstrated their commitment and the extensive capabilities of the A-Life NLP LifeCode technology."

ICODE, which will be deployed throughout UPMC, is designed to streamline and simplify the work done by human coders. Using A-Life's sophisticated NLP technology, which reads and understands ordinary English and medical terminology, ICODE rapidly analyzes text-based medical records throughout multiple data sources. The system then provides coders with recommended ICD-9-CM codes, principal diagnosis, possible complications and co-morbidities. ICODE improves audit outcomes by producing automatic audit trails and links to documented evidence for each code selected. Integrated with the hospital's existing electronic medical record system of choice, ICODE helps coders navigate the regulatory complexity created by the introduction of Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Groups (MS-DRGs) in 2007.

"We're excited about the advantages that ICODE will bring to our coders, our hospitals and ultimately to our patients because the efficiencies we expect to achieve will allow us to have more resources to reinvest in world-class patient care," said Nancy Soso, Director of Health Information Management Operations at UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside and UPMC South Side hospitals. The partnership with A-Life Medical was established after an extensive review by UPMC of all available competitive NLP technologies in the health care space. A-Life Medical's NLP was found to be both robust and accurate by leading academic experts in language technologies.

In addition, A-Life Medical announced that it has fully released its latest radiology coding product, Actus 6.0, which includes the industry's first Automated Procedure Mapping tool for Interventional Radiology procedures. Actus 6.0 and APM are currently being deployed throughout A-Life Medical's customer base. This is currently the largest installed base of physician groups and billing service companies using NLP computer assisted coding. A-Life Medical's continued investments in Actus 6.0 further extend its competitive product performance and demonstrate its continued leadership and commitment to the radiology market.

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

A-Life Medical is the leading provider of Natural Language Processing (NLP) based solutions for the healthcare industry. A-Life Medical's products extract meaning from unstructured free text and automate tedious, complicated and labor intensive tasks. A-Life Medical's mission is to provide world-class solutions to streamline and computerize the code to collection process and to fundamentally advance the way the healthcare industry gathers, applies and reports on patient information. A-Life Medical is a private company headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information about A-Life Medical and its products, call 888.224.6300 or visit www.alifemedical.com.

About the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is the largest integrated health care enterprise in Pennsylvania and one of the leading nonprofit health systems in the country. It has appeared eight times on the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll of "America's Best Hospitals," most recently earning 13th position in 2007. Widely recognized for its innovations in patient care, research, technology and health care management, UPMC has transformed the economic landscape in western Pennsylvania. The region's largest employer, with 48,000 employees and nearly $7 billion in revenue, UPMC comprises 20 tertiary, specialty and community hospitals, 400 outpatient sites and doctors' offices, retirement and long-term care facilities, an insurance plan with more than 1 million members, and commercial and international ventures. About 5,000 physicians are affiliated with UPMC, including more than 2,400 employed physicians. For more information, visit www.upmc.com.

Contact:
Rebecca Kaul
A-Life Hospital
Tel: 412-473-6909
kaulrl@alifehospital.com

A-Life Medical Introduces Actus 6.0 With Automated Procedure Mapping

A-Life Medical, Inc. — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:30:00 GMT

San Diego, California – September 18, 2007 – A-Life Medical, Inc., the leading provider of Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology and enabling technologies for the healthcare industry, today announced the release of Actus® 6.0, the newest version of their automated coding software application, with patent-pending Automated Procedure Mapping (APM) technology. A-Life Medical, a certified Microsoft partner is the leading provider of Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology and enabling technologies for the healthcare industry.

Actus® 6.0 is a milestone release for A-Life Medical’s customers, which integrates their patent-pending Automated Procedure Mapping (APM) technology and provides significant new feature functionality to streamline the code to collection process for increased efficiencies, additional revenue capture and increased compliance.

The integration of APM with A-Life Medical’s powerful patented NLP engine, LifeCode® systematically and visually unravels the way complicated procedures are reviewed and processed by medical coders. A-Life Medical’s interventional radiology product will be the first application enabled with APM. This animated technology allows for new levels of efficiency and charge capture for complicated procedural coding to increase efficiencies, compliance accuracy and revenue in the medical billing environment. APM was designed to further enhance A-Life Medical’s robust and accurate interventional radiology product while transitioning the Actus® Application Suite into new medical specialties. APM displays an anatomical mapping from the dictated invasive procedure as performed by the physician, allowing the medical coder to visually review what was processed and interpreted by the patented LifeCode® engine.

Actus® 6.0 has been fully upgraded with new functionality to increase speed to bill, reduce denials and account receivable days through rich feature functionality, such as multiple document display and real-time productivity analysis. The unique combination of advanced workflow and integrated toolsets delivers up to 300% productivity and performance gains for medical coders working in a variety of disciplines, including radiology, emergency medicine, pathology and other medical specialties.

"The appeal of A-Life Medical products has always been based upon our patented advanced technology, LifeCode®”, said Tom Bang, President and CEO of A-Life Medical. “Actus® 6.0 provides significant user enhancements and richer application functionality, with a focus on ease of use in a complicated environment. Our patent-pending APM allows our users to actually see these complicated procedures in an anatomical display. We’re very proud of the work from our A-Life Medical team and with all our customers’ input during this development process. Through this collaboration we are delighted to provide a unique solution that will further simplify and enhance our customer’s everyday tasks.”

A-Life Medical products strengthen the capabilities and performance of medical coders by automating the code to collection process. Significant feature functionality has been leveraged through cutting-edge technology in Actus® 6.0 which will redefine how the healthcare industry routes, reviews and codes medical records. The Actus® Application Suite combines forward thinking solutions with patented LifeCode® technology to maximize reimbursement while ensuring compliance.

About A-Life Medical, Inc.

A-Life Medical is the leading provider of Natural Language Processing (NLP) based solutions for the healthcare industry. A-Life Medical’s products extract meaning from unstructured free text and automate tedious, complicated and labor intensive tasks. A-Life Medical’s mission is to provide world-class solutions to streamline and computerize the code to collection process and to fundamentally advance the way the healthcare industry gathers, applies and reports on patient information. A-Life Medical is a private company headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information about A-Life Medical and its products, call 888.224.6300 or visit A-Life Medical’s website at www.alifemedical.com.

Contact:
Michael Gans
A-Life Medical
Tel: 888-224-6300
mgans@alifemedical.com

A-Life Medical News & Events

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American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)

Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA ANI)

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HBMA Fall Annual Conference

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)

HBMA Spring Educational Conference

RBMA Fall Educational Conference

Radiology Coding Mechanics Course

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