Excelas was fortunate to attend and sponsor the DRI Nursing Home/ALF Litigation Seminar in Chicago this September. As a provider of medical record organization and analysis to healthcare organizations and their legal representatives, we look forward to this event each year.

The seminar was well-orchestrated and packed full of relevant sessions that gave us insight into how we are serving our clients in the long-term care space. We heard from many industry experts about the challenges ahead, from evolving regulatory initiatives to the rise of mega verdicts and settlements. We also learned about trends in LTC litigation and recent trial outcomes.

Lily Hummel of the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) provided us with some particularly helpful information. Her session, The Next Frontier—Emerging Issues Facing the Assisted Living Industry and the Push for National Standards, was especially timely for us given the increase in assisted living work we saw in 2019.

One of the recurring topics discussed in several of the sessions we attended was the importance of early risk assessment for resolving claims and litigation. Evaluation of medical records is one of the first steps in this process and should be completed promptly. Legal teams need access to complete, accurate, and organized medical information if they want to be in a better position to make informed decisions about their defense strategy.

This is where Excelas adds value to the process: years of experience in medical record expertise. Our ability to quickly retrieve, sort, summarize, and analyze medical documentation ultimately allows our clients to be more efficient and effective.

Attending the DRI seminar lets us know what we’re doing well, but it also helps us identify opportunities to improve our processes, products, or services. Our Staffing Scorecard is something we developed after attending last year’s seminar, for example. A session on the CMS implementation of payroll-based journal data requirements inspired us to create a tool for helping skilled nursing facilities understand and use their publicly documented staffing levels.

What new products or service will come out of this year’s seminar? We do have a couple of things up our sleeve, but for now you’ll just have to stay tuned.