For Immediate Release
Contact:
Joy Scott
Scott Public Relations
818.610.0270x19
joy@scottpublicrelations.com

Medrium and Emergenuity Collaborate to Help Beleaguered Emergency Departments

Morristown, N.J. - April 14, 2008 - Helping hospital emergency departments improve overcrowding and recoup millions of dollars in lost payments is the goal of a collaborative agreement between Medrium and Emergenuity. Medrium is one of the nation's top independent medical reimbursement companies. Emergenuity is a healthcare process management organization that uses clinical insights and data to improve the efficiency of emergency departments and other care areas of the hospital.

Today's emergency rooms and departments (ERs) are in the midst of a real crisis. According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, most (60%) of the healthcare executives surveyed say overcrowding continues to force hospitals to divert patients needing urgent medical care to other facilities. In a study published in the Journal of Health Affairs in January of this year, researchers at Harvard Medical School reported that from 1995 to 2003 there was a 78 percent jump in visits per emergency department, and that wait times for all patients, including those with heart attacks and serious health problems, continues to increase. Adding to the crisis of over-crowding, ERs are losing millions of dollars a year due to the denial of legitimate claims-often for purely technical reasons.

"The ER crisis demands collaborative and comprehensive solutions," said John Mortenson, executive vice president and COO of Medrium. "That's what our relationship with Emergenuity will bring to the table. Medrium has the specialized expertise in emergency medicine medical reimbursement, and Emergenuity has the best practice knowledge to address issues such as overcrowding and strategies to eliminate denial of claims. Together we bring the strategic perspective and the components needed for a business solution to both payment and patient care issues."

Emergenuity was founded by Dr. Todd Warden, an experienced and respected emergency medicine physician. Warden has been active in the successful management of emergency departments since 1983 and has spearheaded the process improvement initiatives of nearly 100 emergency departments and more than 1,000 physicians.

"Our country's ERs are in crisis due to overcrowding fueled by an aging population with debilitating chronic diseases, increased numbers of uninsured patients, hospital closures, and the decreasing availability of primary care," said Warden. "Over the course of my career, I've worked with scores of medical reimbursement companies. Medrium is the only one that has both an understanding of the challenges plaguing ERs and the technology to provide a real solution for the difficulties they face."

Finding ways to bring efficiency and better care to ERs is a critical step for the viability of hospitals as well as the nation's healthcare system in general. Not only do the problems faced by ERs today result in lower reimbursement and overcrowding, they also cause problems such as excessive wait-times and ambulance diversion. These issues directly affect the bottom line of hospitals because paying patients seek treatment elsewhere or simply get frustrated and leave-a step that could increase the risk of morbidity or mortality for the patient, and put the hospital at risk for a lawsuit.

Under the collaborative agreement, the clinical and management expertise of Warden and Emergenuity will join with Medrium's advanced medical reimbursement technology. This high-level technology-based consultative approach will help emergency department physicians and hospital administrations develop methodologies to identify problems and bottlenecks that lead to denial of claims, overcrowding, and poor patient care. As a result, the emergency department will operate more efficiently, claim denials will be reduced and reimbursement will increase.

For more information on comprehensive targeted solutions for ERs, contact Medrium's Mortenson at (877) 633-7486.

About Medrium

Medrium, one of the nation's top independent medical reimbursement companies, offers the strength of a national company with a personalized, local focus. Using the healthcare industry's most dynamic software, Medrium drives physician revenues to new levels by automating medical billing and maximizing payment for emergency and radiology physicians, large medical groups, individual practices, and other billing firms that choose to become Medrium companies. With Medrium, transactions are transparent - physicians know the status of each claim, at any time. And, Medrium reports generate the valuable information that physicians and administrators need to manage their practices profitably. With corporate offices in Morristown, New Jersey, Medrium also maintains operations centers in Bakersfield, California and Cherry Hill, New Jersey. For more information about Medrium, visit www.medrium.com.

About Emergenuity

Emergenuity is a healthcare consulting company that exclusively manages Emergency Department Over-Crowding (EDO) utilizing three arms of their practice: 1) Re-design and Re-configure Processes of Care; 2) Informatics and Metrics and 3) Electronic Decision Support Tools. Todd Warden MD, a residency-trained Emergency Medicine Physician, founded Emergenuity in 1999. Warden has 25 years of ED management experience and has had "hands on" management involvement with over 100 EDs nationally and over 1,000 ED physicians. Emergenuity is based in Woodbury, New Jersey. For additional information call, 609-238-9644 or visit online at www.emergenuity.com.