The T-System acquisition of PMA closed a few days ago, and we are diligently working through all of the details. This is an important investment, and we are carefully evaluating all situations to determine the best plan for our clients. Below are answers to frequently asked questions about the acquisition.
Q: What were the mutually compelling reasons for the deal?
The revenue cycle market is large and provides a tremendous new growth opportunity for T-System. By combining documentation solutions and revenue cycle services, T-System and PMA can together enhance both front-end documentation processes and the back-office coding/billing operations. This purchase is a great chance to expand the offerings provided both to T-System and PMA clients.
Q: Who is PMA?
PMA is a company that specializes in providing medical coding and billing services. Similar to T-System in background and age, PMA was founded by an emergency medicine physician 11 years ago. The company is based in Williamsburg, VA.
Q: Who is T-System?
T-System, Inc. sets the industry standard for clinical, business and IT solutions for emergency medicine, with more than 40 percent of the nation's emergency departments using T System solutions. To meet the individual needs of hospitals and health systems, T System offers both paper and electronic systems. These tools help clinicians provide better patient care, while improving efficiency and the bottom line. Today, more than 1,700 of 4,000 EDs in the U.S. rely on T System's gold-standard content and workflow solutions.
Q: When does the purchase become effective?
January 6, 2012
Q: What does the acquisition mean for T-System clients?
The acquisition allows us to extend our market presence and provide a single vendor solution for the emergency department. Hospitals and providers are under significant financial stress due to growing patient volume, lost revenue and high costs. Looming industry changes such as ICD-10 will intensify these pressures. The acquisition will enable T-System to offer clients solutions that solve for these potential revenue and productivity losses, eroding reimbursement and the impending coding staff shortage. In other words, T-System will be uniquely positioned to connect the upstream clinical documentation processes with downstream coding and billing processes – something no other vendor has addressed adequately.
Q: What does this deal mean for PMA clients?
PMA will continue to focus on delivering its current services to its client base with no disruption or change. T-System will be able to bring additional products and services to the PMA client base over time.
Q: Will PMA remain in Williamsburg, VA and in its current offices?
Yes
Q: Will T-System remain in Dallas, TX and in its current offices?
Yes
Q: How does the acquisition affect the healthcare industry?
The combination of T-System and PMA makes us the only company that can provide a solution to directly tie ED documentation with ED coding and billing. T-System can modify documentation based on real-time feedback from coders, and we can automate substantial parts of the coding/billing process. As a result, we can profoundly change both the quality of documentation and coding, which will lead to more accurate billing and better revenue capture. We will also be able to reduce the cost of coding/billing over time.