Clearwave Supports MGMA's SwipeIT Campaign

Clearwave supports MGMA’s SwipeIT campaign to promote the adoption of standardized patient identification cards containing HIPAA-compliant, machine-readable information. MGMA estimates that machine-readable patient ID cards will save practices more than $1 billion a year. Focusing on the same goal to reduce health care administrative costs, Clearwave provides real-time patient insurance eligibility information at the point of service.

Widespread adoption of magnetic patient ID cards alone will not solve all of the issues during the check-in process; redundancies must be built into the solution to address the following:

1. insurance companies adopt different standards
2. insurance companies decide not to issue magnetic stripe cards
3. patients don’t carry their card
4. patients’ magnetic stripe card is damaged
5. self-pay and uninsured patients

Clearwave has addressed all of the above items by creating a universal kiosk machine that allows patients with a magnetic stripe card, paper card or no card to successfully check-in without the assistance of office staff.

Once the information enters the Clearwave network, we perform a real-time eligibility check and return the payer’s response to the front desk’s computers. Front desk personnel can now accurately collect amounts for co-payments, co-insurance and remaining deductible before the patient leaves the office. Alleviating data entry errors, Clearwave also reduces a practice’s denied claims because the claim is submitted clean the first time.

Like MGMA, Clearwave is committed to advancing the health care industry by reducing costs and improving inefficiencies. Clearwave’s customers are able to collect more from the patient at the point of care, and on the back end, the office receives faster reimbursement from the payers.