SAN ANTONIO – WellMed Medical Management is implementing ikaSystems' ikaEnterprise to create a system that will interface with all its clinical tools and best processes and strategies.

By automating processes, WellMed will be able to deliver administrative efficiency, lowered business risk and improved quality, said Bill Connolly, senior vice president of Shared Services for WellMed.

The physician-owned practice management company serves Medicare Advantage patients and is its own health plan. Don Bonacci, WellMed CIO, said the company's focus is on ensuring that its patients are getting healthier.

"We want to make sure that we're getting the necessary information on patients and bringing it back to the providers," he said. "The design and integrity of ikaSystems is conducive to meeting our goals."

ikaSystems' suite of Medicare applications will enable WellMed to improve its data analysis and reporting, Bonacci said.

While the company has excelled at business processes and strategies, Connolly said WellMed can continue to grow with the same level of staff to maintain administrative efficiency with ikaSystems platform, which will be integrated with WellMed's practice management and electronic medical record systems.

"Our intent in this environment and in the future is to grow," Bonacci said. "This product, and when carefully implemented, will deliver great total cost of ownership."

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, or UPMC, a long-term ikaSystems partner, is experiencing a minimum 30 percent growth per year in Medicare members, said CIO Ed McCallister. The health plan has been able to maintain staffing levels despite growth due to ikaSystems.

Healthcare IT traditionally has been an enabler for business strategy, he said. It is now a joint solution in parallel with the business side, he said.

While the industry continues to struggle with ROI on disease management programs, "you just can't stop investing" on healthcare IT, which helps control costs, said Lynne Dunbrack, program director of Health Industry Insights.