Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center is in the process of updating its computer software system and preparing for the Affordable Care Act by digitizing patient records.
Southwest Health System CEO Norman Price said at Tuesday’s city board work session that the hospital is putting all of its records into an electronic database, which is required by the new federal health care law.
The system allows patient data to be available at the touch of a button, whether that be on the hospital staff’s computer or a tablet.
It also allows prescriptions to be sent directly to the pharmacy through the same database.
“It is $15 million for a new computer system for Obamacare,” Price said. “It is $7 million a year for every year we are not in compliance.”
Price said the hospital will get a $7 million reimbursement from the feds if the system is up and running by November.
He said the hospital is in compliance so far and working out the kinks.
He said the digital conversion of patient records is one of the first steps to the impending Affordable Care Act.
He said he expects all aspects of the Affordable Care Act to be in effect by 2020.
In a related matter, Price said he is concerned about new rules that would lower federal payments hospitals receive for covering uninsured patients.
More people are expected to have health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act, and if the government reimbursement for treating those patients is lowered, hospitals will lose money, Price said.
“Public hospitals are the ones that will hurt the most with this,” he said.
He said there is a best- and a worst-case scenario.
“If you look at the worst case and the best case, the worst case isn’t very pretty,” he said.
He said the hospital could lose up to $8 million annually for treating uninsured patients.
“We are looking at having to restructure things like fringe benefits and things like that,” Price said. “We are going to do our best to try to avoid cutbacks, but $8 million is a big pill to swallow when you have that cut out of your budget.”
He said it isn’t time to panic, however.
“I don’t want to push the panic button on the cuts that are coming,” Price said. “We will push the panic button when we haven’t met our goals. Our goal is that there will be no effect.”
He said he hopes to have things sorted out in the next few years.
“By 2015 we will have it figured out so that we can stay where we are in terms of jobs,” Price said.
However, he believes the hospital will weather the storm eventually.
“We will survive it,” he said. “It’s not time to be Chicken Little and say the sky is falling.”
In other business, the board also heard comments from Master Meter Systems about the automated water meters installed in the city and related software.
Representatives described how the automated meters are constructed and how they should function.
City officials said some of the meters aren’t working properly.
Master Meter representative Robert Peterson said the company is going to inspect the meters and teach city officials how to fix any other problems that may arise. That work is covered under warranty.
“We are going to take the time to make sure McComb is benefitting from these meters,” he said.
Master Meter technicians are expected to work with city employees in June.
The 6,000 meters were originally installed by Seimens Industry Inc., which had a $4.5 million contract.
When the meters weren’t installed on time and didn’t function correctly, the city took legal action against the company.
The city reached a $2.5 million settlement with Seimens in October 2012.
