NAVICURE PARTNERS WITH 3M HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR MEDICAL NECESSITY AND CODING CONTENT
Physician practices can prevent allegations of fraud and abuse, enhance revenue by validating medical necessity prior to claims submission

ATLANTA and SALT LAKE CITY, October 3, 2006—Navicure, a leading provider of Web-based revenue cycle management (RCM) solutions, and 3M Health Information Systems today announced that 3M Medical Necessity Dictionaries—comprehensive tables of thousands of CPT/HCPCS procedure codes, as well as supporting ICD-9 diagnostic codes—are now available to users of Navicure’s RCM solutions. Access to this content enables users to validate medical necessity prior to claims submission, thus ensuring that claims contain accurate and consistent medical necessity documentation – at pre-service, the point of coding and post-service – to help minimize compliance risk and ensure prompt payment.

Medical necessity is a significant challenge faced by all physician practices. In order to be paid for the services they provide, practices must ensure that all procedures performed are reasonable and medically necessary. Virtually all payers – from Medicare and Medicaid to commercial insurers – identify a range of diagnoses that justify specific medical tests and treatments. If a physician’s chart notes do not document an appropriate diagnosis (i.e., medical necessity), the payer will deny the submitted claim.

Keeping track of which diagnosis supports which procedure is a monumental task. CMS establishes National Coverage Determinations (NCD), for instance, that dictate medical necessity throughout the country. Local carriers and fiscal intermediaries also create additional policies for their own coverage areas, known as Local Coverage Determinations (LCD). In addition, healthcare providers are faced with up to 500,000 unique ICD-9 and CPT/HCPCS code pairs, which are subject to policies that vary from state to state, and which can be updated quarterly, monthly or on an ad-hoc basis.

“We feel that 3M provides the industry’s most accurate, up-to-date content,” says James Denny, president and CEO of Navicure. “Our clients will benefit from access to this content in a number of ways, including the elimination of manually inspecting claims for NCD and LCD regulatory requirements, which is a tremendous administrative burden.”

3M Medical Necessity Dictionaries, which are developed and maintained by an extensive network of healthcare policy specialists, certified coders, nurses, billing experts and informatics professionals, include:

“We’re extremely pleased to be partnered with Navicure,” said Adel Dimian, Business Unit Manager for 3M Health Information Systems’ Medical Necessity & Compliance group. “The winning combination of 3M’s premium medical necessity content and Navicure’s top quality revenue cycle management solution offers physician practices exceptional value in the form of reduced denials, improved workflow, and a positive return on investment.”

About Navicure
Navicure provides automated, Web-based revenue cycle management (RCM) solutions that help physician practices improve operational efficiency and profitability. Serving thousands of physicians in practices nationwide, Navicure’s solutions automate revenue cycle processes, including claims management, electronic remittance posting, secondary claims processing, advanced reporting, and ancillary services, such as patient statement processing, eligibility verification and data protection. For more information, please visit www.navicure.com.

About 3M Health Information Systems
3M Health Information Systems, part of the 3M Health Care family, is a leading provider of advanced software tools and services that help healthcare organizations capture, classify, and manage accurate healthcare data. 3M Health Information Systems products help ensure the quality of data, which drives an organization's ability to manage revenue, comply with regulations, improve quality of patient care and manage resources effectively. 3M Health Care is dedicated to improving the practice, delivery and outcome of patient care. 3M Health Care is a leading provider of solutions for medical, dental, pharmaceutical, health information systems and personal care markets. For more information, please visit www.3mhis.com.

About 3M—A Global, Diversified Technology Company
Every day, 3M people find new ways to make amazing things happen. Wherever they are, whatever they do, the company’s customers know they can rely on 3M to help make their lives better. 3M's brands include Scotch, Post-it, Scotchgard, Thinsulate, Scotch-Brite, Filtrete, Command and Vikuiti. Serving customers in more than 200 countries around the world, the company’s 69,000 people use their expertise, technologies and global strength to lead in major markets including consumer and office; display and graphics; electronics and telecommunications; safety, security and protection services; health care; industrial and transportation. For more information, including the latest product and technology
news, visit www.3M.com.

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