By EDWARD HUSAR

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

The Adams County Ambulance Service's new electronic data-collection system has been working well since it went into operation 14 months ago.

"Overall, the electronic patient data-collection system has been favorable," Director Paul Davis told the Ambulance Board at its monthly meeting Monday.

That sentiment was echoed by Richard Klemme, a representative of Intermedix Technologies Inc. of Houston, which provides the ambulance service with the computers and software needed to collect and manage data electronically for every ambulance call.

"I think it has been beneficial for everybody," Klemme said during a presentation.

Under the Intermedix system, which went into operation in Adams County in September 2007, paramedics and EMTs use tablet computers with handwriting-recognition software to gather data related to patient care and ambulance runs. This information is then sent by a wireless telephone connection to Intermedix, which handles billing, collection, mandated reporting, statistical analysis and other bookkeeping functions.

The Ambulance Board approved the concept in April 2007 with the expectation the system would speed up billing, reduce personnel costs and save ambulance crews time when filling out reports. In addition, local officials were told they could access the data at any time through a secure Internet connection. So far, those expectations have largely been met.

In return for providing the agreed-upon equipment and services, Intermedix receives 13 percent of the revenue the county earns from fees charged for ambulance calls.

Revenue has been increasing since Intermedix started handling collections. Klemme said he was "quite pleased" the system has been generating $329 per transport -- just $1 shy of the average range he anticipated when he submitted the company's business proposal last year. Previously, the ambulance service was getting about $280 per transport. That's a gain of $59 per transport.

"I think we're doing a good job," Klemme said, though he hastened to add: "Yes, there were some issues. Yes, there were some growing pains."

One issue involved "a sometimes significant backlog of paperwork" in the Intermedix office that surfaced during the past year because of problems involving an Intermedix worker and that person's supervisor, Klemme said.

"Those employees are no longer with us," he said. "The growing pains that we had internally have been resolved, I believe."

In a report to the board, Davis also said he felt some early kinks were smoothed out as local medics became more proficient with the new hardware and reporting procedures. The administrative staff also faced a learning curve working with the system. But Davis feels the program has generally been "a great tool" because it provides better documentation to track statistics and create reports.

"We have instant access to reports which allow managers to review activities, daily call volume, accounts and financial statistics," Davis said. "This system also allows administrative staff to perform more efficiently as well."

Klemme said the system could generate even more revenue if the county boosted its fee structure in certain ways to maximize payments from insurance companies. However, Ambulance Board Chairman Mike Troup said "generating a lot of cash is not our role."

Troup said the ambulance service's primary goal is to operate efficiently while having a minimal impact on taxpayers.

-- ehusar@whig.com/221-3378