About MedKM

MedKM is an intelligence provider to the Insurance and Legal communities.  We specifically provide the interpretation of medical records within a relevant legal framework.  Our objective is to render significant and comprehensible analysis focused on the case or claim with which it is associated.  MedKM has invested in Six Sigma strategies to measure and improve its’ processes with the goal of eliminating waste and improving quality all while lowering costs.

History

Although always seeking to grow and adapt to new challenges, MedKM looks back proudly on its’ history.

In 1999, after nineteen years in various legal and medical positions, Margie Bixler BSRN, took her experience with reviewing medical records and developed a set of methods for providing more accurate and efficient nurse reviews.  She created a "12 Tab File System” to organize the records and the “Backtrack Tool”, amongst others, to improve the accuracy of the final review.  Before long, it was clear that a need for this service existed in the marketplace, and RNPara was founded in New Orleans.  Many nurse review companies start by first engaging in a large case.  With rapid growth and limited resources, process development is often overlooked.  RNPara focused on the process first and creating value-added services that would be the foundation for long term growth.  In 2005, as RNPara had grown to seven fulltime Legal Nurse Consultants and a mostly local but dedicated customer base, Hurricane Katrina changed everything...

It was time to rebuild and MedKM was born.  This time, additional management and technology resources were added while headquarters was moved to Wilmington, Delaware.  The focus on process improvement continued with an extra emphasis on creating efficiencies through digitizing the workflow.  This not only allowed for a better final product to be delivered to the customer, but also more security and a lower pricing model.  This new company has taken the best from old and new to create a winning team and process.  Six Sigma business improvement methodologies, cutting edge technologies and security procedures, and powerful partnerships have MedKM poised for an exciting future.

Philosophy

MedKM has discovered the benefits of relating efficient workflow and appropriately applied technologies to consistently deliver high quality throughput.  From inception MedKM has embraced 'Business Process Reengineering' as its cardinal guiding principles for an adaptive strategy.  As described by Hammer and Champy (1993) BPR is "... the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed." Too often, businesses rush to incorporate IT mechanisms that, while outwardly attractive, add no substantive value or even detract from net performance.  Our experiences with technological adaptation has proven itself through measurable key performance indicators that show the benefits of continual improvement in process efficiency.

Management Team

Tom Merry                        President                                                tmerry@medkm.net

Tom brings an important set of skills to his leadership position at MedKM.   After sixteen years serving in the legal marketplace, most of those with IKON Office Solutions, Tom is certainly aware of the unique demands of this industry.   “When you’re dealing in litigation and especially with the sensitive nature of medical cases, there’s only one chance to get it right – and on time”.  In addition to Tom’s success in managing teams of over 140 employees and $45 million in revenue, he spent two years as a Black Belt utilizing Six Sigma methodologies to drive process improvement and customer satisfaction. He received his B.Sc. degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1990.

At MedKM, Tom is responsible for overall management of the company and specifically sales related questions.  Please feel free to email Tom with any questions or feedback.

Margie Bixler, BSRN         Vice President – Client Services           mbixler@medkm.net

Margie is not only MedKM’s principal subject matter expert but also one of its founders.  Margie oversees all customer work related areas of MedKM.  She consults with clients to determine their needs and leads the engagement of the project management team from hiring & training through to quality control and delivery.

Margie’s background includes a BSRN from Texas Woman’s University and nineteen years in various medical and legal related positions.  In between a very busy schedule, you can often find Margie at a speaking engagement or continuing education seminar.

Brian Combe                     Director of Information Systems         bcombe@medkm.net

Brian brings a strong methodological approach to information systems traced back to an education in the hard sciences having obtained a B.Sc. from the University of New Mexico in Chemistry.   As a software developer and information systems director Brian is familiar with the significance of the design and organization of efficient workflows.   Brian and his team have created a robust, collaboration-centric, infrastructure that secures the privacy of health information for MedKM's clients.  Brian has also authored document management software employed by state and federal agencies such as the FBI, the US Attorney's office and the US Postal Inspection Service.   In 2001, he received an award from the FBI for service in the public good.

With a creative imagination that he attributes to growing up in Europe and Asia, he claims to enjoy being able to composite solutions from existing technologies thus 'connecting dots' in practical new ways.

Qualifications

We have found the quality of analyses is correlated strongly with the experience of the individuals doing the work.  All of our staff has a critical combination of medical field experience and exposure within litigation environments.  Employing a combination of doctors and nurses facilitates the optimal blend of experience required for medical records analysis.

In addition to our skilled and dedicated staff, MedKM has employed the industry’s most rigorous quality control process.  Every project is reviewed by a second set of eyes and many times even a third.  A systematic method for providing feedback to the Legal Medical Consultants insures continual improvement.  Large and special projects follow a “Project Engagement Strategy” that includes process development, multiple checks & balances, customer feedback and on time and under budget delivery.

Case Experience

  • Product Liability
  • Personal Injury
  • Insurance Defense
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Motor Vehicle Accidents
  • Nursing Home Disputes
  • Class Actions
  • Toxic/Environmental Tort