Company Overview

Corporate Overview Systems Xcellence (SX) is a leading provider of patient-centric electronic transaction processing solutions for the managed care sector of the healthcare industry. SX combines robust, high volume, high availability transaction processing products, business expertise and services to deliver solutions to both North American and International markets. SX is based in Milton, Ontario with offices in Dallas, Texas, Scottsdale, Arizona and Victoria, British Columbia. The Company's shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SXC. Systems Xcellence is in the business of providing electronic transaction-based software applications and the services necessary to implement these solutions in a cost effective and timely manner. The healthcare industry is quickly recognizing the opportunities 'Electronic Commerce' affords for reducing costs, increasing profitability and improving customer service. Using proven project management methodologies to implement standards-based, 'best of breed' software applications and technology, SX delivers integrated business solutions to its clients. Using these fundamentals as a foundation, Systems Xcellence develops applications targeted to the managed care sector of the healthcare industry.

Experience and Expertise Systems Xcellence's business is built upon its outstanding people. SX strives to attract and develop individuals that are motivated by the opportunity to learn and apply state-of-the-art technology and systems engineering techniques to solve business issues. SX staff take pride in working hard, achieving client satisfaction and participating in the growth and success of the company.

Management and Controls Systems Xcellence's SX Consulting Methodology, SX Project Methodology, SX Development Methodology, Quality Assurance Process and Change Management Process ensure that valuable people resources are managed and directed to achieve timely and high quality products and solutions.

Support and Utilities Systems Xcellence distinguishes itself by providing more than a software application. SX provides its clients with both the software solution and the support infrastructure required to effectively operate and manage the provided solutions on an ongoing basis. SX integrates Customer/Client Management software, Electronic Data Interchange translators, E-Mail software and Internet software, amongst others, to provide 'Total Solution' for its clients. The recognition that SX clients require more than an application is a by-product of experience and a significant differentiator for Systems Xcellence.

Open Systems & Technology Standards Systems Xcellence made a fundamental technology decision at its inception:

• to develop and deliver, whenever feasible, solutions that

adhered to an Open Systems Architecture;

• use Object Oriented application development methods based upon

the Client/Server applications model

• utilize commercially available SQL relational data base

technology. SX strives to encourage the use of industry standard message formats and published operational standards in the development of its applications. As standards emerge and change, SX commits to adapt and adopt as business, economic, and client requirements dictate.

'Best of Breed' Transaction Processing Software The technology keystone of the SX business model is the transaction processing technology that SX solutions are built upon. This technology, and the demands placed upon it - from data communications connectivity to throughput and performance - is subject to continuous evolution. A major function at Systems Xcellence is monitoring advances in this technology and seeking out or developing the best software available to meet stringent development requirements. SX develops its applications with defined interfaces that facilitate seamless introduction of technological advances.

Targeting solutions for the Healthcare Industry Systems Xcellence continues to expand its suite of Electronic Healthcare Transaction applications. Soaring healthcare costs and the demand for more effective therapy outcomes are placing tremendous pressure on the healthcare delivery system. New ways of effecting cost containment are being sought. Abuse of the system by patients and practitioners, waste resulting from duplication of therapy and lack of timely information, along with rising administrative processing costs are areas of concern. The Healthcare Xcellence (HX) product suite is designed to help address these issues.

Healthcare Xcellence Product Suite The SX Healthcare Xcellence software product suite is based upon a 'Patient Centric' architecture. The architecture is receiving acceptance as the leader in the new healthcare delivery paradigm. The base system - upon which line-of business functionality has been built - as well as the Pharmacy Benefits System (PBS) and Claims Clearing System (CCS) components are implemented in Canada, the United States and internationally. Dental Benefits, Vision Care, Laboratory Services, Community Health, Medical and Case Management modules are forthcoming in the product development calendar.

Existing and expanding product lines position SX as a major force in this global software market. A significant positive factor to the strong position Systems Xcellence has in this market is the successful implementation of its software for industry leading world class clients. SX applications are capable of utilizing Internet technology as another delivery mechanism to interface to the various stakeholders in the managed care environment.

Professional Services Systems Xcellence provides its clients with a full suite of professional services to ensure timely and proper implementation of the SX solution.

Project Management In order to ensure client satisfaction and timely delivery, Project Management services are implemented during the entire project, from initiation through to product implementation and production usage. All project tracking and scheduling is continually discussed with, reviewed and agreed to by the client.

Regular project review and status meetings are held to ensure all deliverables, schedules and project issues are fully tracked, identified and resolved to the client's satisfaction.

Consulting Services Systems Xcellence provides consulting services to its clients to assist them in defining appropriate solutions and developing - with the clients direct input - the Customer Requirements Definition (CRD). The SX Consulting Methodology focuses on ensuring the quality of deliverables presented to the client. Custom Development Services support the customization of Systems Xcellence's products to meet a client's specific needs. This service is applicable to any SX product, be it software, documentation, training or consulting services. Systems Xcellence works with the client to develop a detailed implementation and conversion plan that defines activities such as:

Implementation Planning Facilities Preparation System Installation Acceptance Testing Partner Certification 'Go-Live' System Cut-Over Training and Documentation The Documentation and Training group provides clients with user-focused documentation combining procedures and reference information pertinent to the SX solution. These documents address the functional areas of support personnel (help desk), system administrators and managers.

Complete glossaries, indices and tables of contents make correct and timely information accessible and easy to follow. Training courses are conducted to ensure a smooth transition from the client's current system to the new system. Each SX course is mapped to a user guide so the client is provided with a comprehensive understanding of the SX solution and how it benefits their business. To ensure effective knowledge transfer is effective, training is provided through a variety of settings:

lecture environments for transfer of new information lab environments where trainees obtain hands-on instruction as well as practice new skills one-on-one instructional settings where specific individuals train on skills that apply to specific job responsibilities (if required)

Help Desk / Telephone Support Systems Xcellence provides technical client support by telephone seven (7) days per week, 24 hours per day. The SX Help Desk is established to provide a knowledgeable support structure designed to maintain client production levels. Help Desk staff manage problem calls, produce system fixes and track system trends.

Company Information

Additional Details

Legal Name: Systems Xcellence Inc.

Number of Employees: 197

Contacts

Services

• Application Development/Customization, Healthcare
• Consulting Services, Healthcare
• Customer Requirements Document - Healthcare
• Documentation, Healthcare
• Facilities Management, Healthcare
• Facilities Preparation, Healthcare
• Network Preparation, Healthcare
• Project Management - Healthcare
• System Architecture/Design, Healthcare
• System Installation/Implementation, Healthcare
• System Integration, Healthcare
• System Testing, Healthcare
• Training, Healthcare

Products

• Claims Clearing System

  Claims Clearing System

  The Claims Clearing System (CCS) provided by Systems Xcellence accepts healthcare claims from any system-connected provider and directs each claim to specified payers for payment. The Claims Clearing System converts provider claims and payer response data from a wide variety of formats to a standard internal format, allowing the system to accept and deliver claims in the formats preferred by individual users.

  Connectivity and File Translation The Claims Clearing System operates as an Open System, offering many connectivity options to facilitate communication between providers and payors. Most communication protocols, EDI and file formats are supported, and users can connect to the CCS using either a dial-up modem or async line, via the Internet or the public service telephone network.

  Billing Reports The Claims Clearing System generates Billing Reports that may be used for keying financial data into a customers in-house Accounting System. The Billing File Generator will read the Claims History tables to aggregate claim volume totals and calculate billing totals for both payors and providers. Flexible billing rules allows for support of complex billing arrangements.

  Claims Tracking CCS tracks a claim through every stage of its processing cycle and stores a chronology of activities for the claim. An intuitive interface provides access to the claim and processing audit.

• Healthcare Xcellence (hx)
• Healthcare Xcellence Software
• Healthcare Xcellence Suite

  Software for the healthcare market has traditionally been built to service specific healthcare provider disciplines or Benefit Management/Managed Care lines of business. Historically, the objective was to independently support segregated administrative and information management objectives. Isolated sectors of special interest were the norm, each sector being accountable for its own profitability or outcome. Little or no consideration was given to the overall cost or impact to the healthcare delivery system or the patient's total well-being.

  Today, escalating costs are re-directing the healthcare industry towards a new focus. The realization that a healthy population is the key to reduced healthcare costs is changing industry perspective. Emphasis is shifting to prevention and the identification and subsequent management through best practice therapies of health conditions where prevention is not possible, rather than the reactionary treatment of a symptom as an isolated issue. This shift translates into recognition that the patient must be viewed as central to the delivery of affordable, cost effective healthcare in the future. The Healthcare Xcellence suite of products is designed from this holistic perspective. The Healthcare Xcellence (HX) software solution developed by Systems Xcellence places the patient database in the centre of its architecture. SX has chosen to label this system as 'patient-centric'. The provider discipline, practitioner specialty or Benefit Management/Managed Care business functions are built around the patient core. Each application is built around this seamless, cross-application database that uniquely identifies each patient and provides a common view of that patient to all functional components. The patient database consists of a patient personal profile, patient demographic information, key cross-application consolidated financial data, information on coverage and services eligibility, and relevant privacy and security keys. Peripheral to this core patient information, the database is divided into application-specific tables detailing clinical and financial data. The separation of core information from application-specific data allows the system to be implemented by traditional lines of business. Applications such as pharmacy, dental and vision can be seamlessly implemented as required to meet an organization's requirements. The separation of clinical and financial data allows access only to those with appropriate clinical authority or administrative/financial authority. Privacy and access control to personal health information is a major concern and is critical to acceptance and participation by the public in a new healthcare delivery paradigm. The ability to not only provide security, encryption and access control with comprehensive audit trails, but to physically separate clinical and financial data, goes a long way to addressing this concern. The HX software also disconnects personal data from detailed clinical and financial data. Large volumes of anonymous clinical and financial data can be effectively used for outcomes analysis, best practice identification, clinical trials monitoring, service level financial planning and capitation rate analysis without compromising patient confidentiality.

  Implementation of the Healthcare Xcellence patient-centric architecture results in the creation and maintenance of a fully comprehensive multi-disciplinary electronic patient record. The database can be populated in a modular fashion as applications are added to meet the growing needs of an organization. The ability to appropriately share patient information across disciplines or lines of business is the ultimate goal. The patients' total health status can be viewed by all practitioners, allowing for the determination of the most appropriate and cost effective therapy regardless of discipline. The ability to focus on the individual patient, not merely the patient as part of a group, is a key benefit of the patient centric architecture.

  Systems Xcellence believes that this approach is critical to the success of the 'Managed Care' healthcare model. The patient database is the core of the healthcare Xcellence product line. The functionality to establish and manage this core, such as subscriber enrollment and patient eligibility identification, are incorporated in the base system. Generic supporting databases containing data for healthcare providers, payers, transaction/charge-back fees and security authorizations, as well as systems operation and management tools, are components of the base system. Payment and billing, audit and privacy administration, reporting and data harvesting sub-systems complete the suite of base application functions.

  Additional application modules in the healthcare Xcellence suite of software build upon the base components. Pharmacy Benefits, Vision, Dental, Disability Management and Extended Health Management are specific applications planned for in the SX product calendar. Each application builds upon the core patient data base, supplying the unique, application-specific functionality and tables to support that business. Other application modules provide claims clearing, file transfer and transaction translation management functionality. The complete suite of products form an integrated healthcare system that targets patient wellness as the primary objective.

  The HX Health ConneXions (HX-HC) module provides the vehicle for seamless data communication with any healthcare network. HC supports transaction processing, interactive and batch file data transfer. This flexibility provides system users with the ability to join, grow and change network connectivity as business relationships and opportunities require, without impacting applications functionality.

  The healthcare Xcellence software architecture facilitates adaptation to the customer's business model of choice. One or many applications can be implemented and others added over time. The applications can be operated in a distributed or centralized implementation. The same software operates on a scalable range of open systems hardware facilitating open ended growth potential.

  The healthcare Xcellence suite of products will continue to grow and introduce new functionality as the healthcare industry embraces technology to make compliance disease management and practice pattern science theories a reality. Healthcare Xcellence software products - Technology facilitating the move towards affordable healthcare and a 'Wellness Society'.

  ConnectIT-keywords: Patient Centric, Electronic Commerce, integrated solutions, electronic transaction processing.

• Hx-base
• Hx-claing Clearing
• Hx-connections
• Hx-dental (planned)
• Hx-lab (planned)
• Hx-mailbox
• Hx-medical (planned)
• Hx-pharmacy Benefits
• Hx-security
• Hx-vision (planned)
• Pharmacy Benefits System

NAICS Categories

• 541510 Computer Systems Design and Related Services

Additional Information