As a major academic health center, the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) must prepare annual data submissions and reports for a number of internal and external entities, including federal and state agencies. Accuracy is important, since these figures often determine how much reimbursement the organization receives for its services. Since the process is often long and tedious, UTMB developed a series of reports to help minimize the drudgery and maximize the funding that supports the organization's academic, healthcare, and research activities.

Out with the Old
In the early 1990s, UTMB was using a Windows-based program to capture its space information. "When we discovered that the system was no longer supported, we realized we needed a CAFM product that would help us maintain our data and redesign our work processes," says Lynda Alexander, facilities information specialist at UTMB. "We chose ARCHIBUS in part because of its modular design, connectivity to other applications, and the fact that we could use much of the system right out-of-the-box, with minimal customization," she says.

A main thrust of the process redesign was to make it easier for UTMB to submit reports to the government, according to Alexander. "I can't tell you how long it can take to meet all of the federal and state guidelines," she says. "There are so many manual tasks involved [to meet the guidelines] that could be much more efficiently performed electronically." In response, with the help of consultant Business Resource Group (BRG), UTMB developed a series of custom reports. Today, data is easily captured using ARCHIBUS and submitted to every state, federal, external, and internal entity that UTMB reports to.

Improving Accountability
Initially, UTMB recruited an internal team that could lead the organization through the implementation process. "We assembled a cross-functional workgroup with expertise from members of the Cost Reimbursement, Planning, Computer Support Group, and Asset Management departments," Alexander says. This team then conducted a very revealing survey of the organization's space. "During the survey, we recalculated our gross square footage by looking at ARCHIBUS reports and found that we had failed to include a linked bridge that added square footage to our space," Alexander says. Reviewing CAD drawings of the campus' 100+ buildings revealed even more unaccounted space. "Some of the buildings on campus date back to the mid-19th century. As they are renovated, some of the measurements change. We found we had an additional 5-8 percent of space that we could reassign or recode to make better use of it, and perhaps even receive additional reimbursement for it," Alexander says.

Because of compliance issues, accurate asset surveys were among UTMB's first priorities. "We performed a wall-to-wall survey of the campus, checking all our inventory against our data," Alexander says. Today, the Asset Management department at UTMB uses some of the room tables in ARCHIBUS to record and submit inventory to the auditors. Alexander and her team are adding fields to the system to help further support these efforts.

Calculating Reimbursement
The Cost Reimbursement department at UTMB also benefits from the data that Alexander and her team maintain. Staff members log onto ARCHIBUS and run their own reports on the organization's facilities, which they use to prepare reports for federal reimbursement. For example, the department submits Medicare and Medicaid cost reports for reimbursement for the medical services UTMB renders, as well as the Facilities and Administrative Cost Proposal that helps determine how much reimbursement UTMB receives for the cost-such as employee salaries and utility bills-of supporting the organization's research activities. "By increasing our square footage by that 5-8 percent, we will see an increase in square footage by cost center, which will translate into additional reimbursement that we receive to support these cost centers," Alexander says, underscoring the value of accurate space information.

UTMB also receives reimbursement from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, a state agency. "Automatic reports let us view our data profiles and identify our shortcomings," Alexander says. For example, Alexander's team is improving the way clinical space is tracked, using reports to refine allocations needed to meet the Coordinating Board's space models. "By ensuring the data is correctly coded, we can better position ourselves to receive proper reimbursement, which ultimately boosts UTMB's profitability and competitive edge in the medical research field," Alexander says.

Saving Time and Effort
These automated reporting features have saved Alexander and her team a lot of time and aggravation. "Some reports used to take up to two weeks to manually create," she says. "Now we can get results in about an hour. Other reports are now created instantaneously." Getting these reports to the appropriate agencies is also easier. "We used to send our electronic files to the Coordinating Board using a frustrating mainframe FTP process. I would often find myself spending weeks working with programmers just to submit this file. Now we create the file in ARCHIBUS, execute and submit it all within 30 minutes. The technology is great; it's right there for us when we need it."

Web Surveys
A Web-based space survey that Alexander is working on will also help reduce the time and effort spent detailing UTMB's space usage across the campus. Every 18 months or so, Alexander's team sends around a survey packet, including printouts of floor plans and instructions, to each department on campus. With 395 departments on campus, this is a monumental task. "Surveys are filled out by hand, then hand-keyed into the system," says Alexander. "It takes a while to prepare and distribute these packets, and the printing costs are just phenomenal. With the Web survey, we hope to eliminate 80% of the work a manual survey requires," she says. Users will access their departmental reports and drawings from FM Web Central, and space survey data will be gathered using a custom Web-based interface that will allow UTMB to compare survey data to existing room data. UTMB is currently in the beginning stages of easing this time-intensive process.

A Step Ahead of the Future
Alexander envisions other UTMB property offices using the data she and her team maintain. "I will be integrating ARCHBUS/FM tables and fields for other kinds of data collection to support asset surveys," she says. "I think we'll see some real gains in this area within the year, as physical assets are matched to space. This is especially important in an environment like ours, since medical equipment tends to move around frequently."

Through a combination of technology and process redesign, Alexander and her team have ensured that UTMB can account for all its space, equipment, and physical assets. "Looking at the figures, we can see that in the coming year we will certainly be able to maintain, if not increase, the amount of reimbursement UTMB will receive for the general maintenance and upkeep of its facilities," Alexander says. "We're also expecting to see an increase in funding to support grant efforts, which is a major part of UTMB's mission as an academic health center."