Passport Health Communications accreditation

Passport Health Communications announced today it has achieved full accreditation with the Health Information Exchange Accreditation Program (HIEAP) from the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC). EHNAC’s HIEAP accreditation recognizes excellence in health data processing and transactions, and ensures compliance with industry-established standards and HIPAA regulations. Passport will post its release on its site.

Lackey abuzz

Passport Health Communications Chairman Jim Lackey is feeling the excitement in Nashville entrepreneur circles, and gettin' way too busy. Read about it here.

Passport eCares

Services and solutions within Passport Health Communications' new eCare suite include insurance eligibility verification, address verification, registration quality assurance (RQA), physician order screening (OrderChecker™), patient payment estimation (PPE), eCashiering for patient payment collections and more. Release is here.

Former Passport exec in Parental Health startup

Scotte Hudsmith, 45, is readying his Parental Health startup for its closeup look from angels and VCs. The former Passport and LBMC exec believes his venture can make a difference in healthcare quality. The story's here.

TNInvestco queues forming, Emdeon questions rising

Erin Lawley writes in The City Paper today that the six winning TNInvestco companies are talking with lots of entrepreneurs, and, as it has previously, talk of porfolio companies being lured here from other states resurfaces. Additional TNInvestco coverage. Emdeon also attracts Lawley's eye: She reports on confusion about Emdeon's role, and persistent concern among analysts that Emdeon will become 'disintermediated' by ancillary players and other solutions. See VNC's earlier report on analysts concerns about Emdeon's posture in marketplace, and preference for niche like Passport's.

Passport Health CFO named

Passport Health Communications CEO Scott MacKenzie announced today the company has named David Whitt (left) its chief financial officer. Whitt was previously CFO-Treasurer at Cavalier Telephone Corp. in Richmond. Prior to Cavalier, Whitt, a CPA, worked with KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Earlier VNC coverage of Passport here and here.

Passport Health 'access' moves

Today, Brentwood-based Passport Health Communications is teaming with Dallas-based Interface People LP to integrate MEDITECH technologies for Passport clients. Guess they'll soon add these folks to the Passport partners page. Earlier, the company announced hiring another RCM-patient access expert.

HMS-Passport Alliance

Healthcare Management Systems (HMS) and Passport Health Communications today announced they're tightening their existing alliance, with HMS now offering Passport’s patient access management services as an integrated solution within various HMS' systems and platforms. Earlier HMS story here. Earlier Passport coverage here.

Lackey adds interim CEO title

EnableComp Inc. board member and former CEO of Passport Health Communications Jim Lackey (left) is now interim CEO for EnableComp. That title was previously held by EnableComp founder David Iskowe. Erin Lawley at NashvillePost.com reports. Lackey stood down in April from the Passport helm, making way for Scott McKenzie. Lackey remains chairman of the Passport board.

Passport names CTO

Passport Health Communications today announced the appointment of Seth Rupp as its chief technology officer. Rupp has previously been with Cerner, Grant Thornton, Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and others. Related Passport coverage on VNC.

Passport compliance unit

Passport Health has created a clinical-orders compliance unit to help provider-clients ensure they are compliant with orders and get paid, accordingly. The new unit relies partly on technology provided by Passport-controlled Nebo Systems. Release here.

Emerging Leaders

This year's Nashville Emerging Leaders Awards (The NELAs) highlighted, among others, two players in Nashville-area startups and growth companies: (L-R) Jennifer LeMieux, SVP-Marketing at Passport Health Communications; and, Rachael Qualls, founder and CEO of Angel Capital Group, a for-profit angel network based in Hendersonville, with staff in Knoxville and a sister network in North Carolina.

Passport Health promotes RCM tech leader

Passport Health Communications today announced a slew of promotions and hires, perhaps most notably including the elevation of Marcus Padgett (left) to senior vice president for total revenue-cycle solutions. Padgett had been VP of that function. Other appointments and promotions were in the technology, software and customer-service areas. Padgett was earlier vice president for systems integration for Nebo Systems, which Passport acquired in 2008. He earned his MBA at the University of Chicago.

Informatics ranking

Middle Tennessee healthcare tech and tech-enabled companies Spheris, Healthcare Management Systems, Passport Health Communications, Healthstream and Cumberland Consulting Group all made it into the 2009 Top 100 ranking by Healthcare Informatics.

Passport forges another alliance

Passport Health Communications, based at Cool Springs, announced today an alliance with another revenue-cycle tech provider, Bluemark LLC, based in New Palz, N.Y. Bluemark helps ensure reimbursement for services rendered to medically indigent patients who may be covered by public-benefit programs, including Medicaid or charity assistance. Passport has previously announced a series of similar alliances.

NEWSBITS, April 6

Nashville-based Petra Capital Partners invested $5MM in a Massachusetts software firm... Entrepreneur and retired HCA senior exec Clayton McWhorter is sponsoring the launch of another healthcare reform group... Jim Lackey (at left) calls it a day in the CEO office of Passport Health, handing the reins to former McKesson, Cerner, AT&T executive Scott MacKenzie.

Passport still on M&A trail, adds officer

Our story on Passport Health Communications' unrelenting push for M&A-linked growth is posted here. Earlier, Passport announced appointment of Chief Accounting Officer Kerri Kelley Frye (left).