How Humboldt Park Health Improved Revenue and Clinical Workflows Through MEDITECH Laboratory and Pathology Optimization

Industry

Acute Care Hospital

Challenge

Humboldt Park Health needed to improve laboratory and pathology workflows in MEDITECH Expanse while maintaining care delivery across acute and ambulatory settings. Providers were navigating excessive clicks, manual documentation, paper-based retrieval processes, and incomplete pathology history in the EHR. The organization also needed to implement a new reference laboratory, improve provider adoption, and strengthen workflow automation without adding operational burden to clinical teams.

Results

In the months following the optimization work, Humboldt Park Health reported a $2M revenue increase and its highest revenue totals on record. Providers gained more efficient lab ordering workflows, acute and ambulatory laboratory processes were successfully integrated, and approximately three years of missing pathology results were restored to the EHR. The organization also successfully implemented a new reference laboratory with no downstream negative impacts to clinical, operational, or billing workflows, ensuring continuity of care while improving laboratory operations and provider efficiency.

Services Provided

MEDITECH, Staff Augmentation, EHR Optimization, Hosting

hph.care/

$2M

Revenue increase post-optimization

~3 Years

Pathology results backlog resolved

2 Settings

Lab integrated across acute and ambulatory

4 Rules

Clinical automation protocols deployed

About the Provider

Humboldt Park Health is a 200-bed acute care facility serving the Chicago, Illinois community. Accredited by the Joint Commission and designated as a primary stroke center with certification from the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), the organization delivers patient-centered care ranging from everyday treatment to critical needs.

A System Under Strain

Humboldt Park Health’s MEDITECH Expanse environment was not fully supporting the way clinical teams needed to work. Providers were taking extra steps to place lab orders. Pathology results still required paper-based retrieval. A backlog of missing pathology reports, dating back nearly three years to the original Expanse go-live, left important patient history outside the electronic chart.

The organization needed to resolve the underlying workflow, integration, and data access issues while minimizing disruption for care teams.

Partnering with CereCore

CereCore supported Humboldt Park Health with MEDITECH advisory, configuration, implementation, testing, and staff enablement. The work focused on identifying root causes, correcting build and workflow gaps, and helping clinical and IT leaders standardize processes that could be sustained after implementation.

Building a Better Laboratory Experience

CereCore led the implementation of a new reference laboratory by cross-walking legacy and replacement lab tests, designing and testing interfaces, and validating workflows across acute and ambulatory settings. Provider documentation was aligned with ordering workflows to reduce unnecessary clicks and support adoption at the point of care. As part of building a more efficient and financially sustainable laboratory operation, CereCore validated reference and reflex test billing, CPT code mapping, and alignment with current test methodologies. This review identified multiple tests that were not being billed, resulting in significant charge recovery opportunities. The team updated billing configurations and facilitated the creation of dozens of new billing codes, bringing billing alignment to approximately 90% of the laboratory test menu.

Recovering Three Years of Lost Pathology Data

CereCore identified that pathology reports had not been routing consistently into the electronic chart since the original Expanse go-live. After completing root cause analysis, the team corrected the current-state workflow and worked directly with MEDITECH to design a utility that migrated historical pathology results back into the EHR.

Historical pathology results were restored to the patient record, reducing reliance on paper retrieval and giving clinicians a more complete view of patient history.

Rules-Based Workflow Automation

CereCore also deployed rules-based workflow automation to reduce manual steps, improve data quality, and add clinical safeguards directly into provider workflows:

Suicide Prevention Conditional Ordering Protocol — Embedded logic evaluates ED location and chief complaint, automatically triggering required orders for early identification and standardized intervention.
CT Low-Dose Lung Screening Eligibility Calculator — Prevents inappropriate orders for ineligible patients, reducing patient financial risk.
Vancomycin Trough Requirement Check — Hardwired safety checks support antimicrobial stewardship and prevent unsafe dosing.
Supervising Provider Field Enforcement — A rule requiring the supervising provider when a resident places an order ensures correct results routing and billing for referrals.

Sustainable Results

The engagement improved clinical and operational performance by reducing unnecessary workflow variation, integrating laboratory processes across care settings, restoring historical pathology data, and adding rules-based controls that support safer, more consistent ordering.

For Humboldt Park Health, the result was a stronger MEDITECH environment that supported clinicians with more complete information, fewer manual workarounds, and workflows better aligned to daily care delivery.

Why It Matters

For Humboldt Park Health, MEDITECH optimization was not only a system improvement; it was a clinical and operational foundation for better decision-making. By restoring approximately three years of missing pathology results, integrating lab workflows across acute and ambulatory settings, and reducing manual steps for providers, CereCore helped clinicians work from a more complete patient record with fewer workarounds. In the months following the engagement, Humboldt Park Health also reported a $2M revenue increase and its highest revenue totals on record, underscoring how stronger system workflows can support both care delivery and financial performance.

For More

How Humboldt Park Health Increased Clean Claim Rates Through MEDITECH Revenue Cycle Optimization →

Hear from Humboldt Park Health VP of IT

Hector Rodriguez, Vice President of IT: How Humboldt Park Health's VP of IT Leads a Mission-Driven Safety-Net Hospital