How Do Patients Benefit From e-Prescribing?

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Posted by Melissa Le Furge on March 11, 2012 at 5:53 pm

e-Prescribing, or eRx, is the new method doctors use to submit your prescriptions to payers and pharmacies.  Now streamlined into a click of one button, electronic prescription submission replaced a procedure that once required a ream of copy paper and a perpetually busy fax line is   Proven to reduce dosage and interpretation errors, e-Prescribing is now required for all certified EMR software that your doctor implements.

As a patient, you may not be aware how e-Prescribing benefits you, but it indeed does.  From saving your life to saving time in line at the pharmacy, your doctor’s use of electronic prescriptions increases the quality of care you receive.

Safety First – The number one benefit patients receive from e-Prescribing is the protection from fatal dosage errors.  Electronic prescription writing eliminates errors made in dosage calculations and prevents the names of medications from being misread by the pharmacy from doctors’ notoriously sloppy handwriting.  Integrated with an EMR, you doctor can check for drug possible adverse reactions from allergies and other medications.

Your Past Meets Your Present – e-Prescribing lists all your medications from the past and present for your doctor to access.  Doctors can utilize the informed clinical decision support of EMR based on comparing your medication list with your past treatment notes to devise a new or continued course of treatment.

Saves Time – Prescriptions get filled quicker through e-Prescribing.  After your doctor checks for interactions and allergies, they submit the prescription to the payer to check eligibility of coverage and then submit it to the pharmacy.  Without having to sit through dial-through menus or wait to speak to a pharmacist, e-Prescribing shaves minutes to hours off of the prescription process, meaning you get your medication faster.

Better Health! – Patients whose doctors use electronic prescribing are more likely to take their medications than those who do not have an eRx system.  Did you know that a whopping 20% of paper prescriptions go unfilled?  Patients either lose the paper script or don’t take it to the pharmacy because it’s too much of a hassle.  e-Prescribing eliminates the patient from the submission process; all they have to do is pick it up.  By correctly following the doctor’s recommended course of treatment, you can play an active role in improving the quality of care you receive and the overall quality of your health.

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Does My Practice Staff Need Medical Collections Training?

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Posted by Melissa Le Furge on February 10, 2012 at 2:17 pm

Does your practice’s office staff feel confident with making A/R collections calls?

If your practice staff is squeamish or hesitant about calling patients and soliciting payments from past due statements, perhaps rather than lacking the desire to make the calls, they lack the confidence. Enrolling your staff in a medical collections training regional seminar enables them to fully learn all aspects of the revenue cycle in a relatively short period of time. In face-to-face seminars, the seminar leader gladly answers all your staff’s questions with the intent on bolstering confidence.

Does your staff have a hard time collecting due to difficult patients?

Even if your staff feels confident asking for payments, they may get intimidated by angry patients or those who claim they just cannot pay and give up attempting to collect from that particular person. Medical collections training seminars and webinars offer solutions on how to properly deal with upset patients. Flip-chart desk helpers are another tool; they serve as an in-office reference for making collections calls. Staff can follow the call procedure charts and use the prompts when responding to objections and excuses.

Does your staff know the laws regarding collections in your state?

If your practice office staff has never had any formal training in collections, they are probably unaware of the laws your state enforces in regards to medical debt collections. Collections training helps staff understand what they can and cannot say to patients while attempting to collect based on your particular state. A private consultation may also be set up to address the specific needs of your practice and make sure your collections practices stay within state guidelines.

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What Is an EMR ROI Calculator?

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Posted by Melissa Le Furge on January 31, 2012 at 11:00 am

EMR ROI CalculatorImplementing an EMR software solution is a serious investment for your practice. With all investments comes a certain level of risk. What if take the risk by putting all your money (and faith) into a certain EMR and it does nothing for your practice? You’re back to square one and thousands of dollars in the hole. Running a cost-benefit analysis study before the purchase tells you whether or not a particular EMR is a worthy investment. An EMR ROI calculator, designed specifically with hospitals and practices in mind, gives doctors and practice managers an idea how much a software solution will either save them (or cost them) per month.

Before using the EMR ROI calculator, ask the vendor the following questions about the product: How much does the EMR cost? How much hardware is required to run the EMR? What is the cost of maintenance? What is the average cost of training the staff? Once you have this information, the calculator will ask for the following information regarding your practice:
Paper Materials – Number per day and cost per unit
• New patient charts
• Superbills
• Faxes
Cost of Medical Record Space
• Size of room
• Monthly rent paid per square foot
Monthly Employee Cost – Minutes spent per action
• Patient Chart Pulls
• Patient Chart Filing
• Chart Transfer to Other Locations
Physician Time – Minutes spent per action
• Record dictation

After entering the data, the EMR ROI calculator generates an immediate estimate. Depending on the work flow of your practice and the particular EMR in mind, the calculation determines whether or not the implementation will result in savings or loss in the following areas:
• Staff Time – The more records converted to electronic means less chart pulling staffing expenses.
• Paper Supplies – Fewer paper charts mean less printing, telephone faxing and less need to purchase paper.
• Additional Patients Seen – An efficient workflow allows the practice to treat more patients in a day that previously possible.
• Financial Savings/Cost Benefit of EMR – This is the number that will really sum it up for you. Are you gaining or losing? If your numbers end up positive, then perhaps this is the right EMR for your practice. If they come out negative, then maybe it’s best to continue shopping around for an EMR that will help your practice attain its long-term financial goals.

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Does My Practice Need A Medical Collections Service?

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Posted by Melissa Le Furge on January 24, 2012 at 6:04 pm

Medical CollectionsDue to the recent economic recession, many people find themselves struggling to pay their bills. As a practice manager, you may be all too familiar with this struggle. Is the amount received each month much less than what was billed? Is your practice struggling to pay its bills as the result of patients struggling with theirs? If this is the case, then a medical collections service is good solution for you.

Are late payments negatively affecting your practice?

If late or lack of insurance and patient payments are affecting the way your practice operates, perhaps you could use a bit of outside help. Medical collections services oversee the prompt collection of past due claims and statements so doctors’ offices can maintain afloat. A collections service carefully performs all the tasks in a revenue cycle, ensuring you receive the full amounts owed and your practice can confidently continue treating patients.

Does your office staff have a heavier workload than they can handle?

With office downsizing, running a doctor’s office can be an arduous task. With less manpower, the remaining staff gets thinly spread out, leaving less time to attend to collections than what your practice needs. Implementing a medical collections service guarantees accounts receivable staff trained in HIPAA and FDCPA. Collections staff devote their time to insurance resolution in case of claims denial, following up with patients during hours where your staff wouldn’t normally be available and finding workable payment plan solutions.

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What Is Healthcare IT Certification?

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Posted by Melissa Le Furge on January 17, 2012 at 8:00 pm

Healthcare IT CertificationA term that became very relevant in the past year that you’ll start hearing more frequently is healthcare IT certification. What is it exactly and why are we hearing this particular phrase more? Healthcare IT certification involves the inspection and approval of EHR and EMR technology for meaningful use based on the criteria set by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) of Health and Human Services.

The certification of EHR technology is overseen by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT). This independent non-profit organization promotes the advancement of the adoption of health information technology. The commission assists physicians and practices with the transition to electronic medical record systems, as well as ensuring the interoperability of healthcare IT products between facilities. EHR and EMR software receives approval certification by ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ATCB), in six locations throughout the U.S.

We’re hearing more about healthcare IT certification now because of the commencement of Stage 1 meaningful use attestation in April, 2011. It’s relevant because an EHR software solution needs to be certified by ONC-ATCB in order to thoroughly demonstrate the meaningful use of electronic data for attestation. By certifying the technology, it proves the EHR’s ability to meet the core objectives of meaningful use.

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What Is An Electronic Medical Billing Service?

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Posted by Melissa Le Furge on January 10, 2012 at 9:29 pm

Electronic Medical Billing ServiceWith the changes in the medical billing playing field, physicians run the risk of losing revenue over the erroneous coding of superbills.  Physicians are to comply with the ANSI 5010 claims submission standards by January 1st, 2012.  The ICD-9 code changes to ICD-10 in October, 2013 as well; so understandably, mastering the change is a big challenge for office staff.  By employing an electronic medical billing service, physicians increase their revenue as well as avoid billing errors made by the adjustment to changes in coding; a billing service provides a software solution and support to generate charge slips, track denied claims and schedule collection follow-ups.

One in five Americans currently has trouble paying their medical bills, says a recent survey posted on the Kaiser Health News blog.  Coding errors easily made by staff cost both the practice and the patients dearly.  An electronic medical billing service automatically generates charge slips according to the services the physician has entered.  The expert support staff turns the charge slip into a claim and “scrubs” it for coding errors before electronically submitting it to insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid.  Check that your billing service is ANSI 5010 and ICD-10 compatible to avoid claim rejections this year.  Fewer claims rejections mean fewer out-of-pocket payments from patients.

Despite the scrubbing for coding errors, claim rejection still occurs.  Perhaps the patient’s insurance provider altered their coverage or isn’t enough to cover the entire service.  When this happens, your electronic medical billing service re-submits the claim to the secondary insurance company and sometimes to the primary insurance again.  Sometimes claim approval isn’t possible after many attempts, or if the patient doesn’t have insurance at all, the billing service will electronically generate statements to be mailed to the patient.  The specially-trained billing support team makes routine follow up calls for missing or delinquent payments from both the insurers and patients, striving to protect physicians from any loss of revenue that could easily be collected on with a little diligence and patience.

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Q: What Is EMR? A: Patient Empowering Tool

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Posted by Melissa Le Furge on January 9, 2012 at 10:04 pm

What Is EMRMost patients are aware of HIPAA and the serious repercussions health care providers face if their privacy is breached.  Electronic medical records (EMR) perhaps not so much.  When I tell people what I do for a living, they cock their head, scrunch their nose and ask, “EMR? What is EMR?”  Simple: An EMR is a computerized system of collecting and storing clinical health information and patient medical records.  Sharing the data collected is also a very important function of an EMR, meaning an improved continuity of care between physicians and a way to keep patients informed of their own health.

Sharing data with other doctors is understandable, but would allowing patients to look at their own medical records be such a good idea?  Wouldn’t be they be confused by scientific medical terms?  Would they go into the denial about the state of their health?  They would not, according to research study posted in a recent New York Times Article.  90 percent of patients surveyed thought viewing their own medical records would actually empower them to take better care of themselves.   The most of the doctors surveyed were ambivalent about showing patients their medical records.  The optimistic doctors see the open door, that which is EMR, to get patients interested in their own health.  “That’s the great challenge in medicine: getting patients to be more active in their own care,” said Dr. Tom Delbanco, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.  “What we’re doing is opening the black box and letting you look inside.”

Did sharing the information from the EMRs frighten patients in the research study?  Article survey says no.  Patients found the information useful and were able to review what they might have forgotten at the doctor’s office.  “It never upset me, except the first time I read about my bones,” said survivor or two forms of blood cancer, Paul Grabowski.  “I heard about it from my doctor, but it’s different when you read it in black and white.”  The sharing of EMRs with patients also encourages patients to take their medications, manage their weight and make follow up treatment appointments.

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Urgent Care EMRs: Are They Necessary?

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Posted by Melissa Le Furge on January 3, 2012 at 9:23 pm

The urgent care clinic is not a place where patients want to find themselves on a regular basis.  They might only see that doctor once in their lifetime, unlike their primary care physician whom they see regularly.  So if an urgent care doctor doesn’t see the same patients on a regular basis, does an urgent care clinic really need an EMR?  Urgent care EMR assists with the fluid movement of patient encounters and directs patients toward continuing follow-up treatment after their urgent care visit.

Urgent care clinics have been in existence since the 1970s, but have become increasingly popular within the past few years.  The driving force behind their newfound success is the lengthy wait time in hospital emergency rooms for non-life-threatening emergencies.  Despite being made for minor emergencies, some patients set up permanent residence in urgent care because they feel they can’t wait for an appointment with their primary care doctor.  The dilemma in that situation is the lack of communication between urgent care and primary care physicians.  Urgent care EMR electronically faxes the encounter information to the patient’s primary care physician.  To eliminate the probability of repeat visits, the EMR software either composes a referral letter to get the patient started with primary care or alerts the existing doctor of the patient’s visit and to schedule a follow up appointment.

Even though urgent care physicians don’t have regular patients, it doesn’t mean they won’t benefit from EMR technology.  Exam templates are laid out for emergency situations, as opposed to routine physicals.  They include data entry for work accidents and workers’ compensation reports.  The template for urgent care EMR software is designed with fluidity in a fast-paced environment in mind.  Content such as bubble sheet intake forms and rapid-loading chart templates allow doctors and office staff to accurately enter patient encounter data quickly, without interfering with the time spent with patients.

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How Do I Choose the Best Podiatry EMR?

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Posted by Melissa Le Furge on December 26, 2011 at 6:47 pm

Podiatry EMRAs you can imagine, the job of a podiatrist differs greatly from that of cardiologists, gynecologists, otolaryngologists and internal medicine.  The electronic medical record market is expanding by the day, so it makes no sense why a podiatrist would choose to end up with a software solution that was not designed with foot health in mind.  In order to get the most out of an EMR, podiatrists need to seek out a vendor who specializes in podiatry EMR.

Choosing an EMR is admittedly time-consuming but well worth the time and effort in the long run, especially when your practice runs more efficiently and when you start receiving your incentive checks in the mail.   Get off on the right foot with your prospective vendor and tell them everything about you and your practice, starting with the fact that you need a podiatry EMR.  Tell the vendor how big your practice is, about your workflow, how much technology experience you have, and most importantly: whether or not you already have an EMR.  Your vendor should also ask you questions such as if Meaningful Use is a priority and what type of software solution you need:  Just an EMR?  Just Patient Management and billing?  Or are you looking for an all-in-one?

Your prospective vendor sales rep sets up an appointment to do a product demonstration with you after you have told them what you are looking for.   Pay close attention to the content and functions of the software during the demo.  Be sure the content contains templates for treatment of ingrown toenails, heel pain management, routine palliative care for diabetics and the treatment of neuromas.  Your podiatry EMR is supposed to make your life easier, not harder.  While doing the demo, you should be asking yourself:  Is this software compatible with my office’s workflow?  Do I like the sequence of clicks it takes to get through an exam or procedure?  Does this have the content I need for my particular practice?  Does this software appear easy enough to learn in a timely fashion?  Please do not hesitate to voice any questions or concerns about the software and its features to your vendor rep so you make the most educated choice for your practice.

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What Are The Benefits of Using Pediatric EHR?

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Posted by Melissa Le Furge on December 16, 2011 at 7:58 pm

The New Mexico Department of Health implemented an electronic data exchange between the New Mexico Statewide Immunization Information System and pediatric health care providers this month, according to an article in the Las Cruces Sun-News.  The implementation of the pediatric EHR is meant to lower immunization errors and allow doctors to see more patients.  Health care providers who only work with children find the use of a specialized EHR for pediatrics more effective than one made for adult primary care.  Use of a pediatric EHR focuses on the issues that affect mainly children and enables them to receive optimum care.

A pediatric EHR (electronic health record) is the means used to transmit computerized medical data and health records between different health care providers and hospitals.  As fast as kids grow, they don’t grow fast enough to not need their own EHR that has templates built in for pediatric-related care:

As the article highlighted, one of the main aspects of pediatrics is immunization.  Kid-specific EHRs have a built-in immunization management.  Physicians can see what the child has already been immunized for, even if it wasn’t done performed at their practice/hospital.  Automatic alerts can also be programed in to notify physicians when the next vaccinations are due.

As adults don’t generally grow taller after the age of 18, most EHRs made for primary care don’t come with growth charts.  Children’s health care specific-EHRs have electronic growth charts as well as for BMI to monitor and prevent obesity.

Children obviously don’t take the same medications as adults either, so a drug database for adults in a primary care software system would be of no use.  EHRs for pediatricians are equipped with a pediatric drug dosage calculator to reduce the risk of human error as well as a database of drugs and interactions.



            
            

    		
    					
			

            	

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