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Electronic Health Records - All Aboard?
Whether you're a doctor, nurse, or office administrator, these days, if you don't start using a computer frequently, then you're probably several steps behind the curve. There's no questioning the truth that despite medical providers' best intentions, the business enterprise of patient care has evolved into a world of diagnosis codes and insurance costs - and at the biggest market of it all is the one and only a blinking icon, or rather, thousands of blinking icons signifying the beginning of a technological revolution referred to as EHR implementation.

The electronic health record debate is one which has raged since early adapters started singing the praises of provider efficiency and improved patient satisfaction all rolled up into one easy-to-use program. Whether you were the initial person on your block to dial into this craze called the web or perhaps a self-proclaimed technophobe who hears the term "Blackberry" and pictures a carton of fruit rather than a handheld electronic device, it's difficult to deny the truth that EHRs offer some clear-cut benefits for those professionals who opt for them. From the patient care perspective, the usage of electronic health records means faster and much more focused service, less waiting time for patients, and fewer errors. After all, doctors aren't exactly known because of their stellar handwriting skills, so the usage of electronic records can be truly instrumental in improving patient safety and comfort.

As your physician with a presumably limited budget for technology-related investments outside the realm of actual medical equipment, you could be thinking "What's inside it for me?" The initial indicate contemplate is that nothing draws patients to a practice like reviews that are positive and a squeaky clean record - but that isn't all. The use of EHRs can in fact improve productivity inside a practice while opening the doors for patient expansion. Imagine trying to boost your patient load by 30 % minus the help of an added support staff? With an EHR, it may be possible.

Also, consider the proven fact that by implementing an EHR, you can overcome one of the greatest major failures of the still-popular (though perhaps not for long) paper system: billing. In accordance with Roberta Mullin of HITECH Answers, paper billing is a thing that simply hasn't worked well for years, and the percentage of rejection for insurance companies can sometimes be enough to run an otherwise thriving practice into the ground. By running your billing via an EHR, however, you can avoid spinning your wheels to correct internal errors and external discrepancies, and, moreover, improve your statistics on actually getting paid.

So why, then, isn't everyone jumping on the EHR bandwagon? For most, the resistance towards EHRs stems from a debilitating mix of financial investment and fear. In the end, the trouble of EHR implementation could be rather significant once you look at the initial price of whatever software package is deemed suitable for your practice in conjunction with the necessity for proper employee training - a chance cost unto itself. And while the United States government has financial incentives available under Medicare and Medicaid for individuals who implement EHR systems starting in 2011, many are worried about meeting eligibility requirements for what's quickly becoming the principal source of unease among healthcare professionals and software designers alike: meaningful use.

Within 2009's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, healthcare providers can receive government funding for adopting EHRs to their practices provided that such programs conform to the criteria inherent in meaningful use - standards that, according to many, should really go without saying. Although the guidelines inherent in the term "meaningful use" seem to be continuously evolving, the bottom line is, a qualified system should be certified as capable of maintaining patient records and facilitating efficient patient care in a meaningful manner (i.e. e-prescribing). It must also allow for the electronic exchange of health-related information among multiple providers to improve (and, ideally, expedite) patient care. Finally, to be deemed qualified to receive reimbursement, an EHR system should be capable of transmitting statistical data that can work to improve the healthcare industry on a complete.

What goes on if your EHR system doesn't meet the requirements for meaningful use? If get more info of choice doesn't find yourself making the cut, you can essentially kiss those government-issued reimbursement checks goodbye. However, before you obtain too caught up in the furor over meaningful use, you will want to shift that burden onto the software developers whose job it is to create these programs in the first place?

As a healthcare provider, your role in all of this is merely to look around, observe the direction where your industry is headed, and get your piece of the action before it's too late. The deadline to implement an EHR system in exchange for government incentives is scheduled for 2016, and to put in a little juice to the pressure cooker, Medicare plans to reduce reimbursements to late adopters or non-adopters as soon as 2015. To avoid getting overlooked in the cold, you really should hop aboard this slowly growing trend, albeit in a well-thought out manner.

First, start outlining your specific EHR needs so that when you talk with software vendors, you'll know what questions to ask. Secondly - and this one's important - get ready, your partners, and your employees for the notion of in-depth, time-consuming training. Learning check here isn't something that happens overnight, and before you begin lamenting those lost dollars in the form of decreased productivity, notice that in the long-run, proper training is the key to successful EHR use and the promise of operational efficiency - in other words, higher profits overall.

In fact, do yourself a favor: Next time you find yourself crunching those numbers and worrying whether your system will qualify for meaningful use, try focusing more on your own personal commitment to EHR training, because by the end of the day, that is where your return on investment is truly likely to result from. And remember, even though the EHR wildfire hasn't exactly engulfed the healthcare industry up to now, the push toward health technology is slowly, yet steadily, attempting to improve those statistics. So instead of contemplate the cost of EHR implementation over the next year or two, decide whether it is possible to afford to help keep things status quo.

Roger Shindell,
Founder & CEO,
Carosh Media & Marketing
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