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    Electronic Health Records All Aboard

    Whether you're a health care provider, nurse, or office administrator, nowadays, if you don't utilize a computer on a regular basis, then you're probably several steps behind the curve. There is get more info questioning the fact that despite medical providers' best intentions, the business 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, a large number 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 first person on your own block to dial into this craze called the web or perhaps a self-proclaimed technophobe who hears the word "Blackberry" and pictures a carton of fruit instead of a handheld digital camera, it's difficult to deny the truth that EHRs offer some clear-cut benefits for those professionals who choose to use them. From the patient care perspective, the usage of electronic health records means faster and more focused service, less waiting time for patients, and fewer errors. In the end, doctors aren't exactly known because of their stellar handwriting skills, so the use of electronic records could be truly instrumental in improving patient safety and comfort.

    As a physician with a presumably limited cover technology-related investments beyond your realm of actual medical equipment, you may be thinking "What's inside it for me?" The first point to contemplate is that nothing draws patients to a practice like reviews that are positive and a squeaky clean record - but that's not all. The application of EHRs can in fact improve productivity inside a practice while opening the doors for patient expansion. Imagine trying to increase your patient load by 30 percent without the help of an extra support staff? Having an EHR, it could 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 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 on the part of insurance companies can sometimes be enough to run an otherwise thriving practice in to the ground. By running your billing via an EHR, however, you can avoid spinning your wheels to improve internal errors and external discrepancies, and, more importantly, 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 combination 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 need for proper employee training - a chance cost unto itself. And while america government does have financial incentives available under Medicare and Medicaid for individuals who implement EHR systems starting in 2011, most are concerned about meeting eligibility requirements for what's quickly becoming the primary way to obtain unease among healthcare professionals and software designers alike: meaningful use.

    Within get more info 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" appear to be continuously evolving, the bottom line is, a qualified system must be certified as capable of maintaining patient records and facilitating efficient patient care in a meaningful manner (i.e. e-prescribing). It must enable the electronic exchange of health-related information among multiple providers to boost (and, ideally, expedite) patient care. Finally, to be deemed qualified to receive reimbursement, an EHR system must be with the capacity of transmitting statistical data that may work to improve the healthcare industry on a complete.

    What happens if your EHR system doesn't meet the requirements for meaningful use? If your program of preference doesn't end up making the cut, it is possible to essentially kiss those government-issued reimbursement checks goodbye. However, before you get too caught up in the furor over meaningful use, why not shift that burden onto the program developers whose job it is to create these programs to begin with?

    As a doctor, your role in all of this is simply to look around, observe the direction where your industry is headed, and obtain your little bit 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 lessen reimbursements to late adopters or non-adopters as soon as 2015. To avoid getting left out in the cold, you may want to hop aboard this slowly growing trend, albeit in a well-thought out manner.

    First, start outlining Huawei Y5 2019 Review needs so that when you meet with software vendors, you'll know very well what questions to ask. Secondly - which one's important - prepare yourself, your partners, and your employees for the notion of in-depth, time-consuming training. Learning a new EHR system isn't a thing 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 may be the key to successful EHR use and the promise of operational efficiency - basically, higher profits overall.

    In fact, do yourself a favor: The next time you find yourself crunching those numbers and worrying whether your system will be eligible for meaningful use, try focusing more by yourself personal commitment to EHR training, because by the end of the day, that's where your return on investment is truly likely to result from. And remember, despite the fact that 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 you can actually afford to help keep things status quo.

    Roger Shindell,

    Founder & CEO,

    Carosh Media & Marketing