Here is a quick look at some of the other articles recently posted on some of the other HealthcareScene.com websites:

EHR and EMR Videos

David Collins of HIMSS Discusses the Course of Global Health at the 2011 mHealth Summit- David Collins, Senior Director of Professional Development at HIMSS, speaks at the 2011 mHealth Summit about HIMSS’ involvement in this year’s Summit, and about how HIT X.0 is affecting the course of Global Health.

Cerner Smart Room Technology Overview Video- An updated view of Cerner’s Smart Room technology. The Cerner Smart Room incorporates technology and workflow software to improve consumer care and clinician efficiency. The Smart Room is powered by CareAwareTM device connectivity architecture.

EHR and EMR Screenshots

These three posts provide numerous screenshots from the DentiMax Dental Practice Management Software.  Are there special considerations for a dental practice as opposed to a regular medical practice when it comes to EHR/EMR/PM?

Screenshots from the DentiMax Dental Practice Management Software
More Screenshots from the DentiMax Dental Practice Management Software
Appointment Book Pro Screenshots from the DentiMax Dental Practice Management Software

Smart Phone Health Care

How to Get Physicians Onboard with mHealth- No matter how great an app or device may be, it will be difficult for any developer to be successful if they don’t get some level of buy in from physicians in general.  People will always resort back to their physician when it comes to the quality of medical products.

Axial’s Care Transition Suite Wins “Ensuring Safe Transitions from Hospital to Home” Mobile App Challenge- In a recent online discussion I had concerning an article I recently wrote, the point was raised that for an app or device to be successful it must fulfill a need.  While I don’t think that it is absolutely essential to success, it certainly makes the path to success much more realistic.

A blog post today by Microsoft’s Dr. Bill Crounse got me thinking again about the cloud.

Crounse cited a new CDW poll showing that 30 percent of healthcare organizations could be considered “cloud adopters,” and for good reason. “The flexibility, scalability and lower costs associated with moving certain line of business applications to the cloud are compelling, especially for an industry like healthcare. After all, the primary focus of hospitals and clinics is caring for patients, not running an IT empire. There’s not a CIO, CFO, CEO, COO, CNO, CMIO, or CMO who wouldn’t love to shift some of their IT spending to delivering better care to the communities they serve,” Crounse wrote.

They were more likely to turn to the cloud for “commodity” services such as e-mail, file storage, videoconferencing and online learning. “Moving your ‘commodity’ applications to the cloud is an excellent place to start,” Crounse said. “I’d suggest first reaching out to your health industry peers and professional organizations to get a better sense of who’s doing what. I think when you’ve learned about some of the best health industry practices in cloud computing, you’ll be ready to explore what might be possible in your own organization.

But the fact that 30 percent of healthcare organizations use the cloud means that 70 percent do not. I suspect a lot of hospitals and physician practices still run aging, legacy client-server management systems in-house, just because that’s how people did things when those systems were first installed. As they replace their legacy technology, expect more healthcare organizations to opt for cloud services for these commodity-type services.

And what about clinical services?

At HIMSS11 back in February, Athenahealth honcho Jonathan Bush, a longtime fan of the cloud, told me he wanted to lead the “Cloud Cavalry” into Las Vegas (there’s no better place for an over-the-top spectacle, of course) next winter for HIMSS12. (See the second video for that.) Athenahealth, which has a certified, cloud-based EHR, straddles the line between clinical and administrative, and it’s not alone. I can’t think of a single ambulatory EHR vendor that doesn’t offer at least a cloud option if not a full-fledged SaaS product.

But is the cloud truly reliable for critical applications such as inpatient EHRs? In the wake of April’s Amazon EC2 cloud outage, I can imagine more than a few CIOs, practice managers and, especially, physicians are a bit skittish now.

What do you think?

Whats Features in an EMR add value to the Appointment Workflow? http://bit.ly/EMRVOL2

May 7, 2011 3:02 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nrip

nrip

A good question with an interesting article that looks at the benefits that an EMR is providing Indian doctors. I think sometimes we talk so much about EMR, that we don’t talk as much about other things like patient scheduling, appointment management, patient management, etc. I’ll be interested to hear people’s thoughts on the above article.

The latest flu bug that’s been going around has hit me pretty hard. I’ll be back tomorrow (assuming all goes well) with more posts.

Until then, some interesting news items for you to consider:
SOAPware Announces Release of PMS – They’ve been working on this for a while. Plus, it’s interesting to see the pure EMR companies getting a PMS. Check out this interview I did previously with the SOAPware president.

SRS and Ingenix Collaborate to Deliver PMS and EHR – Another case of an EMR partnering with a PMS system. Plus, now SRSsoft can get to meaningful use. As expected, EVERY EMR vendor is likely going to need to be able to say, “Our EMR can show meaningful use.”

I was recently reading a post on EMRUpdate (great EMR Forum) by a man I highly respect who goes by CEOMike. In his long post, he made the following short analysis that I thought was really interesting:

I thought by now you would have figured out EMR vendors are LIARS, making some of the bankers look like choir boys. I have done other posts on the install base claims of vendors. Figure it out 4% (studies show) of approx 400,000 primary care docs is only about 16,000 EMRs in use. Divide that by the approximately 400 EMRs [see my list of over 400 EMR companies] that have been listed in the last three years = 40 users per EMR Or go at the other way – take all claims by EMR vendors and add them up (I did this exercise a few years back) and you get something like over a million doctors using EMRs???

The million EMR installs seems a little high, but the point is well made. How do we really get accurate data about install base? The answer is that you really can’t from most vendors.

When we first implemented our EMR, we were told that they had close to 100 college health centers. Little did they ask (I wasn’t there when they selected this particular EMR) how many of the 100 health centers actually used EMR versus just their practice management system. Let’s just say I was quite surprised by the reality.

That didn’t deter me. In fact, if anything it motivated me to make it happen. Still today I think our clinic is the most cutting edge in our category for use of EMR. I enjoy that feeling and I enjoy when other clinics want to come and take a look at what we’re doing. Yes, I am sure they want to see our EMR and not just have a trip to Las Vegas.

I recently invited the President and Owner of Great Acclaim LLC to do a guest post for this blog talking about the benefits of switching to a web based medical practice management. The hope was to illustrate the increased reimbursement that can be achieved by using a well managed practice management software (or SAAS – Software as a Service).

This blog has focused a lot on EMR and EHR, but hasn’t focused enough on the benefits of an electronic practice management service. The following guest post from Dan Williams will hopefully shed some more light on the benefits of a web based medical practice management implementation.

Guest Post by Dan Williams
Physicians face an array of options linked with the decision to switch to Web-based practice management solutions. Like EMR implementation, some doctors are reluctant to make the switch, citing reasons such as fear of change, fear of commitment to a provider, or fear of investment (“it’s just too costly”). However, once practice managers understand the value of a Web-based solution, and how that solution can easily and immediately lower claim rejection percentages, the fears will be seen as unwarranted.

With an industry average of nearly 30% in third party claims rejection, a client-server model cannot keep up with the constant process and coding changes the insurance companies are introducing into the reimbursement system. There are millions of coding combinations and they change regularly. Many doctors hire out to manage the business aspects of their practices, and may not even realize how much money they are losing through poor management, security threats, or simple ignorance of the solutions available. Medical professionals are accustomed to trusting in the newest proven advances to solve medical problems for their patients. It’s time they trust proven technological advances to solve business problems as well.

After firing their previous outsourced billing providers, several Seattle-area physicians’ practices recently hired Great Acclaim, a specialized outsourced medical billing firm, to handle billing functions. The firm had selected AdvancedMD practice management software based on its Web-based model and customer average of fewer than 5% rejected reimbursement claims. Using this Web-based practice management software, client monthly deposits and reimbursements increased by 50%, as fewer claims were denied and electronic financial transfers (EFTs) now account for 75% of insurance company payments.

Practice management software simplifies staff workflow by combining billing, scheduling and EMR functions. With no need to purchase additional hardware, install server-based software or perform manual data back-ups, initial investment is low, while ROI is maximized. Many practices and billing services find that the need for human review of claims and therefore, the number of man hours required to perform office functions is reduced, leading to greater efficiency and higher profits.

After initial setup and training all of its clients’ staff with the same software, Great Acclaim has eliminated integration obstacles. Nothing gets lost in paper transfers. From a new patient’s first appointment, physicians and their staff have access to the same information as Great Acclaim does through the Web-based model – anytime and anywhere.

Not only have client practices’ workflows improved since making the switch, but they no longer face a high financial security risk, as those receiving payments aren’t the same individuals who manage the billing. The software is designed to inhibit fraud. All of this equals less risk and more rewards for physicians. Or, as Great Acclaim’s clients have concluded: 50% higher returns for the same effort on the part of doctors—a great deal.

Dan Williams, a former software industry expert, is the President and Owner of Seattle-area outsourced medical billing firm Great Acclaim LLC.