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Are Doctors,The Casualty Of Recent Healthcare Reforms?

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[AnythingPopup id="3"] Doctors-Stress

 

Doctors in Critical Condition !

Hate spending time in the waiting room of your physician’s office ? In a few years time you should count yourself to be lucky if you get to meet a physician at all! A recent study by the, The Physicians Foundation brings home an uncomfortable truth. That physicians are overworked underpaid, and, most are planning to leave the profession all together.

The Ailing Healthcare Industry…

Healthcare experts’ critic the latest reforms in the healthcare field and predict that there would be fewer physicians, in the years to come.

Though there may not be a mass, dramatic and headline grabbing exodus, if the current trend persists there could be 44,250 doctors lost in the next 4 years.

This coupled with 32 million newly insured Americans, can lead to longer waits to meet the doctor. And, less or no, patient engagement.

Has the Healthcare Industry Become too Expensive and Complicated?

Escalating costs of healthcare and mind bending regulations have made doctors, ailing patients desperately looking for a cure.

In a survey by Shana felt and colleagues of the Mayo clinic, a shocking 46% of doctors suffered from signs of a burnout.

We’ve Become Data Entry Clerks !

Money is hard to come by. But that is not the only reason physicians are contemplating early retirement. Family practitioner Mark Laza, in a recent summit, said that he’d cut 15% of his patient load.

He’d stopped seeing patients with low paying plans. But one major complaint he had was that doctors had become data entry clerks. The number of hours lost due to data entry made it harder to practice medicine, he complained.

It is a Crisis and not a Passing Phase…

This is a crisis that demands collective attention and action. It is a bitter truth but a truth nevertheless, that caring for patients isn’t the only priority of the doctor. To help a sick industry recover, it is essential that every physician maps out a game-plan.

It could be the tried and tested outsourcing solution or revamping compensation formulas. To hire part time staff to handle data entry tasks or working with a billing company. Whatever needs to be done needs to be done now ! To help physicians tide over challenges and emerging fiscally fit !

Free EMR Critics Are Advised To Really Think Hard Before Painting A Dreary Picture

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Does Free Always Come With A Heavy Price Tag ?  

Of late there has been a spate of attacks against perfectly free EMR, on grounds that such a product is actually not free; that the increased hours/money spent on getting trained in such an EMR offsets the benefits of free implementation.  Also, another popular line of attack is that such an EMR is not certified for meaningful use and may beat the purpose of installing them in the first place.  Finally, doubts are being cast on the revenue generation models of such a product, in that they may be selling out classified patient information to all and sundry.

But there are some who argue that nothing can be further from the truth.

A free EMR like Practice Fusion has been voted the No 1 EMR among primary care physicians for two years in a row (2011, 2012,) and obtained meaningful use certification from ONC-ATCB in 2011.

Insufficient Support ?

The accusation of extra hours being spent in getting trained in a free EMR, because the support services are inadequate, is an ungrounded myth. Free EMRs n are simple to learn and free of unnecessary frills. There are a few billing vendors who pay for or offer free practice management software. This leaves the doctor with a tight budget, a choice to adopt an EHR without losing sleep over costs.

Unfounded Criticism…

Although the attack about the revenue generation model is the weakest of them all, let us make things clear here.  Free EMRs generate revenue primarily by running ads of Pharma companies etc.  As additional revenue, even if mined data is shared with federal healthcare bodies, it is suitably masked.  But hey ! Isn’t inter-connectivity of all patient databases one of the goals of the EMR project?

We really think that in the future, it would be wiser if the critics of the free EMR model to do bit of homework before firing their salvos.

Is Consolidation an Imperfect Solution for Small Practices ?

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Are Small Practices Given A Rough Deal ?

Your friendly neighborhood small practice could soon belong to the hazy past. The growing regulatory and financial pressures on independent practices have made most of them gravitate towards big hospitals. Economic realities and a spate of regulatory thresholds are making small practice owners seek shelter under the relative safety of big practices.

Hurried Goodbyes…

Almost every recent stat released recently, Point to just one thing, The demise of small practices.

According to a study by Accenture only 36% of physicians will have a practice ownership stake in 2013. 87% of participants complained that sky-high operational costs were the major reason for most of them to bid goodbye, to, The independent model of working.

Acquisition of small practices is growing at an alarming rate. But will this be the remedy for struggling physicians?

Bigger Not Always Better !

Mergers and consolidations are hoped to bring about positive change. The much needed respite for small practices battling a lopsided battle. But they aren’t a foolproof solution. A recent controversy surrounding a major healthcare provider, has posed a question that nobody has an answer for. What is the future of small practices ?

A, Whole Lot Of Dust Raised…

If somebody told that the calm metropolis of Boise, would stage a fierce medical battle, It might have sounded like a joke a few years ago.

Cut to 2012 St Lukes health system, found itself in the midst of controversy.

Independent doctors complained that referrals were dropping steadily and of almost complete domination by the health system.

An Echo Of A Hundred Other Voices !

Repeatedly, large scale health systems have been in the news for dominating and pressurizing small practices to attain difficult financial goals. Everybody is blaming everybody else and very few physicians are happy with the whole set-up.

Opening New Avenues !

Experts argue that it is too early in the day to give ‘consolidations and acquisitions’ the thumbs down. The trend is still young and can lead to better care and lower costs in the long run. It can also put an end to fragmented patient care and documentation.

For Those Who Want To Remain Independent…

What about the doctor who doesn’t want to wait for a pay check every month? There is got to be a way! This is most definitely a challenging time for small practices. But with every challenge comes an opportunity to turn things around !

Operating in less populated, remote, areas that cannot accommodate huge organizations, can provide steady income and clientele. Independent practices can also Outsource Billing to contain costs. In the end what matters most is that small practices must focus on offering a distinct, tangible value for its patients.

2013 Ahead ! Will your Practice fly across the Fiscal Cliff or fall into an Abyss?-Infographic

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Beware Medical Practices 2013 Ahead !

And we are not exaggerating. The whole nation is gone into a huddle, discussing about the eminent Fiscal Cliff. Medical practices, small independent practices in particular, are going to be the worst hit. Across the board sequestration cuts and a 2% reduction in Medicare reimbursement, have left physicians fuming.

716 Billion Payment cut over the Next Ten Years…

The patient protection and affordable care act are aimed at improving the quality of patient care and reduce duplication. But, at what, cost ? From 2013 to 2022 it is going to be one rollercoaster ride for medical practitioners. Hospitals are increasingly merging and affiliating to handle the reimbursement cuts.

Declining reimbursement means, acquiring and consolidating independent practices seems to be the most viable and sustainable model. Doctors, who want to continue to be independent, are facing the possibility of becoming endangered species.

Small Practices Shutting their Doors…

A recently published whitepaper by the Physicians Foundation and Merritt Hawkins suggest that small practices will be uniformly replaced in the coming years. It is a known fact that physicians are under-compensated.

Small and medium practice owners should focus completely on maintaining RUV production at a sustainable level to tackle operational costs.

A Few Ways to Survive the Tough Years Ahead !

  • Review and rework on existing physician compensation formulas.
  • Renegotiate contracts with payers.
  • Develop a strategic plan. Every staff member should remove themselves from the everyday workday, to reflect, and devise strategies to stay profitable.
  • Concentrate on meeting Meaningful Use standards to receive MU incentives while they are still around.
  • Consider outsourcing certain aspects of the Medical Billing Workflow such as  to cut back on costs.
  • As reimbursement models place a greater share of financial risk on physicians, it is important that they focus more on their Revenue Management Cycle.
  • Conduct internal analysis and identify throughput issues.

Bracing for Change !

Change is the only constant. This is the time for medical practices to scale up and meet the financial pressures placed on them. And wait for the regulatory changes to see how they play out !

In-fact, the Fiscal Cliff can even prove to be a good thing. According to a poll conducted by TCB around 51.7 % respondents felt that going over the cliff, could prove to be a good thing after all !

It could induce people to look beyond the tried and tested, and focus on coming up with novel solutions. The reimbursement and tax cuts can help a staggering economy get back on its feet. And, like they say when you hit the bottom the only is up ! As with every New Year, this is the time for reflection, resolutions, and most importantly, hope.