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Are you worried about HIPAA audits? Tips to come out unscathed!

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Are you worried about HIPAA audits? Tips to come out unscathed!

Don’t let a HIPAA audit catch your practice off-guard!

HIPAA audits are painful and unwelcome. But failing an audit can be a disastrous and a huge blow to the reputation of medical practices. Despite guidelines being formulated every other day, there is, very little coordinated effort being taken by healthcare organizations to meet them. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.

Put these ten tips into action to prevent your medical practice from penalized by auditors. It is a team effort so rope in employees and make a cohesive effort, to stay HIPAA compliant. There are lot of plates spinning and deadlines to meet. So it is important you chalk up a plan and tick things off a checklist to stay on track and move towards complete HIPAA compliance.

  • Run a thorough end to end risk analysis check across the entire organization. Check your documentation management and informational security policies.
  • Devise clear cut policies such as passwords for accessing information and that all images such as scans are securely encrypted.
  • Invest in workforce training. Conduct regular workshops for all your employees on operating procedures and security protocols.
  • Monitor closely if all the newly implemented procedures are working in the first place. Check and re-check the progress of each strategy created to meet HIPAA guidelines.
  • Keep clinical documentation updated and maintain a report of your security procedures and documentation. This will help when auditors ask for evidentiary documents.
  • Create a contingency plan. In a landscape that is constantly shifting things may not play out the way you plan. Having a plan B is important too.
  • Revised HIPAA guidelines place emphasis on business associates and subcontractors being HIPAA compliant. Discuss with your business associates about the security measures they have to follow and keep tabs on the physical and informational security they provide.
  •  Laptops and paper based records are the major reasons of data breaches. Almost 202 cases of data breaches due to stolen or lost laptops have been recorded according to a 2014 survey. Prohibit employees from bringing laptops or digital storage devices to office.
  • If you work with a business associate and need to share medical information insist that your partner has a secure VPN connection to transmit and receive medical data.

Is your medical practice ready for Meaningful Use audits?

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Tips To Face MU Audits

Prepare your medical practice for CMS audits

A recent statistic reveals that one in twenty practices that have attested for MU will face an audit. And that most practices are most likely to face pre-payment audits. The increased governmental scrutiny can catch practices off-guard. Several hospitals maintain a ‘Book of evidence’ in case auditors come knocking by.

Attesting for Meaningful Use is not enough! Medical practices should ensure they can face audits head-on and have the requisite medical documentation.

Tips to become audit ready!

  • Always be ready! The best to insulate your practice from audits and fines is to be prepared. Always save the electronic documentation that supports your attestation. Save the documentation that has the values you entered in the Attestation Module for Clinical Quality Measures. Also, ensure that your payment calculations are carefully documented.
  • Your primary documentation includes the time period of the report, the denominators and numerators for the CQMs and evidence that it was created for that particular EP, hospital or medical center. Additional documentation includes a clear review of medical records. And documents to prove and support each measure attested for.
  • Most providers make the mistake of hating CMS auditors with a vengeance! It is important to comply with audit requests promptly. Providers should have pertinent document in hand after they receive the initial request letter from the contractor. Providing sketchy documents and one line statements will do more harm than good. Detailed, precise and evidence based documentation is required.
  • Medical care providers should stop being backseat drivers. Relying on admin staff or practice managers too much can be a risky proposition. Physicians should stay in the loop, verify documentation, analyze medical care records and medication lists. It is mandatory for every physician to make sure their patient records are accurate. As the slant is on evidence based care there is no better person than physicians to verify the veracity of documents.
  • Is your EHR certified? Receive documentation from the vendor stating that they are CHERT certified. The Office of the National Coordinator maintains a list of certified EHR products. Monitor upgrades and verify that your system meets evolving guidelines and measures. Get a copy of the licensing agreement with your vendor to submit to the auditors.
  • Conduct a thorough security risk assessment of your medical practice. Check if your practice is compliant with the existing security regulations. Not conducting an extensive security risk assessment periodically, can trip you up when the auditors reach your practice.

Is all these tips helpful for you? Tell us how your prepared for Meaningful Use Audits?

MU 2 timeline shift; what it means for your practice?

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Meaningful Use stage 2

Yet another MU 2 pushback; but is there a reason to cheer?

There seems to be a new government announcement every single week. The latest update to cause major ripples was the recent MU2 extension. As with all other healthcare updates it was received with skepticism, hope, and a whole deal of confusion.

The dust has settled now and Eligible Professionals (EP) are back to preparing for MU2. It is clear that MU2 has been extended through 2016 but there will be absolutely no shift in the start dates. But this will definitely give EPs enough time to formulate a more solid Meaningful Use plan.

Some breathing room…

2014 is going to be a trying year for physicians. Meaningful use deadlines, ICD10, and freezing on a payment model that works, there is going to be a lot on the plate. The early birds who are going to attest in 2014 will get an extra year in 2016. EHR vendors can also have enough time to better their systems and focus on the Achilles heel of most EHRs, interoperability.

More time for MU3…

The timeline shift will offer medical practices some amount of breathing space and flexibility. There will be additional time to prepare for Meaningful Use stage 3. And a wee bit more flexibility when it comes to certification.

Can the shift impact ICD 10 implementation?

Unfortunately, yes. Healthcare industry experts suggest that now there is absolutely no possibility of yet another delay to implement ICD10. October 1st 2014 is a date set in stone according to senior health insurance specialist at CMS, Denescia Green. “This is a firm date” she said, earlier this month.

Hopes dashed!

 Physicians who were hoping for a delay in ICD 10 are in for bitter disappointment. The government cannot afford another delay, so there is going to be increased pressure on physicians to transition to the new code set. One major plus would be that practices can utilize and focus their resources, on ICD 10 alone. There wouldn’t be as many deadlines jostling for attention.

Have great staff on board?

This is one question that most practice owners forget to ask themselves. Human resources, seems to be a grossly overlooked factor. With 2014 being a rollercoaster year, not focusing on hiring or training staff, can be the perfect recipe for disaster. Most medical practices are caught up with improving their technical infrastructure and exploring new business models.

But for sustainable success and change, having the right people on board, is the only solution. So, practices can rely on trained personnel and not pushbacks for meeting deadlines.

Here’s a brief presentation on Meaningful Use for medical practice.

Medical Billing Strategies of 2014 – Sink-in to Amplify Your Funds

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Medical Billing Process

Decide Here – Whether to Dwell-in or Leave the Page!

This article is especially designed to meet the needs of the physician practices and other healthcare delivery organizations that are looking for the tactics to revamp their medical billing process so as to boost your cash inflow.

 Where the healthcare billing is travelling?

Though, physicians aren’t tethered to the aged technology and strategy, circumambient healthcare milieu may revoke your cerebral cortex due to diversified growth in healthcare information technology (HIT).

Do you have numerous “wh-questions” on your mind – pertinent to the funds management in your revenue cycle management (RCM) process? Then, this is the go-to technique to enliven your cash coffer.

MEDICAL BILLING STRATEGIES – 2014

Hoard your revenue in each phase of RCM!

Physician Credentialing and Contract Negotiation:

The federal payers have already fixed your reimbursement rates for the patient care services. Despite this, there is a dire need for the providers to negotiate with the payers to get lucrative reimbursements for the service rendered by you. Besides, abiding the payers’ rules during credentialing process brings you more savings.

Front-desk Collection:

Start collecting payments from the scratch – don’t let your staffs ignore the front-end tasks:

1. Point-of-service (POS) payments (Co-pays, deductibles, etc.).

2. Collection of dues well before patient encounter.

3. Thwarting denials through accurate eligibility verification.

4. Gathering insurance accurate data to avoid reimbursement disappointments.

Charge Capture:

HITECH Act, ACA’s “performance based payment” and other federal mandate are the driving forces that accentuate the ideal EHR implementation.

Charge capture must be done accurately for each encounter, procedure and surgery. Evolving ICD-10 guidelines call for the renovation of your super bills in sync with your clinical practice so that charge capture will be immaculate.

Claim Scrubbing:

          This is the vital phase in the medical billing process that aid abridged AR process. AAPC/AHIMA certified coders must be a part and parcel of the claim scrubbing process – so that revenue loss due to underpayment and overpayment issues could be avoided. Concentrating on this phase greatly mitigates the claim rework cost.

Electronic Transmission:

          Timed Clearinghouse transmission for fresh claims is one of the overlooked approaches in most practices. Large practices may need to file the scrubbed, “clean” claims daily.

          Delay in addressing the rejected/denied claims with the remedial action may also hamper your cash in-flow.

eRemittance:

          Interpretation of the remark codes and timely payment posting after the receipt of EOBs/ERAs is very essential for a successful RCM process. Besides, prompt cash inflow/ AR feed into the practice management system (PMS) or electronic medical/ health records (EMR/EHR) is mandatory to avert payment miss-outs and pointless follow-ups.

Denial Follow-up:

The denials must be addressed with an immediate effect to avoid delayed payments or re-denials. While working out on denials, the obligatory documents must be attached during re-submission or appeal. Though the cost involved in denial appeals or re-submissions is an additional burden, ignorance of denial management would be a serious pecuniary loss.

Patient Billing:

          Don’t load your dice against yourself! Precision in the patient billing is a crucial point in the bill settlement. Inaccurate and difficult-to-read billing statements ensue in patient discontent, consequently culminating in bulldozed physician – patient relationship. Above all, a clear statement supports timely payment.

Resource Utilization:

          Exploiting the resources like human resources, infrastructure, funds, technology, etc. to run a practice profitably is a master skill. Among that, leveraging the technology to satisfy patients and enhance practice profits is the challenging task. The following technology platforms ameliorate your patient experience, accelerate revenue cycle process and thus perk-up your business.

Practice Website:

  1.  Patient portal
  2.  Online forms and statements
  3.  Online EHR access
  4.  Online lab and imaging reports
  5.  e-Payment support
  6.  mHealth support (iPad, iPhone, Tablet, etc.)
  7.  Chat support
  8.  Healthcare News
  9.  FAQs
  10.  Social media (e.g. Facebook, twitter, etc.)
  11.  Patient Blogs & forums

Benchmarking:

                  Setting a yardstick and working towards its accomplishment must be the prime goal, if you are attempting to reach your vision and mission.

What functions of the billing process that must be set in the yardstick achievement program?

1. Follow-up and retrieval of underpayments.

2. Averting penalties due to the breach of laws and audit policies (RACs, HIPAA, HITECH Act, etc.).

3. Aggressive follow-up of accounts receivables/bad-debts.

4. Evaluating and making small balance write-offs.

Besides, regular evaluation of your practice, process and finance must be done through the following reports:

  1. Practice Analysis Report
  2. RCM Analysis Report
  3. AR Summary Report

“PERSISTENT REVENUE INFLOW IS THE SINGLE PARAMOUNT WANT OF THE MEDICAL BILLING PROCESS”

Stretch your achievement from good to excellent with these proven medical billing strategies. It will be the hot topic in 2014 as most practices are going out-of-kilter due to stringent policies and other industrial factors.

Tiger Team Checks the EHR Feasibility with Accounting of Disclosures Proposals

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Tiger Team checks EHR Feasibility

The Policy – Technology Equilibrium

In a recent convention of Privacy and Security Tiger Team, it was advised to the HIT Policy Committee that pilot projects must be instated to scrutinize the pragmatism of technical ability of electronic health record (EHR) systems – to revise requirements for accounting of disclosures of protected health information (PHI) and to create the access reports for patients’ utility.

 The Outlook of Pilot Testing

The Tiger Team is set to buttress the federal regulators of Healthcare IT Policy in an endeavor to assess the technical feasibility of EHR with requirements of accounting of disclosures. Furthermore, it aids scrutiny of prospective stages of HITECH Act’s EHR certification program.

To accomplish the HITECH incentives, eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals (EHs) and critical access hospitals (CAHs) must perform “meaningful use” of certified EHRs. In that, patient engagement is a further mandatory requirement for the eligible entities. The pilot project envisages all these requirements’ harmony with the technological aspects.

 A Lesson Learnt from the Mistakes

In May 2011, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), proclaimed the proposed rulemaking for overhauling the accounting of disclosures requirements under HIPAA. This proposal was said to be wrongly pitched and it engendered copious grievances from many healthcare providers with a unified aim to protest the controversial new “access report” provision.

The new “Access Report” must encompass the following data:

  1. Date and time of access.
  2. Name of the person or practice evaluating the PHI.
  3. A note on the information.
  4. A description of the user action (Is information created, modified or deleted?).
  5. EHR disclosures for treatment, operations and payment.

Many of the suggestions posted on the walls of HHS on the access report proposal underscored that it would prove to be technically impracticable, intricate and expensive to execute.

 The Roadmap to New Regulations

  1. The Pilots deem that they have formulated the final recommendations which will be presented to the HIT Policy Committee on 4th December 2013.
  2. Then, these suggestions would be analyzed by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for ‘Civil Rights’.
  3. These two entities of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would devise any new ultimate regulations.

 Access Report – What to include and what not?

The tiger team throws a clear recommendation that patients must enjoy “high-level transparency” with respect to their data use and disclosures. Besides, it seems that it will narrow down the disclosure restrictions so that only the third parties outside the healthcare enterprise may be concerned.

In this milieu, Egerman emphasizes the philosophy “less is more” – as per which only the filtered, pertinent details must be passed on the patients so as to avert confusions and safety hazards of EHR users.

“Baker suggests that for the safety of healthcare workers, names of individuals accessing patients’ healthcare records could be sieved from the “access reports” issued to the patients, but accessible to the healthcare entity when inspecting allegations or suspicion of inappropriate access.”

 Finally, Tiger team accentuates that the EHR system must be tuned in line with the final regulations of this pilot project.

Infographics: Obamacare – A Precursor for Financially Sound Healthcare Practice

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Affordable Care Act(ACA)

How Obamacare Benefits Medical Practitioners?

As a medical practitioner, you will be glad to know that “Obamacare” has proved its mettle in reviving fortunes of the medical business fraternity. Obamacare¸ also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted as federal law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. ACA, along with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, has effectively overhauled the US healthcare system.

ACA, the new health care reform law in America, enhances the affordability, quality, and availability of insurance policies from public and private payers to about 44 million uninsured citizens. This will increase collection of insurance reimbursement collection of hospitals and clinics for providing healthcare services to patients. In addition, it also curtails the rise in healthcare spending.

Any Statistical Evidence That ACA Will Prove its Worth?

Sure – no doubt about that!

Healthcare establishments across the US stand to gain since public opinion favours ACA. Proof of the pudding lies in the fact that statistical survey reports justify the fact that ACA has started gaining momentum across the US. Due to competition in the insurance marketplace, premiums have started dipping below the projected levels. This will lead to estimated savings of roughly $190 in the federal budget during the next 10 years. This fact is a vital early indicator that the ACA is performing much better than anticipated to decrease federal budget deficits and national spending on healthcare.

Due to these savings, the healthcare deficit will be lowered to the tune of 174%. In terms of savings in healthcare suggested by the Simpson-Bowles commission (namely the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform) -, this works out to be around 40%. In addition, reduction in premiums will further decrease the number of uninsured citizens by 700,000. Since insurance will be less expensive, more number of citizens will opt for insurance policies, resulting in additional reimbursement receipts for hospitals.

Statistical Surveys Reinforce Credibility of ACA

Recently, Washington-based Gallup conducted a daily tracking survey, with a random sample of 1,528 adults. These adults were bracketed in age groups of 18-29, 30-49, 50-64, and older than 64. Maximum support for the plan came from the 18-29 age group. The number of persons in the younger generation category who approved the Obamacare plan exceeded the numbers in the same category who disapproved the plan. This implies that more numbers of younger adults are likely to be uninsured in comparison to people in the upper age groups. In addition, there is a steady rise in the population of younger adults. Their willingness for opting for insurance policy is a crucial factor for success of Obamacare.

Do Medical Practitioners Gain by Entry of New Insurance Agencies in the Market? 

Of course! According to the McKinsey Center for U.S. Health System Reform, new insurance payers form about 26% of the number of insurance agencies in the US. Entry of these additional players has led to more intense competition in the insurance market. These agencies priced their premiums lower than existing ones in the market. Lower premiums will lead more people to go in for insurance policies. This will boost up insurance receipts of medical entities.

In addition, the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a preliminary study of insurance plans offered in 18 areas. 15 out of these 18 areas experienced premiums that were less than premiums estimated by the national Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Reduced premiums imply that more and more number of citizens will walk into the insurance coverage basket. It has been estimated that the number of citizens who are not insured will be reduced by 2.8% due to 16% drop in premiums. This, in turn, results in additional revenue collection for hospitals and clinics.  In addition, insurance coverage will be increased for 700,000 citizens by 2013 since CBO had projected a reduction in number of uninsured citizens by that time.

Any Plans Related to ACA Coverage?

You will be pleasantly surprised to know that insurance policies are already available which incorporate the need for minimum coverage. With effect from Jan 1 2014, the ACA mandates that most of the US citizens opt for minimum essential insurance coverage or pay a penalty. Following plans are available for US citizens:

  1. Medicare or Medicaid federal sponsored programs.
  2. Private insurers’ plan in the individual insurance market.
  3. Employer sponsored plans.
  4. Health plans available in States’ individual markets.
  5. Certain health plans that were operative before ACA.

Win-Win Scenario for Doctors and Patients!

Doctors and patients both stand to gain as Obamacare counters effectively insurers’ tendency to deny payment for pre-existing health conditions and impose limits on annual payment by insurance payers. Now pre-existing conditions will also be covered for insurance payment. Citizens will also avail plans that cover out-of-pocket expenses, for the first time in the country. Medicaid coverage is being expanded by many states, so that additional citizens are covered by 2014. The ACT will also cheer-up small business owners who form bulk of uninsured people. This means additional reimbursement receipts for medical units.

For further enquiries on Obamacare, rewards and incentives for wellness programs, tax credits, free EHR/EMR subscriptions, and so on, you are welcome to contact us any time convenient to you.

Infographics: Eradicating Impediments In Medical Claims Reimbursements

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Physician Reimbursement Facts For 2014

Existing turbulent healthcare industry scenario :

In the current turbulent economy-ridden environment healthcare providers and physicians are not able to precisely and correctly claim the actual reimbursements of expenses incurred for  diagnostic and treatment purposes from the insurance agencies, resulting in loss of revenue, profitability, incorrect claims, delayed claims, missing out on claims, the main reason being that they are not fully equipped to provide precise diagnostic and treatment documentation, backed by capturing the correct medical codes for medical billing. The physicians do not have the time to oversee capturing the correct medical codes and medical billing procedures as they have to focus on their core competency of diagnosis and treatment as first priority.

Vital issues compounding the problems :

Healthcare professionals are constantly under pressure due to increased patient/financial constraints and regulatory pressures, forecasting a doomsday for medical services.  This situation is worsened further due to federal regulations that advocate improved, affordable healthcare services without comprising on quality issues even under the present economic scenario where the inputs for provision of healthcare services are experiencing spirally increased costs. To further complicate the issue, in-house administrative personal are not inadequately trained, inexperienced and lack the requisite expertise in medical coding and billing, as well as thorough and accurate clinical documentation.

The physicians would like to spend most of their time and efforts by focusing on core issues of diagnosis and treatment, rather than diverting their resources and energies over the nuances of managing and monitoring their   to maximize revenue. Rather than have in-house medical coding and billing services, it pays to opt for outsourcing or right sourcing the billing services to established and experienced vendors. There is a dire need for in-house analysis of existing problems, solutions, future trends, and remedial measures.

The situation will further worsen in the near future since presently health care reforms are under way with focus on affordable health coverage and quality. 

Medical Reimbursement Problems faced by Health Providers :

  1. Insufficient knowledge or experience in medical coding and billing
  2. Lack of training in medical coding and billing
  3. Physicians using In-house medical coders and billers have to feel the consequences by struggling with inexperienced coders straight out of college
  4. These billers and coders fail to cope up with evolving coding and billing guidelines, for medical procedures, and stay abreast with the latest procedures
  5. Nightmares of lost revenue and unpaid bills 

Lost revenue opportunities :

  1. Physicians tend to miss opportunities to maximize medical reimbursements from the insurance companies.Lost revenue due to various factors includes:
  2. Undercoding level of treatment,
  3. Omitting modifiers,
  4. Submission of medical reimbursement claims without the requisite documentation required to support the reimbursements.
  5. Wastage of resources in determining and tracking reasons for claims rejected, besides finding out claims missed or under claimed.

The pathway to maximum reimbursement :

  1. Out sourcing or better known as “Right sourcing” the medical billing and coding, clinical documentation, claims processing, EMR services to professional one-stop third party vendors  results  faster, precise and complete reimbursement of medical claims, boosting up revenue and  profits.
  2. Besides assigning the right codes for medical services the outsourcing vendor provides specialty specific coding services using experienced and AAPC credentialed coders on board. 
  3. The vendor is conversant with the significance of coding for the technical and professional components of a medical service, place of service codes, e/m codes, revenue codes, and when claims need to be bundled or unbundled.Compliance with all medical coding systems such as ICD, CPT and HCPCS ensures that working with such vendor is a smart option.

Remedial Measures :

  1. Wise,prudent, and strategic to partner established third party vendors such as MedicalBillingStar who have long-standing expertise, experience in dealing with state-of-the-art coding and billing services to a wide range of categories in the US medicare industries.
  2. Healthcare and medical units, irrespective of whether they are small, medium, or large, stand to experience hassle-free boost-up of medical reimbursements, without the nightmares of returned claims, missed-out claims, and piling up of rejected claims, and efforts to resubmit claims.
  3. MedicalBillingStar closely follows the on-going trends in medical coding and billing and medical insurance claims processing methodologies.

A Few Survival Strategies For Healthcare CFO’s To Handle 2014

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Time for healthcare CFO’s to step up their plate !

2014 is going to be a year of change. Federal mandates, financial constraints and heavy penalties for non –compliance is going to make 2014 a challenging, tumultuous year. It is time to up the game to ensure medical practices don’t crumble under pressure. And as always it is the man at the helm who needs to up the game!

Focusing on wellness programs can help you save on taxes !CFO

The PPACA requires all healthcare organizations to review the wellness plans of all full time employees. Choosing a wellness plan that is highly deductible can be a major tax saver. CFOs will have to examine the current coverage plans.

And freeze in on a wellness plan that works both for their employees and also saves on taxes. This could well be the major priority of healthcare CFOs in 2014.

Systems to record the quality of care…

The healthcare landscape is undergoing a period of transition. From volume based payments. To a model that is based on the quality of care and patient outcomes. It is essential that CFO’s implement systems and upgrades to report and measure clinical variations. Maintaining, longitudinal health records that are detailed and contain data across the care continuum, is important.

Will your clinical documentation cut it ?

Do you maintain pristine clinical documentation ? If yes you are lucky. If, like a majority of health care providers your answer is, no, then it’s time you upped the ante. Review your revenue cycle that coordinate with coders and physicians to ensure more accurate and updated clinical documentation.

Analyze every phase of the RCM to see where you can reduce costs. Have your billing team give a detailed report of key financial metrics.

Outsourcing can be a huge cost saver !

Reducing the number of full time employees can help you cut back on costs. But this is a move that has to be taken after weighing in the pros and cons. 

Here’s a quick presentation for CFO’s to handle the practice.

Forget The Incentive. Can Your Practice Escape MU Penalties?

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How do you avoid MU penalties ? There is just one way, demonstrate meaningful useMU. The primary worry of all healthcare providers is missing out on incentives. But taking steps to avoid the fast approaching penalties should be the top most priority right now. It is time for physicians to get in on the ground floor and work towards MU.

Working hand in hand with patients !

To, meet compliance deadlines, it isn’t enough, that you adopt an EHR, and optimize, your, workflow. Remember that it all boils down to just one thing, the quality of care you provide patients. Explore better ways of working with your EHR to avoid nasty payment cuts and penalties.

Eligible professionals, who are going to demonstrate meaningful use to avoid payment adjustments in 2015, must kick start their EHR reporting period by July 2014. You will have to work at breakneck speed to reach the finishing line on time.

Ramping up patient portal efforts…

Under stage two of Meaningful Use patients should be able to view their data, download it and be able to transmit it. Do you know that a functional patient portal can help you meet, 3 core objectives and 4 menu objectives? That it could be the easiest way of meeting the patient engagement criteria?

 Though a patient portal can be available in the provider’s website or function as a stand -alone online application. A patient portal that is integrated in to your EHR can improve functionality and ensure data security.

Patient engagement the big “gotcha” !

Laura Kreofsky the principal advisor for Impact Advisors predicts that patient engagement and public reporting are going to be the major stumbling blocks for physicians. Make sure you option for an EHR with a robust patient portal. If you are an EHR user insist that your vendor provides you with a fully functional patient portal.

The payment cuts for physicians who’ve missed the boat…mu-penalties

Source:Practice fusion

Smartphones Can Help Your Practice To Achieve MU !

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What do you do when you go meet a physician ? Explain in detail about your medical history and pray that you haven’t left out anything. Now you just need to hand your smartphone to the doctor. The trend of accessing medical data through smartphones is growing at a fast clip.

And major smartphones such as iPhone and Android apps offer applications to, store, download, and manage patient information.

A success story…

The University of Pittsburgh Medical center found that patients joining the medical practice’s patient portal grew exponentially after reports were available through smartphones. The project launched in 2011 has been a roaring success with 700 patients joining the portal every week. Patients’ being able to access their medical records is a major criterion for qualifying for MU. And smartphones have just made it easier for doctors!

How do you get Mrs Linder interested ?

Despite the optimism and euphoria surrounding the success of smartphones to help patients use patient portals, engaging them is a key issue. Mayo clinic found out the hard way that engaging patient is no easy task.

Patient engagement ; an on-going challenge…

When they launched a web based portal three years ago, 240,000 patients joined. Reason to celebrate! But wait. The clinic is having a tough time getting patients to using the portal. To receive MU dollars patients should use the patient portal. Patients who are too old or those who are suspicious of technology need to join the bandwagon as well.

Show that you care !

To engage patients it is important that patient portals are designed from the patients’ perspective. Address their needs and make the portal fit in with their overall healthcare plan. Making the portal easily navigable and using images and text that are easy on the eye is important. And yes the assurance that their data is completely secure.

Not everybody understands encryption protocols or static passwords. Educate and train your patients in handling healthcare IT. Encourage patients to use graphical authentication techniques. And, to separate medical data, from, the other regular features, of their, mobile phones.

Fighting the good fight !

It can be frustrating, pointless and time consuming. But staying the course can help your practice not just receive MU incentive dollars and achieve compliance. But also make hundreds of your patients happy and more involved in their healthcare.

Here is the info-graphics with few stats on patient portal

patient-portal