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Its Time To Resuscitate Healthcare !

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[AnythingPopup id="13"] Time to Resuscitate Healthcare

The odds are stacked against physicians. Rising operational costs, hours lost due to data entry and compliance thresholds have made practicing medicine a nightmare for physicians. An increasing number of them are contemplating early retirement. With so much to deal with and a lot more to come, it is a testing time for the healthcare industry.

Buckling Under Pressure…

Slashes in reimbursement and compulsion to gravitate towards EHRs are the major reasons why medical practices are ailing. With divided opinions about ACOs and everybody blaming everybody else, the healthcare field resembles a war-zone. A recent study conducted by Bloomberg points that there is an estimated shortage of 13,000 doctors.

It is time the policy makers take remedial measures to help resuscitate physicians.

Over taxed slaves ?

Disincentives and pressures have made doctors feel like over worked slaves. After a long and expensive education, it is a bleak and challenging future that lies ahead. It doesn’t work for the doctor who is gasping for change and for patients who feel a strain in the physician-patient relationship.

Increasing Costs For Doctor Owned Practices !

The operating costs of a physician working in a full time in a physician owned multi-specialty climbed to 1.3% from last year. The commercial fee for service amounted to 51% of total charges.

A Few Bitter Truths…

  • Operational costs for running  a practice have increased over the last year.
  • Labor costs are the major money drainer for medical practices.
  • EHRs increase the amount of time spent on data entry tasks.

Solutions That Might Just Work…

  • Outsource to cut down on labor costs and operational expenses.
  • Train staff or vendors on using EHRs to reduce data entry pressures.
  • Select an EHR that automates workflow to a major extent, to save on time and resources.

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

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[AnythingPopup id="12"] Survival-Tips

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.

Here is what you can do to Receive $44,000 !

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Getting ready for Stage Two ?

It is October. Time to get flu shots, hustle the kids to school for a new school year, and, yes concentrate on, mu! Qualifying for the stage two of meaningful use guidelines, is going to be tough for physicians. It is certainly no stroll in the park but it isn’t mission impossible either. The final regulations for meaningful use stage two emphasize on interoperability of data and more standardized data formats.

With 2014 drawing near it is time for the smart doc to plan ahead and gear up for the incentive !

Start with the lab…

Do you still run down the corridor to fetch x-rays ? A lab interface that can integrate with your existing emr or ehr can be helpful in qualifying for meaningful use. Lab data contains pertinent patient information and proper filing and documenting of patient records, is critical to attest for the mu incentive.

Several pac systems can integrate with ehrs and emrs. Pick one now and cast aside one major worry.

Are you Encrypting your Data ?

It is important that all personally identifiable health information is encrypted, when “not in use”. Ensure your vendors, staff and anybody who has access to your medical records, encrypts them.

Patient communication is going to be all important…

If you are a busy doctor who rushes through patient appointments, you’ll have to change the way you work. As expected meaningful use stage 2 raises the bar for patient engagement and communication. It is important that your patients are able to access their records and lab results. Asking your ehr vendor to set up a separate, password protected individual access, to patients can help in bettering patient communication.

A Mixed Bag !

The revised guidelines for stage 2 offer a mixed baggage for medical practitioners. It’s gone easy on several regulations that were proposed initially, such as reducing the number of patients, who have to be offered online access to medical information, from 10% to 5 %. But on the other hand has raised the bar for, ensuring patient communication and interoperability.

But it is widely believed to be, in the long run, not just a game changer but harbinger for a better and more secure healthcare environment.