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Are patients with high deductibles a threat to medical practices?

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It is time for medical practices to focus on patient collections!

Does high deductible mean low chances of getting paid?

Patient responsibilities have risen under the latest healthcare reforms. Coming forward, most patients would pay most of their healthcare bills by themselves. With payment responsibilities shifting to patients, managing patients with high deductibles is a risky proposition for medical practices.

High deductible insurance plans are the order of the day and physicians, who fail understand this emerging trend, will find themselves in an unenviable position. By the end of this year, an estimated 20 million patients will join the healthcare system and an alarming 80% of the newly insured patients, are at high risk for non-payment.

In a perfect world!

Higher out-of-pocket expenses are going to leave physicians with the unsavoury task of making patients pay their bills. In a fair world, patients would pay prior to treatment and coordinate with the doctor’s office regarding payment options. Patients would be well informed about insurance plans and guidelines.

But the healthcare world is anything but perfect. Everyday physicians face irate patients, lawsuits and threats to move to another provider.

Sounding harried over the phone?

The average time medical practice staff spend over the phone has increased and a call can last anywhere between 10 to 40 minutes. Blame it on complicated health plans and insurers who change payment regulations, constantly. Most private practices are understaffed and find it difficult to handle the deluge of patient calls.

Patient portals have been of tremendous help, but again, patients need constant support and education to access and use patient portals. Which leaves medical practices with one question- who does the tough job of receiving payment from patients?

Handling patient payment is a tough nut to crack!

Receiving patient payment isn’t just about sending sporadic statements, now and then. It requires close coordination with patients prior to a visit. Educating patients and helping them discover plans and payment options that best suit their needs, is essential. As is, following up with patients and sending out patient statements regularly.

And, always, ensuring, that patients don’t feel like, they are being cornered. Medical practices, now, rely mostly on collection agencies to handle their patient billing process. It avoids bad blood between patients and the medical practice. Trained professionals do a much better job and can free up in-house staff to focus on clinical activities.

Generate more revenue and increase your medical practice’s footprints

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Generate more revenue and increae your medical pracrtice's footprints

Position your medical practice as a market leader!

Great! Physicians have finally realized that they will have to move beyond the traditional approach towards practicing medicine and become savvy businessmen as well. All that murmurs and complaints have died down. The writing is on the wall, it is smart physicians who can also be mean businessmen who can survive.

And physicians are not half as pathetic as businessmen as most people would like to believe. The tremendous efforts medical practices take to position themselves as leaders in their specialty or niche is proof enough that physicians are savvy businessmen in their own right.

What are the best ways to increase the authority and reach of your medical practice?

There are several ways you can ensure your medical practice is a step ahead of the competition. And most importantly, to end every day on a happy note, despite mounting financial pressure… So what is the secret behind insanely successful medical practices? Apart from best of class medical care there is a lot more healthcare professionals need to do to have a firm footing in the industry.

This may sound clichéd and you’d have come across this a million times but these tips to increase and expand your authority and client-base also explain how to break a complex process into small, bite-sized pieces!

These are the areas you need to be focusing on…

There are no two ways about it- increase patient engagement

1.  A strong social media presence

2. Cleverly designed marketing strategies

Here is how to increase patient engagement!

Providing undivided attention to patients during a visit is one of the best ways to engage patients. Automate tasks by using apps to record encounters, outsource or automate tasks such as transcription and documentation of medical records. Most EHRs come with full featured patient portals and walking your patients through it will increase patient engagement.

Dissemination of information is vital. Providing electronic access to medical records to patients will help drive up patient engagement and also make them more involved in their healthcare.

A clinic based in Cleveland allows patients to input their health information into the clinics patient portal. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it is a great move by the clinic. It reduces patient information errors, increases engagement with their health and saves up precious staff time!

Time to go social!

Having a strong social media presence is vital to stay on top of the game. Hire experts or step up the effort and time you spend on social media. One sure fire strategy to grab eyeballs is to add pictures and videos to your Facebook page or Tweets. Share information about latest healthcare updates, drugs, equipment or experiments specific to your specialty and organize regular surveys and polls.

It is the quickest and easiest way to position yourself as a leader in your niche. Be responsive. Mention names and Twitter handles to show that you are paying personal attention and be prompt with replies, always!
Have a marketing plan…

Medical practices hardly spend time in marketing efforts. It sounds almost gross to physicians. But to gain a strong toehold in a fiercely competitive industry, getting on the marketing bandwagon certainly helps. Distribute pamphlets or drop flyers at your neighbourhood supermarket during the flu season, school physicals etc… Have a toll-free helpline for patients to reach you at all times. Have a strong recall system and scheduling plan.

Conduct regular market assessment studies to know where you stand and what could be the best way to leverage your strengths. Maintain an implementation, process and results log to track the implementation and end result of your marketing efforts. Spruce up your website and contribute to healthcare journals, magazines and e-zines.

Post your contributions and that of the physicians who work with you in your website and notice board. It will build credibility.
Nothing beats freebies!

Here is the secret sauce. Provide free screenings, health camps, blood checks, BMI checks and blood pressure screenings every few months. This will get the word around and help in “brand” recall.

Organize health awareness seminars and summer camps for kids. Being known as the friendly doctor down the lane is probably the best marketing tactic, afterall!

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?

Five Common Gaffes of Healthcare Providers in an EHR selection

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EHR Support

Hunting for a right EHR?

Partnering a vendor for your electronic medical/ health record (EMR/ EHR) journey is no easy task for your medical practice. Based on the views of industry experts, I have something to advice you about the common flaws that you might make while selecting an EHR.

 The deciding factors:

Various factors including practice size, type of medical specialty, adeptness in adopting advanced technologies, budget, etc. determine the choice of a perfect EMR/ EHR for your clinic or hospital. Keep these criteria in your mind along with awareness on the common mistakes in selecting an EMR/ EHR for your care center.

 Errors and Points to consider:

#1: Selection of an EHR vendor with restricted support:

Most of the EMR/ EHR vendors get you tethered through their software selling, but they may direct you to procure the compatible hardware or support from a third party. Don’t get entrapped! Once you encounter a problem one vendor points out the other one, finally putting you in dilemma.

Always prefer a vendor who can provide you the full-scale solutions for your Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) process along with the EMR/ EHR support.

#2: Selection of interfaced systems:

Industry experts state that it is best to go with the fully integrated system with EMR or EHR, practice management and interoperability modules rather than interfaced systems. Handling dual systems for sharing common data like ICD-9/ ICD-10, CPT and HCPCS codes, record templates, etc. mayn’t practically feasible as the vendors state. Inbuilt ticklers and essential clinical alerts in one system can fail to be produced in the other system.

#3: Ignorance on hidden costs:

When choosing an EMR/ EHR, it is crucial to estimate the cost involved in the EHR/ EMR including software purchase, monthly subscription, annual maintenance, software upgrades, hardware costs, installation, implementation, training and any pertinent third-party charges.

So, don’t choose an EMR/ EHR just looking at the initial price label.

#4: Overlooking the worth of specialty templates:

Though self-designed clinical documentation templates fit best for your medical practice, it has several disadvantages:

A.  It is an arduous and time-consuming task.

B.  All other providers perceive your templates as strange designs.

C.  Incorporating the in-house template ideas into software (designed by an external vendor) can be difficult.

Thus, the wiser option is to purchase the customized systems with inbuilt template libraries that best suit your specialty practice needs.

#5: Missing point-of-care modules:

Most EHR/ EMR systems are not focused on point-of-care documentation. The patient data can get duplicated at the pharmacy, frond-end or laboratory – leading to medical errors and even medico-legal complications. This may pose risk to your ROI of EHR/ EMR and intention to adopt the technological advancements like using a tablet or smart phone.

Purchase the exact EMR/EHR and ramp-up the productivity and profitability of your medical practice.

Time for medical practices to go active on social media!

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It is time for medical practices to go active on social media!

A thousand “Likes” for socially active hospitals!

Are you a physician who thinks social media is not for serious people? That it is only meant for frivolous gossip and friendly banter? You have a second thought coming! Healthcare professionals are taking to social media in a big way.

It helps people across the healthcare continuum, connect with their peers, stay updated about current changes in the industry and most importantly, engage with patients.

Dealing with frustrated patients…

Hospitals that are active on social media are ahead of the curve and more patient friendly. For years patients who were unhappy with their physicians, waited till the next visit to the doctor’s office to vent out their frustrations. Now it is just a matter of logging into their FB and rant…

A hospital that is on Facebook gives its patients an opportunity to share their concerns with providers in a healthier way.  

They’ve postponed MU again?

Medical care professionals who have social media accounts are more likely to be in the know. One of the very important uses of being on social media is that they help in keeping healthcare professionals updated, in an ever evolving industry. It builds awareness about key issues and helps in disseminating vital information.

We are family!

There is a growing need for physicians to galvanize and speak up against draconian regulations and reimbursement cuts. To reassert their need for EHRs that is built around their workflow requirements and practice needs. To remain silent is to comply. And that is why it is more important than ever for medical professionals to be on social media.

It builds a sense of community and can empower users. It can encourage networking with peers and working as a collective force.

Being close to patients!

It is impossible for a medical practitioner who sees around 30 patients a day, to follow up on every one of them and offer personalized care. Being on social networking platforms means, patients are just a click away. It helps to connect with patients and drive up patient engagement.

You can educate patients on using patient portals and offer health advice, without the pressure, of another patient waiting in the reception.

Handle competition deftly!

At the end of the day medicine is business. Social media is the best way for medical practices to promote themselves. When there is heavy competition amongst peers, it is the most socially engaged medical practice that wins!

EHR Usage and Good Medical Practice Congruence

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EHR Usage

The Charismatic Scenario:

Going paperless was a formality or fashion and pointless saddle earlier in the medical practices. But now, the picture has changed and the adoption of electronic health records (EHR) is becoming increasingly obligatory. Many small practices and even hospitals are in the right move towards EHR espousal. This is due to the federal coercion and improved understanding of EHR implementation benefits by the healthcare providers.

Patient Centered – Interconnected:

The electronic medical/health records are no more the property of an individual care provider and EHR is no more the physician-centered tool. The involvement of various providers in proffering the comprehensive patient care is compelling the providers to make EHR – the patient-centric tool.

The modern clinical workflow pattern in small practices and hospitals involves the healthcare data sharing across the practices. This sort of interconnection provides fast, easy and accurate medical information exchange through HIPAA-compliant and professionally secured conduit.

“Charts” & EHR:

The shift in healthcare delivery pattern from single practice to widespread care delivery across small clinics to large hospitals, both physicians-owned and hospital-owned gave rise to community charts and enterprise charts. These charts enable interconnected health data access by multiple care delivery settings within hospital departments and also between assorted care centers.

Enterprise EHR like Epic has its widespread utility across the hospitals and the practices affiliated with them. Kaiser EHR makes a single chart accessible everywhere.

Good Medical Practice – The Further Take:

Despite medical data storage, large Enterprise Charts (e.g. Kaiser) could be used to gain insights into disease trends, epidemiology studies, clinical care quality and good medical practice (GMP).

Missed-out health records of patients, maladroit diagnostic data and specialty consult notes, hidden operation notes, obscure insurance information – Won’t these displease your patient care?

American Medical Association (AMA) says “Good physicians care for patients” as the primary domain of competency.

For a perfect patient care, the clinical documentation is more than crucial. Is it right?

Thus, EHRs with no ‘note bloat’ would buttress the physicians to follow Good Medical Practice through adequate essential medical documents:

  1. Good clinical documentation
  2. Good knowledge on patient health
  3. Good patient care
  4. Good Reimbursement & Good Medical Practice.

“Next Generation”:

Even the best EHRs available in the healthcare market have not addressed certain vital features:

Rapid encounter documentation: Physicians busy with the encounters find less time to create electronic health records. The “next generation” EHRs must have in-built medical transcriber and the physicians could avert spending much time in creating documents.

Unified patient portal: A modern EHR must ease the patient’s ingress into the electronic health records through unified patient portal. It must support easy access of various documents, reports, messages and other communications by all interconnected provider settings.

Open API access:  EHRs must allow the vendors to access appropriate internal documents through application program interface so that the practices could accomplish the resource demands, clinical quality measures and disease trends.

Thus, current era EHRs need further “optimization” to satisfy the stakeholders of healthcare ecosystem.

Make wait times in your medical practice a better experience!

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Physicians Practice

How to make wait times at your medical practice a better experience!

How often have you seen patients fuming in the reception and have been able to do nothing about it? With hundreds of newly insured patients and limited staff it is getting tougher by the day for small and medium sized medical practices, to handle appointments. There is nothing worse than seeing patients, in need of medical care, waiting listlessly for it.

A third of staff time is spent on scheduling, handling no-shows and rescheduling appointments. There are ways to make appointment scheduling and patient wait times, smarter and shorter.

Make use of apps…

There are applications and software’s that can help physicians get a handle on their numerous appointments. Web based tools such as MedWaitTime help physicians to streamline everyday workflow and manage appointments. The more effectively you manage appointments, the easier it is to shorten wait times.

Is your medical practice a Wi-Fi zone?

How many of us read magazines strewn at a reception desk? Very few! Flipping through pages randomly can be frustrating after a while. A Wi-Fi enabled wait room can keep patients engaged. It may also help them to complete office tasks or keep tabs on them, while waiting in your office. This will make wait times more productive and fun.

Get paperwork out of the way!

Filling out medication lists or making patients fill myriad forms is a time drainer. And make the wait time for patients longer. Encourage patients to fill out information online a day or two prior to the visit. Have patient information and other pertinent details in hand, before meeting patients.

Make use of patient portals to share and receive vital information. Built into your EMR or integrated with it, work with patient portals to save on time.

Keep your patients in the loop!

Inform your patients about how long it will take to see them. Have the front office staff update patients periodically on what’s going on in the physician’s room. If there is delay state the reason for the delay and how long it will take to get things back in order. Knowing the reason for the wait, will let patients know their time is being valued.

Keep in touch!

A follow up mail that thanks your patients for visiting, for waiting for your medical care and how important each visit is to you, can make all that wait worthwhile. Never forget to ask for feedback and suggestions. It will increase your referrals and ensure there is a steady stream of loyal patients!

Here’s a presentation view about how you can accomplish your medical practice in full flow.

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