Technology

While consumer apps have evolved quickly, apps for physicians have lagged behind, in both quality and utility

Burnout, which is often described in terms of the experience of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and lost sense of personal accomplishment, is a big and growing problem for physicians and for their patients-with lower quality of patient care where professional burnout rates are higher.

I am slowly getting used to a bit more hurried visit and a little less attention from my doctor. I wonder if my doctors will see the silent tears I cry…one thing is for certain: Today’s EHR won’t.

The good news is that EHR systems are producing more data for physicians. The bad news is that utilizing this information isn’t an easy task.

Think you are using your EHR correctly? Think again. You may be guilty of one of these common pitfalls with the systems.

With more and more patients turning to the web to choose their doctor, it’s imperative that physicians create and implement a sound online marketing strategy. This playbook will help physician practices looking to better market their practices online with the four things that beginner and novice practices should be doing in this area. Research and the conduction of interviews will be used to support each item.

The adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) presents doctors with a dilemma when it comes to protecting patient health data.

The rapid expansion and evolution of telemedicine in the U.S. brings with it increased access at lower costs for patients and growing competition for physicians from providers with regional, national and international reputations.

As healthcare moves away from the program as it currently exists, physicians must decide to keep EHRs or seek better solutions.

Physicians know that Meaningful Use will soon become part of MIPS, but there plenty of other unknowns about the future use of EHRs.

A good EHR should help streamline your practice workflow and reduce the staff time required for a number of common tasks. Here are some of the ways a sophisticated EHR should help your practice save time and money.

ICD-10 was much like YK2 in its introduction to the billing process so everyone should breathe a sigh of relief right? Not so quick as some providers are starting to find out.

The federal government announced Tuesday proposed rules that would give its Office of the National Coordinator for Healthcare Technology (ONC) greater oversight to ensure that certified electronic health records (EHR) can actually fulfill the functions physicians need them to, especially when it comes to interoperability.

The federal government may finally be getting serious about promoting interoperability in health records.

By 2019, 64% of patients using U.S. health systems will book medical appointments online, generating $3.2 billion in value. Learn how online scheduling can boost your revenue, improve patient satisfaction and ensure your day is fully booked.

While patient portals can improve efficiency in some practices, they bring with them a host of challenges

EHRs, physician shortages, patient records are the latest topics of discussion in this issue's Your Voice.

Introducing new tools for the practice should also include addressing ways to maintain productivity.

Joining forces with other physicians to thrive is necessary, and a clinically integrated network may be a route to consider

To remain independent, your private practice needs to run like a well-oiled machine, delivering quality patient carewhile thriving financially as a business

From creating a mission statement to troubleshooting what’s working or not in yourpractice, a strategic plan is going to provide a framework for your pathway to success.A well-structured strategic business planning process can help your practice in both theshort and the long term. Short term, it can immediately facilitate decisions on activitiesand goals and long term, it will ensure that your goals for the future are taking shape

You’re not just running a private practice, you’re running a business. But running a private practice today is more than providing quality patient care.

WHEN PATIENTS COLLABORATE ON TREATMENT PLANS, THE SENSE OF PLAN CO-OWNERSHIP CAN LEAD TO A HIGHER LIKELIHOOD OF ADHERENCE AND BETTER OUTCOMES.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has laid out an approach to optimizethe healthcare system deemed the “Triple Aim.”2 The IHI believes we mustsimultaneously pursue three dimensions: improving the patient’s experienceof care, improving the health of populations, and reducing per capita costs. Topromote the triple aim, payers are pushing forward “value-based” reimbursementbased on the quality of care. To properly take advantage of these value-basedprograms, practices must begin to engage in population health management.This transformation requires not only a change in philosophical view, butsignificant investments in new organizational, workflow, and IT processes.

An EHR should “become invisible to us,” said Steven Schiebel, M.D., of Pediatric Associates, a large eight-location practice based in Bellevue, Washington, summing up what providers really want from their EHRs. Dr. Schiebel likened it to driving a car: you don’t think about it, you just do it.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, 72 percent of Internet users say they looked online for health informationwithin the past year. And of those users, 77 percent of online health seekers say, “they began their lastsession at a search engine such as Google, Bing or Yahoo.” The numbers are overwhelming and paint a clearpicture -- search engines are an integral and necessary component to any healthcare provider’s online success.

Doctors put a great deal of thought and effort into developing treatment plans for patients, but typically have no way of knowing-beyond results at follow-up appointments-whether the patient is actually following it. But advances in technology are giving physicians and their staff new tools for improving and tracking patient adherence.

In today’s healthcare environment, using data analysis to improve your bottom line is an issue of survival.

Your guides to collect more of what your practice is owed, manage patient data more efficiently, staff training resources, and more.

No surprise here-patients say they are usually less satisfied with their doctor’s care when computers were used during appointments, according to a recent JAMA Internal Medicine study.