Technology

You can maximize the benefits of your current position or make the transition into one of many profitable, fulfilling opportunities in healthcare.

The medical industry is growing more complex every day as insurance reimbursement rates decline, operating costs go up, and administrative challenges increase. From elaborate and confusing payment systems and intricate compliance requirements to IT-related issues like security and reliability, it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage the business of your practice without losing focus on what matters most – your patients.

A physician’s visit with a patient often centers on telling the patient’s story. Yet a physician’s revenue often centers upon properly documenting and coding that patient encounter.

Two new studies highlight shortcomings of Meaningful Use program and doctors’ dissatisfaction with technology

This white paper produced by Pulse outlines the preparations that physician practices need to make prior to the ICD-10 implementation deadline.

Securing sensitive patient data presents its own set of challenges – even when medical groups enact their own policies that go beyond HIPAA minimums. Find out how to protect yourself and your patients

Technology has changed the practice of medicine-clinically and operationally. But what about the technology on the business operations side of your practice? Do you have a strategy for keeping up in this mobile world?

As major healthcare systems begin to offer patients virtual visits, they’re going to affect physicians, both employed and independent. So it’s time to sit up and take notice of what’s happening in the marketplace. Here’s what to expect and how telehealth may change your practice.

EHR technology may not be the greatest, but it is a necessary part of most medical practices. Here are three ways to make it work better.

A successful EHR implementation should begin well before the vendor arrives at your practice

A new study published in the Annals of Family Medicine shows that healthcare information technology is not helping providers with the aspects of care coordination they need most.

Electronic health records (EHRs) promised to revolutionize healthcare delivery. In some respects, they have. But for physicians deluged by patients, EHRs have yet to fulfill their lofty promises and, in many cases, have added considerable strain to the daily workload of physicians. In this article, physicians discuss with Medical Economics how EHRs should-and must-improve to reach their potential.

Primary care physicians often complain that the benefits of using electronic health record (EHR) systems are outweighed by the costs of implementing the technology and meeting government meaningful use (MU) standards. But a new study suggests that in at least one area-reducing adverse drug events-EHRs are having an impact.

Many physicians regard patient portals as just another hoop they have to jump through to get their electronic health record (EHR) incentives and/or avoid Medicare penalties. But that view can be short-sighted, consultants say, if practices neglect portal services that are attractive to patients.

A study of 34 physician practices jointly sponsored by RAND Corporation and the American Medical Association found that alternative payment models are changing the way physicians and medical practices operate. However, changing the payment system doesn't always ensure patient care improves.

At first glance, Medicare’s new chronic care management (CCM) billing code, which became available January 1, looks like a major opportunity for primary care practices. But many practices will find it difficult to meet the requirements for billing the code, and a major reason is the limitations of today’s electronic health record (EHR) systems.

Many physicians doubt that electronic health records (EHRs) improve the quality of care. But relatively few practices are mining their EHR data to see how well they’re doing or to update their care delivery processes.

Observing other physicians’ struggles and having challenges of my own with the EHR compels me to consider ways to incorporate the computer into the patient-physician encounter in a manner that supports rather than detracts from the work that I love to do.

Electronic health records (EHR) use has steadily increased among office-based physicians since the passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, but new studies indicate that the number of physicians who don’t or plan to participate is substantial.

A fellow at the Brookings Institution Center for Technology Innovation writes that the market should drive down interoperability costs.

The delay of the ICD-10 conversion gave many private practices-and their EHR and practicemanagement vendors-the time they needed to prepare for ICD-10. However, industry experts fearthat many vendors aren’t going to make the postponed deadline. And there is no reason to think theOctober 2015 deadline will be pushed back.

Five primary care facilities will test a new initiative that will allow patients to not only view, but add to their physicians’ visit notes in their electronic health records (EHR) systems

Five primary care facilities will test a new initiative that will allow patients to view and add to their physicians’ visit notes in their electronic health records (EHR) systems.

The November round of ICD-10 testing conducted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has been deemed a success through a poll conducted by the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC).

As of November 1, 2014, only 2% of eligible professionals had attested to Meaningful Use 2. This is not good news for thethousands of independent physician practices that rely on Medicare payments: the Center for Medicare Services is slated to handout 1% penalties this year for MU2 slackers

Here are seven strategies your practice can use to make sure you meet all the requirements of the MU program should the auditors come calling, and ensure you can keep the incentive money you earned.

Many physicians feel they're between a rock and a hard place. If they're participating in the Medicare side of the Meaningful Use program, have attested before, and don't attest to MU2 this year, they'll not only lose financial incentives but will be subject to penalties in 2017.