Physicians Practice - January 2008 - (Page 50)

IDEALAB FINANCIAL BENEFITS We saw a return on our investment immediately after implementing our EMR system, eliminating storage and other costs while boosting revenue with more accurate coding. ship recently stated that if every practice and hospital in America had an EMR, savings would total more than $78 billion a year. While waiting for someone else to take care of the initial expense of an EMR system, practices are losing a signiﬁcant amount of money. “I’m waiting until they reﬁne the system.” are tweaking, not reinventing, their technologies. You should ask vendors many questions. For instance: • Does the vendor use physician expertise to reﬁne its system? Any vendor you choose should work with your practice to take into account your suggestions and desires. • How many physician ofﬁces currently use the vendor’s EMR? While paper medical records. Think of all the time you spend pulling, disassembling, reassembling, ﬁling, and looking for charts. Monthly, we save thousands of dollars in transcription and dictation costs and communication efﬁciencies. Revenue also increased due to more accurate coding. EMR systems help to calculate and recommend proper coding and even assist with Medicare compliance. The Center for Information Technology Leader- it isn’t imperative to sign on to a larger or longer-established vendor, it may be beneﬁcial to know that your implementation will not be a “trial run” for a vendor. A vendor who has worked with numerous practices may be better able to assist you during training and implementation. • How long has the vendor been in the healthcare business, and is it While there are some novel EMR vendors that are still making major changes to their systems, most vendors are in the stage where they ﬁnancially secure enough to take you into the future? While nonmedical software companies may be developing and selling their own EMRs, I think it’s better to look for a vendor that understands the nuances in our industry. Vendors that have employed physicians and healthcare industry experts are more likely to know what it takes to keep a practice running smoothly. Searching for the right EMR system for your practice is no easy feat. However, through proper due diligence, and by asking the right questions, we had a successful implementation at our practice, and we are now seeing the multiple beneﬁts that healthcare information technology can reap. Remember, while some degree of growing pain may accompany the initial change, the long term beneﬁt of providing better, smarter care for you patients is well worth the effort. • Steve Ryan is a family physician and a founding partner of Carefree Family Medicine Colorado Springs, Colo. He can be reached via editor@physicianspractice.com. 50 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | JANUARY 2008 WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM http://www.DeltaPlacement.com/MyInfo http://www.DeltaPlacement.com http://www.DeltaPlacement.com http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Physicians Practice - January 2008

Physicians Practice - January 2008 Contents The Bigger Picture: Fixing Medicaid Letters Physicians Practice Pearls: You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks Noteworthy Cover Story: Fee Schedule Survey: 2007 Results Adding Ancillaries: Bucking the Practice Ask the Experts Idealab: 'How I Got Over My EMR Excuses' Technology: Don't Be Denied The Tech Doctor: Blessing or Curse? The Administrator's Desk: Learning From the Best Coding Career: To Partner, or Not? Management: Controlling Your Inventory Human Resources: How to Fire an Enployee Finance: Beyond Reimbursment - How to Fix Your Mix Classifieds Advertiser Index

Physicians Practice - January 2008

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