Cardiovascular Business - January/February 2008 - (Page 16)

PlUGGeD In › By LisA FrAt t Tapping into IT Information technology infrastructure, especially the electronic medical record (EMR), does deliver. Consider: → An EMR trims operating costs. According to Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), it costs $4.50 each time a patient calls and a staff member must pull a chart. Cardiology practices must multiply the $4.50 figure by upwards of 10 to 20 calls daily. → Say goodbye to transcription costs. That’s about $12,000 per year per physician. And the practice can reduce medical records FTEs. → Think revenue increase. The EMR facilitates better coding, which translates into a 5 to 12 percent increase in reimbursement for office visit. The primary reason? Many physicians are afraid to code an office visit as a level four, but an EMR contains the data to support the higher-paying code. → The EMR delivers improved risk control. Charts aren’t lost; they can be accessed from home or another office location. Plus, electronic records provide a more complete picture of the patient, helping cardiologists avoid patient safety errors to Improve the Office-Based Practice like drug-drug interactions. → An EMR is a stepping stone to better relationships with patients and improved service. Patients don’t need to remain on hold for five to 15 minutes or longer to secure a prescription refill. → Electronic charts help physicians regain time. Cardiologists in EMR-equipped practices can end the work day sooner than colleagues chained to paper charts and transcription. They also can see more patients each day, and document patient encounters more completely. And of course, the data can be mined in easy to create reports to recognize trends in the practice. The upshot? The EMR and other investments in IT infrastructure represent a winning scenario for office-based cardiology practices. As practices transition toward an EMR, they need to look beyond software and consider questions about hardware and staffing, too. Insiders can provide a wealth of information about the benefits and do’s and don’ts of IT infrastructure and steer their colleagues toward a smooth implementation. inside an it pioneer The Medical Group of Southern California (CVMG) is a health IT pioneer. Ten years ago, the Los Angeles-based practice was one of the first medical groups to launch its own website. The website paralleled another important IT development: NotesMD, a homegrown, web-based EMR. The premise behind the practice’s online efforts is simple. Physicians are the knowledge workers of the healthcare world, says Ronald Karlsberg, MD, clinical professor of medicine at David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA. “They need patient information and unlimited resources,” states Karlsberg. At CVMG, NotesMD is the vehicle for transmitting knowledge to the physician. The server-based system has become an indispensable tool where cardiologists view lab results, general knowledge and patient charts. An integration with McKesson Corporation Horizon Cardiology allows physicians to view images in the patient record. The practice reduces the bandwidth stress associated with hefty file sizes of studies like cardiac CT angiography by creating A server-based system allows cardiologists to view images in the patient record without bandwidth stress associated with large cardiac Ct angiography files. (McKesson Horizon Cardiology workstation) 1 Cardiovascular Business January/february 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cardiovascular Business - January/February 2008

Cardiovascular Business - January/February 2008 Contents The Ticker: Quality Pays in Several Ways Cover Story: The Proof: Why Evidence-based Medicine Improves Cardiac Care Clinical Study Digest: Co-payments and Cath Labs Cardiac PET/CT Fills in Gaps Left by SPECT Tapping into IT to Improve the Office-Based Practice SPECT–Proving Its Value Cardiac Images in the EMR: Just a Click Away The Top 20 Ways to Market Your Cardiac CTA Practice The Big Picture: Medical Displays for Cardiac Images Statins Work But Pharmacoeconomic Caveats Abound Driving Data Protection: Opting for Storage On- or Offsite News & Views Calendar Reader’s Resource

Cardiovascular Business - January/February 2008

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