Summery by EMR INDUSTRY
- Electronic health records can be an overwhelming topic for the medical community because it seems so big and complex
- Disruption comes down to what you can do to get traction and make progress toward improving your business and enhancing your patient relationships.
- Patients want their medical professionals to provide them with an experience that they’ve come to expect elsewhere. They want information that is easy to read and easy to access — anytime, anywhere.
- Accenture found that a little more than 40 percent of American consumers are willing to change doctors in order to have online access to their medical records. The survey noted that consumers want “a platform for shared decision-making” with their doctors, and more than half of these consumers are already tracking their own personal health information.
- Identify an EHR partner that can help you to create a portal for your patients to go online to access this information. While the patient is in the portal, it should be easy to view and use exam and/or lab results, prescriptions and upcoming (or past) appointments.
Original News
Electronic health records can be an overwhelming topic for the medical community because it seems so big and complex. But adopting an EHR system is actually a great disruptive opportunity, one that can help the industry to advance systemsinteroperability, reinvigorate business, and enhance the patient relationship.
Many practices are doing a fantastic job incorporating EHRs into their practices. Of course, others still need some help to get going. While there’s no one correct way of doing business, there is still the pressure of EHR adoption and requirements for meaningful use. Stage 2Meaningful Use attestation commences as early as Jan. 1, 2014, and this makes everything more urgent.
It’s both a disruption and a good opportunity. It comes down to what you can do to get traction and make progress toward improving your business and enhancing your patient relationships.
Patient expectations and meaningful use
How your patients perceive you and your practice is everything, and consumer expectations are different from what they were just three to five years ago. Patients are technologically literate and attached to their smartphones and tablets at all times. They want their medical professionals to provide them with an experience that they’ve come to expect elsewhere. They want information that is easy to read and easy to access — anytime, anywhere. And according to an Accenture survey, they’re willing to change doctors to get this type of support and partnership.
Accenture found that a little more than 40 percent of American consumers are willing to change doctors in order to have online access to their medical records. The survey noted that consumers want “a platform for shared decision-making” with their doctors, and more than half of these consumers are already tracking their own personal health information. We need to ask ourselves what our patients’ expectations are and how we can meet those expectations to improve the doctor-patient relationship and grow the business while navigating the EHR adoption process.
For example, one of the core objectives for Stage 2 Meaningful Use is to provide patients with the ability to view, download, and transmit (VDT) their health information within four business days of the information becoming available. There are several steps to making this happen:
• Identify an EHR partner that can help you to create a portal for your patients to go online to access this information. While the patient is in the portal, it should be easy to view and use exam and/or lab results, prescriptions and upcoming (or past) appointments.• Leverage it as an opportunity for the patient to also send you a secured e-mail or schedule an appointment.• Make it easy for the patient to connect with you and the practice in a way that is now familiar to the patient.
Selecting the right technology and business partner can take what used to be considered an amenity and have it emerge as a critical partner in the healthcare experience, both for patients, as well as your bottom line.
Beyond helping doctors to stay connected with patients outside of the office, EHR can help to drive that connection inside of the exam room. When a patient’s doctor uses an iPad in the exam room, rather than a desktop computer or pen and paper, the doctor has more mobility and can connect and engage more freely. If the technology is efficient, the doctor can actually pay more attention to patients rather than spend valuable time updating medical records post-visit.
As a client of ours has told us, the use of smart, cloud-based technology can be a real advantage to maintaining strong relationships with patients.
At the end of an exam, I can finish notes on my iPad while walking my patient to the front desk or optician instead of being tied to a desk with the computer. I’m able to text and e-mail reminders to patients with updated information that they can obtain from their secure patient portal. Because everything is in the cloud, I can access data securely from any device at anytime from anywhere that I have an Internet connection. I am mobile both within my office and outside of it.
Furthermore, patients view the use of this technology as a sign of a modern, streamlined, and efficient practice:
Patients are happy, because I’m engaging them about their lives and concerns that brought them to my office. I’m not chained to the computer. They see me and my staff using current technology to streamline the administrative side of the business, so they’re confident that we’re “on top of it.” Patients have access to their information anytime and anywhere, which fits the lifestyle of today’s consumers.
Final thoughts
EHR adoption and meaningful use aren’t new, and they’re not going away. It’s disruptive now, but you can make it into a good opportunity to grow your business and improve relationships with patients. Technology is helping to create a revolution within the industry, and if we embrace this, we can have tremendous positive impact on the patient and our business. By using up-to-date technology and systems, you can be more streamlined and efficient, but even more importantly, you can positively engage patients inside and outside of the office.
Steve Baker is the President of Eyefinity, a VSPGlobal company that is the eyecare industry’s premier provider of innovative business solutions serving over 30,000 eyecare professionals with a total solution of integrated technology products and services to help the practitioner increase revenue and enhance patient care. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from California State University, Northridge, with a concentration in systems design and mathematics.
