Standardized Care: Does One Size Fit All In Medicine?
You may have noticed the term “cookbook medicine” making its way through the healthcare blogosphere lately. And no, it has nothing to do with Julia Child’s finest hospital food recipes. It refers to practicing medicine by solely adhering to specific procedures and protocols. Still in its infancy, hospital administrators trying to implement this highly standardized […]
How to Meet Meaningful Use’s Most Demanding Core Objectives
Most Meaningful Use Stage 2 core objectives don’t seem overly difficult to achieve. Recording changes in vitals, updating patients’ demographic information, and tracking tobacco use among patients 13 and older are relatively straightforward requirements that can be met by making minor adjustments to the practice management process. However, a few of the mandatory core objectives […]
Improving the ROI of Your EHR: Optimize Implementation for Faster Time to Value – Pt. 1
In continuation of our five-part whitepaper series addressing the ROI of your EHR, today, we look at how integrating an EHR into existing office workflows will accelerate profitability gains from your initial EHR investment. For practices considering a new or replacement EHR, a major element to tackle is optimizing the implementation and training processes needed […]
EHR Payment Adjustments: Q&A with CMS’ Rob Anthony
Medicare-eligible professionals (EPs) who do not demonstrate Meaningful Use for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program may be subject to a payment adjustment beginning Jan. 1, 2015. For EPs who entered the program between 2011 and 2013, this year’s participation will determine the 2015 payment adjustment. To ensure that Medicare EPs are aware of the adjustments […]
What Operational Improvements are Practices Looking For in 2013?
Some say that old habits die-hard. Today’s physicians, however, aren’t fazed by age-old adages, apparently. According to the recent Practice Profitability Index (PPI) study, 41% of the more than 5,000 physicians questioned cited specific plans aimed at operational improvements in the coming year.
Why Some Patient Portals Fall Short
Patient portals are supposed to connect patients with your practice. Features that let patients schedule appointments, view lab results and access educational materials are a given. But if such features are the industry standard, what sets an exceptional patient portal apart from the rest? The answer is usability. Without great usability, patients aren’t likely to […]
Weekly Checkup: June 10-14
Winston Churchill once said, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” We at PYP have a similar mindset to the revered British Bulldog. That’s why we’ve made a minor tweak to our beloved Weekly Checkups. From now on, in addition to a recap of the week’s Power Your Practice articles, […]
The Most Bizarre ICD-10 Code Awards
Remember the time a patient walked in with that gruesome killer whale bite on his leg? Even worse, do you recall what a pain it was to bill their insurance? Well, probably not, but just in case this ever does happen to you, CMS has created an ICD-10 code for it: W5621XA – Bitten by […]
Physician Alarm Fatigue Puts Patients At Risk
The Joint Commission released a Sentinel Event Alert newsletter on April 8 warning hospitals about alarm fatigue, a persistent problem that affects healthcare professionals in hospital settings nationwide. Alarm fatigue is caused by incessant noises made by bedside monitors and other medical devices, which often leads providers to adjust alarm settings beyond the recommended limits or ignore […]
What to Look for When Purchasing an EHR System
EHRs aren’t supposed to be like contact lenses — used for a while and then replaced. But unfortunately, according to a 2012 KLAS survey, 50% of practices are looking to replace their current EHR. Obviously, this can be problematic, as no physician wants to deal with the costs and adjustment period associated with EHR adoption […]