{"id":4038,"date":"2012-11-25T15:00:19","date_gmt":"2012-11-25T20:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poweryourpractice.com\/?p=4038"},"modified":"2012-11-25T15:00:19","modified_gmt":"2012-11-25T20:00:19","slug":"5-tips-using-ehr-increase-profitability-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carecloud.com\/continuum\/5-tips-using-ehr-increase-profitability-1\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips for Using an EHR to Increase Profitability"},"content":{"rendered":"

There tends to be a stereotype associated with doctors and money. Most people you ask will tell you, assume, really, that doctors are well off by default, or that all physicians are, well, rich. However, like any profession, this isn’t always the case.<\/p>\n

Therefore, since the\u00a0electronic health records market continues to boom<\/strong>, and it’s never a bad thing to seek out additional ways to put money in your pocket, we thought it’d be helpful to dig into ways that physician practices can use an\u00a0EHR\u00a0to boost their profitability. Here are five tips to help you understand how an\u00a0EHR\u00a0can contribute to bottom line growth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Going Paperless Saves Staff Time
\n<\/strong>One of the key benefits of an\u00a0EHR\u00a0is that it allows your practice to go paperless–which helps cut down on the amount of time your staff has to spend sifting through paper patient records and other documentation. Transitioning to a paperless practice\u00a0can save thousands of dollars per year\u00a0in office supply expenses, eliminate all transcription costs, and cut down on physical file storage requirements.<\/p>\n

In order to get to a paperless practice, however, you’ve got to build in processes that will gradually wean your office off paper records. For instance, instead of scanning every new patient’s insurance card, simply enter that information directly into your\u00a0EMR. This cuts down on having to print out the insurance card and then\u00a0enter data into your\u00a0EHR\u00a0at a later date.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get More Out of Your Claims
\n<\/strong>When working with government insurance providers like Medicare, claim\u00a0reimbursement\u00a0requires extensive documentation. Because this is a time-consuming process, many doctors will only bill for items that they have written evidence. Unfortunately, this leaves\u00a0up to 15 percent<\/a>\u00a0of legitimate reimbursements\u00a0on the table every year.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beyond that, doctors often have their claims “downcoded” to less expensive procedures because the insurer deems the claim unnecessary or unsupported. This usually happens because there is a lack of supporting documentation. Using an\u00a0EHR\u00a0gives doctors an opportunity to\u00a0document every aspect of a patient visit<\/a>, and therefore increases the amount of claim revenue they’re eligible for.<\/p>\n

EHRs\u00a0Improve Efficiency
\n<\/strong>EHRs\u00a0can also boost profitability simply by saving physicians time at each patient visit, allowing them to see more patients each day. A couple of features that improve the efficiency of practices include:<\/p>\n