There are several reasons to automate your healthcare practice. We feel these are the top 5:
1).HITECH incentives. If your practice constantly bills Medicare or Medicaid for your patient services, HITECH is by a large margin the number 1 reason to implement an computerized healthcare system. Under HITECH, medical professionals can qualify for $44,000 in Medicare EHR incentives if they demonstrate significant use of an authorized electronic medical record (EMR) system. In a practice with three admissible medical professionals the incentive could total $132,000 across the next 5 years. Incentives for adoption are reduced after 2012. Physicians whose practices feature a high volume of Medicaid patients can qualify for $63,750 in incentives. Doctors are only eligible for one HITECH incentive at any one time and can switch incentive programs just once after the initial incentive payment is initiated. As early as 2015, medical professionals who elect not to use an EMR will be penalized, initially with a 1% Medicare penalty reduction. Medical facilities who elect not to implement an EMR after 2017 will face a 3% Medicare penalty reduction and 5% Medicare fee penalty in 2019. Since the HITECH incentive is included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act package and not included in Medical Care Reform, it's not under review or subject to possible repeal at this time.
2).Reducing Administrative Costs. In just about every part of the world, administrative costs are an estimated 10 to 15 p.c of healthcare outlays. Reducing costs and finding new ways to grow net income are fundamental to stemming the constantly increasing tide of healthcare costs. The changing industry landscape is requiring medical professionals into new directions regarding partnership, diversification and consolidation. Healthcare IT solutions enable medical facilities and their professionals to use data in new ways for more effective, systematic and inexpensive health care. From shared services to business process outsourcing, there are a selection of automated solutions to help quickly deliver continued clerical efficiencies and cost reduction.
3).Reducing Healthcare Costs. The ultimate goal for today's medical organizations is to improve medical care to patients while seriously cutting costs. Delivering evidence-based medical care and rethinking care management are critical to this goal. By utilizing clinical information in new ways - collecting, analyzing, aggregating and sharing health data - organizations can turn available information into action. Healthcare IT systems allow you, the medical professional, to make better decisions faster while improving patient safety and containing or reducing the cost of care.
4).Improved Record Keeping. To reduce healthcare costs, improve health outcomes and adapt to to Obama health care reform incentives and penalties, medical facilities will have to be digital. The world is capturing and evaluating patient records in a host of new ways from electronic medical records (EMRs) to medical imaging devices. By integrating automated records into the workflow, providers can improve clinical and economic outcomes. In the US alone, it is estimated that almost ninety percent of large medical institutions over three years will invest to install or upgrade their EMRs to meet significant use guidelines for government mandates.
5). Sharing health infromation with a global community. Health care providers are beginning to invest more in Healthcare IT as a means to transforming their individual practice or facility and the care they provide. But implementing and leveraging Healthcare IT in the worldwide context is what will truly change health care. So as to provide better care for their patients, facilities must look past stand alone systems and find more ways to join forces with other health care facilities. This will allow the ground breaking ability to provide the right care at the right moment revolutionizing healthcare altogether. The end result is better diagnosis, more accurate treatment, improved care and saved lives, with unprecedented opportunities to identify and eliminate fraud and abuse.
Even though this list is far from exhaustive, it should motivate the average medical professional with ample reason to carefully consider a move into the next century of health care.
1).HITECH incentives. If your practice constantly bills Medicare or Medicaid for your patient services, HITECH is by a large margin the number 1 reason to implement an computerized healthcare system. Under HITECH, medical professionals can qualify for $44,000 in Medicare EHR incentives if they demonstrate significant use of an authorized electronic medical record (EMR) system. In a practice with three admissible medical professionals the incentive could total $132,000 across the next 5 years. Incentives for adoption are reduced after 2012. Physicians whose practices feature a high volume of Medicaid patients can qualify for $63,750 in incentives. Doctors are only eligible for one HITECH incentive at any one time and can switch incentive programs just once after the initial incentive payment is initiated. As early as 2015, medical professionals who elect not to use an EMR will be penalized, initially with a 1% Medicare penalty reduction. Medical facilities who elect not to implement an EMR after 2017 will face a 3% Medicare penalty reduction and 5% Medicare fee penalty in 2019. Since the HITECH incentive is included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act package and not included in Medical Care Reform, it's not under review or subject to possible repeal at this time.
2).Reducing Administrative Costs. In just about every part of the world, administrative costs are an estimated 10 to 15 p.c of healthcare outlays. Reducing costs and finding new ways to grow net income are fundamental to stemming the constantly increasing tide of healthcare costs. The changing industry landscape is requiring medical professionals into new directions regarding partnership, diversification and consolidation. Healthcare IT solutions enable medical facilities and their professionals to use data in new ways for more effective, systematic and inexpensive health care. From shared services to business process outsourcing, there are a selection of automated solutions to help quickly deliver continued clerical efficiencies and cost reduction.
3).Reducing Healthcare Costs. The ultimate goal for today's medical organizations is to improve medical care to patients while seriously cutting costs. Delivering evidence-based medical care and rethinking care management are critical to this goal. By utilizing clinical information in new ways - collecting, analyzing, aggregating and sharing health data - organizations can turn available information into action. Healthcare IT systems allow you, the medical professional, to make better decisions faster while improving patient safety and containing or reducing the cost of care.
4).Improved Record Keeping. To reduce healthcare costs, improve health outcomes and adapt to to Obama health care reform incentives and penalties, medical facilities will have to be digital. The world is capturing and evaluating patient records in a host of new ways from electronic medical records (EMRs) to medical imaging devices. By integrating automated records into the workflow, providers can improve clinical and economic outcomes. In the US alone, it is estimated that almost ninety percent of large medical institutions over three years will invest to install or upgrade their EMRs to meet significant use guidelines for government mandates.
5). Sharing health infromation with a global community. Health care providers are beginning to invest more in Healthcare IT as a means to transforming their individual practice or facility and the care they provide. But implementing and leveraging Healthcare IT in the worldwide context is what will truly change health care. So as to provide better care for their patients, facilities must look past stand alone systems and find more ways to join forces with other health care facilities. This will allow the ground breaking ability to provide the right care at the right moment revolutionizing healthcare altogether. The end result is better diagnosis, more accurate treatment, improved care and saved lives, with unprecedented opportunities to identify and eliminate fraud and abuse.
Even though this list is far from exhaustive, it should motivate the average medical professional with ample reason to carefully consider a move into the next century of health care.
About the Author:
Michael Ritsema, Owner/Manager of i3 Business Solutions, in Grand Rapids, Michigan providing managed IT solutionsfor firms in Western Michigan.
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