Care Co-ordination & Precise Records Ensure Quality Patient Care

Care Co-ordination & Precise Records Ensure Quality Patient Care

Integrating EHR and medical transcription service benefits the care team by freeing up the time they would otherwise spend on EHR documentation.

Medical Transcription Services United States 918-221-7809

Modern technology has caught up with all medical specialties, including dermatology. To optimize technological advantages, all medical documentation has to be error-free and reliable. EHR-integrated dermatology transcription services help dermatologists draft medical records easily and focus more on providing better care for their patients.

Today, dermatologists are working with various other medical specialities to provide quality care for patients. According to a Health Affairs blog, around 85 million or one in four Americans was seen by a physician for skin disease in 2013. Skin diseases range from skin allergies to eczema which is much more common than cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology’s Burden of Skin Disease study, there are 24 common skin diseases, out of which half are fatal. In 2013, there were 22,953 deaths due to skin diseases. The same year skin diseases cost the U.S. healthcare system approximately $75 billion in medical, preventative, and drug costs. From all the above statistics it is estimated that around 20,000 clinicians are needed to treat this volume of skin diseases, which is nearly twice the number of current board-certified dermatologists in the United States. The rise in skin diseases is due to the aging population in the US. According to 2013 research, nearly half of the Americans are over 65 years of age with an average of 2.2 skin diseases per person. The number of individuals with skin diseases is expected to increase as the population ages. By 2060, it is estimated that there will be nearly 95 million Americans age 65 or older, an increase of 45.5 million from 2016. Those 65 or older will comprise nearly a quarter of Americans. These statistics show that there will be a hike in the number of people suffering from skin diseases and there is a rising need for dermatologists to respond innovatively by adapting their practice models to these evolving changes.

Multidisciplinary Approach Important When newer models of patient care delivery are required, it is important to implement a multidisciplinary approach. Dermatologists along with primary care physicians and clinicians of other specialities should work together to provide optimum care to patients. This collaboration is important to treat the increasing number of skin diseases. Studies show eczema and psoriasis are associated with heart disease and diabetes and another study found that adults who have had shingles have an increased risk of stroke and heart attack at 35% and 59%. Undiagnosed cellulitis leading to death and other skin conditions can be a manifestation of an underlying disease, such as cancer or autoimmune disorder.

www.medicaltranscriptionservicecompany.com

918-221-7809

Let us consider a patient with eczema -- the patient may have difficulty sleeping due to itchiness and poor sleep can lead to inflammation which would make the itching worse. So in such cases, dermatologists need to work along with allergists, neurologists, and sleep specialists. Working in collaboration can ensure more effective patient care.

Working towards Coordinated Care Earlier, dermatologists worked independently but with the advent of value-based payment models through incentivized quality improvement performance focusing on a coordinated, team-based approach to patient care, collaboration among specialities has become important.

Today, many dermatologists are responding to value-based care and get in touch with peers and patients via cross-specialty tumor boards, expanded access, telehealth access, virtual training, and multidisciplinary clinics.

For example, Jonathan Silverberg formed the North-western Medicine Multidisciplinary Eczema Center in 2013. In these types of clinics, patients often have a single and comprehensive two- to three-hour appointment with multiple specialists that allows these physicians to easily confer and develop a single treatment plan. This enhances the patient experience, and ensures that the patient needn’t wade through multiple and sometimes conflicting treatment plans.

Dr. Silverberg and his team worked with one patient who has had eczema for over 30 years with no good results. The doctor finally found the right treatment to improve most of the patient’s skin lesions and end the itching, though the patient continued to struggle to sleep at night after decades of poor rest. Without a multidisciplinary approach, the patient might have suffered more intensely. But with this multidisciplinary approach, a sleep medicine specialist at the clinic immediately worked with the patient to correct sleep issues and the dermatologist coordinated medications. The result was that for the first time in 20 years the patient slept seven nights in a row.

For a multidisciplinary approach to succeed, accurate medical reports need to be made available on a timely basis. Integrating EHR and medical transcription services could benefit treating physicians by freeing up the time they would otherwise spend on their EHR to input patient information. Because of these benefits, patient care and the patient experience can significantly improve. This helps doctors focus more on communicating and

www.medicaltranscriptionservicecompany.com

918-221-7809

understanding the patient’s health condition instead of wasting time on the EHR. It also helps patients to build trust and rapport with the doctor.

www.medicaltranscriptionservicecompany.com

918-221-7809