PRACTICE MAN With healthcare reform well under way and deadlines already in place for many practice management issues, doctors who prepare early for the many changes ahead will have less pain crossing the finish line next October. Here’s a comprehensive overview on how to make the most of electronic health records, avoid common pitfalls of the new ICD-10 codes, stay compliant with the new HIPAA rules and implement strategies to keep staff motivated and productive throughout these challenging transitions.
EHR Data Analytics With doctors being both financially incentivized to computerize patients’ electronic health records and, starting in 2015, likely to face penalties under Medicare for not using EHRs, adopting technology for “meaningful use” is a top goal under health reform. Supporters of EHRs say it will lead to increased quality of care while lowering costs and errors. Critics say that clinical data in EHRs is often unstructured, incompatible with other systems, and facing regulatory hurdles that have yet to be resolved. However, technology experts believe that with the shifting focus from pay-for-service to payfor-performance, the data derived from EHRs will be key for doctors to report how effectively they’ll be meeting key measures. The simplest and most direct solution to identify and correct potential gaps early on is to capture data properly using analytics, according to an article in EHR Intelligence. “In an ideal case, you actually bring analytics live as soon as you bring your EHR live,” said Kyle Murphy, Ph.D., in an article focusing on using analytics to improve EHRs. Moore offered the following four tips on how to use Murphy said that having high-quality Excel charts (using EHRs) to unearth and solve problems. data is critical for providers themselves as 1. Reduce No-shows - By noting “no-shows” and using Excel to crewell as for organizations that rely on this ate a chart that shows the number of days from schedule date to information in an actionable way, includappointment date, a practice can see when no-shows spike. Moore ing health information exchanges, acnoted that in one case, physicians told patients to come back in countable care organizations and patientfour weeks if the problem persisted, without relaying that information centered medical homes. to the administrative staff. It turned out that was the reason why noshows spiked for appointments booked 28 days prior to that date. Neil Moore, health consultant and president of Moore Solutions, agreed that 2. CPT Codes - Using billing charges can be a great way to analyze learning how to mine and analyze data common procedures, reimbursement rates, payer mix and productivfrom EHRs can help doctors in multiple ity, including how many procedures a doctor did per hour. ways, including improving their bottom line and making them a more valuable 3. Cost of Care for Different Patients - Combining clinical data with practice management allows doctors to find out the cost of care partner in an increasingly team-based for different patient demographics. Payers and potential care-model healthcare environment while allowing partners will be impressed by doctors who can compare cost of care them to provide the highest-quality care with the cost of high-quality care in the changing health environto the neediest patients. ment, Moore said. 4. Identify Trends - Looking at data fields such as patient ID and telephone numbers allows physicians to catch trends, including how often a practice interacts with a payer’s claim denial hotline.
1 4 PHYSICIAN MA G A Z INE | M AY 2013