Implementing EMR – Is It Worth It?

EMR is the digital version of patient medical records and according to industry experts EMR can deliver numerous benefits for doctors, hospitals as well as patients if used in a right manner. Apart from its advantages, EMR implementation is also a statutory requirement. The US government wants to shift the health industry into the digital age and has provided incentives and an EMR implementation deadline. For those who do not meet the Electronic Medical Records deadline for implementation, the government has laid out a series of penalties.

The EMR is a software that is composed of clinical data storage area, medical decision making backing, medical terminologies, pharmacy applications, and medical documentation applications that are used by the healthcare providers and medical practitioners in monitoring, documenting, and managing and in delivering care to the patient. The integration of EMR in the healthcare delivery setting offers a wide array of advantages usually outweighing the cons. One can't deny how pricey EMRs could get; however, if quality patient care is the concern, purchasing an EMR is but the right thing to do.

With the help of EMR Doctors and nurses can now have instant access to all of the patient's medical records including his laboratory test results, x-rays, past and present medical histories including drug allergies. Once files are easily accessed the concerned healthcare provider can act right away. So why not make the decision to implement an EMR?

The Uses of Claim Form UB 04

There are various claim reimbursement forms; however, each claim form can be used for some specific purpose only including claim form UB 04. The UB04 claim form is used by facilities rather than physicians for their health insurance billing.  Hospitals, rehabilitation centers, ambulatory surgery centers, clinics, etc need to bill their services on the UB04 form in order to get paid.  There are certain exceptions as for example a person might have to admit their family member into a drug and alcohol rehab facility and then find that the facility doesn't participate with their insurance plan.  These facilities often don't file UB04 forms and can not help the family get reimbursed by the insurance company.

Many times the family might have paid upfront for the services of the facility and are may be trying to get the insurance company to reimburse them.  The insurance policy may pay out of network but the claim must be filed correctly on a UB04 form.  The UBO4 requires a few fields which are totally different than fields required on the CMS form. Some of these fields include Rev Codes, type of bill, condition codes, and value codes which can make it terribly confusing to the biller only familiar with CMS forms. In order to get UB04 claims paid, the biller must learn what these fields are and how to complete them correctly for their situation. Many of the other fields on the UBO4 form are similar to the CMS form but these few different ones must be completed correctly.

It is not unusual for many of the clinics and facilities to be out of network with most insurance carriers and therefore not billing on the UB04 forms as they are not billing the insurance carriers, they are collecting the payment from the patients. But some of these patients are finding out that they have out of network benefits which mean the insurance carrier would reimburse them for all or part of the expenses. The patients are then responsible for billing the insurance carriers. The insurance carriers may then demand that the claims be submitted on UB04 forms.

No matter who is submitting the facility claims, the claim form UB 04 must be completed correctly for the insurance carriers to reimburse the payment.

Certified EMR

A certified EMR has become a hot topic with the providers being now able to reimburse for a portion of the price of the EMR by the government. According to experts, occupational health providers can be totally assured that their certified EMR will be totally safe and appropriate and will make for great care system. But many still doubt the current certification criteria of the EMR doubting whether they will make a viable occupational health application.

A certified EMR provides a level of transparency to healthcare providers as they make EMR purchasing decisions. The actual idea is to certify its functionality and level of security. This forms the first step to getting the systems in place.

There are over 400 EMRs to choose from in the industry and those providers interested in its implementation, for the very first time can check with the current vendors to verify that the EMR software is a certified one. 

Tags: EMR Certified | EMR Certified

Advantages of Implementing a Web Based EMR

There are huge advantages of implementing a web based EMR as compared to its counterpart desktop version. A desktop version of EMR is installed on to the local machine of the user itself. The software and the user data gets stored into the local hard disk of the user. This creates great problem as regards accessing patient medical information. There are times when a physician would like to pull the patient medical records while on the move, however, in case of a desktop version this flexibility is not available to the physician (user). The user gets tied up with a particular machine; the biggest disadvantage of a desktop version can be experienced at times of emergencies when it is required to pull patient information at places other than the physician’s clinic. 

According to industry experts, a web based EMR is a gift of advanced internet technology that provides with immense flexibility as regards storage of patient data and its retrieval. In case of a web based EMR, the data is stored centrally, which provides with all the flexibility. As the data is stored centrally (server), it can also be used to integrate / compile it with other applications like EMR and so on.

Security is one of the most important benefits of web based EMR software. The web based software offers more security than many small clinics can provide themselves. Provided server maintenance is also a huge benefit to web-based software. The provider of the software program takes care of server maintenance so that you can focus on what you do best; take care of your patients.

The initial investment for web based EMR (online EMR) software is much lower compared to other systems. This is because you do not have to purchase hardware, servers, or software that can be very expensive. The initial investment is very low and the monthly fee incurred to utilize the system can be written off as a monthly operating cost. The most outstanding features in the new age web based EMR is that of portability.

How to Select a Best Web EMR

Whether investing in an EMR to improve care, increase revenue or office efficiency, choosing the best web EMR can be a daunting task. There are numerous vendors in the market providing a wide range of web EMRs, which makes it very difficult for the physician or hospital to make a decision. More over, each vendor provides a range of EMRs with different features. Truly speaking, not every practice or a hospital would require all the features; by and large it depends on the specialty and modus operandi of the practice or hospital. There are certain features that may be useful for the practice and others may not. In this situation it’s really very important to list out the requirements and to make a decision as regards best web EMR for the practice. 

Let's consider 10 of the most important features of web EMR software.

1. Web-Based and Secure Portability
2. Complete Integration with Other Medical Systems
3. E-Prescription Compatibility
4. PQRI Automation
5. Adaptive Learning (System Memorizes Data)
6. Patient Portal Accessible From Anywhere
7. Flexible, Non-Template Based Systems
8. Electronic Document Management and Imaging
9. Voice Recognition and Handwriting Recognition
10. In Compliance with Federal and State Regulations

As you can see, EMR software should be, and for the most part is, highly flexible and customizable to your needs. These are just some of the features that may help your business. A careful analysis of the existing system and listing out the features of various EMRs available in the market can help to make a decision as regards best web EMR for the practice (or hospital).

Medical IT Solutions – Multiple Advantages

 

The huge advantages of information technology are known to the world. This is the reason IT has found its deep root practically into each and every industry, however, as far as the healthcare industry is concerned till date the penetration is not as encouraging as it should be. The core reason being this situation is the belief among the healthcare professionals that technology has nothing to do with the healthcare industry. However, the scenario is changing, the healthcare industry has realized the importance of medical IT. The industry has understood that technology can not take care of primary functions like diagnosis and treatment but for sure medical IT to a great extent can aide in the overall process of diagnosis and treatment.

Medical IT solutions like claims processing systems, practice management, billing management, electronic medical records (EMR), electronic health records (EHR) and more have been introduced to the healthcare industry. These solutions are helping physicians and hospitals to streamline their overall processes, thus making their life easier. A lot of time is saved with the help of the system as readily available forms can be used and also redundancy can be avoided. An EMR system helps to store patient information in detail, thus making diagnosis much easier. A no. of reports and charts can be prepared with the help of EMR that can be of great help in the overall process of treatment.

Medical IT solutions are not only helpful to doctors and hospitals but to the patients as well. Truly speaking, the ultimate benefit of using the technology goes to the patients by way of added productivity, better quality of patient care, costs and overall satisfaction. The healthcare I.T reforms in the US have brought hope in improving healthcare service delivery and hence ensuring the safety and security of a patient. The latest medical legislation passed by the US government has come in handy in making the country's healthcare system a lot better by making the best use of medical IT solutions.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that the specialized field of medical it solutions is all set to transform the healthcare industry and has become a must have!

EMR – Choosing the Best EMR for the Practice

EMR can deliver unmatched advantages for both doctors as well as patients and this is the reason why they have been frequently in news. Most people agree that EMR's can bring out significant and positive changes in the field of health care. Before stepping forward how to know that which EMR would be the right for the practice?

The process of EMR selection should start with making a list of functions that you would expect from EMR depending on your practice requirements. Based on this, few numbers of vendors could be shortlisted for the demo.

Taking guidance from any qualified consultants also helps you to have a broad understanding about the industry. These consultants are knowledgeable and familiar about various EMR vendors and are able to provide credible and unbiased information on the same. One needs to clarify aspects like pricing per physician license, client referrals, post sales support, client /server based and web based distinctions, details of EMR configuration, any negotiations etc.

In fact, it is not the fancy frills that are attached to the EMR but the requirements of the practice are of prime importance. If the basic requirements of the practice are met along with the flexibility as regards the provision of tweaking the configuration when the practice size grows, would be the best or right EMR for the practice.