Paperless medical offices implementation considerations

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The concept of a paperless office has been something workers in such paperwork heavy industries like insurance, banking and healthcare have been craving for some time. While the idea of a paperless office may seem great, implementing it can be a challenge. The main thing to remember is, when put into practice, “paperless” doesn’t mean no paper, it means less paper.

Even without going completely paperless, converting your medical office to a paperless one can have some benefits including decreasing costs of paperwork – supplies, postage, labor and freeing up office space from file cabinets. The biggest benefit of going paperless is saving time finding files and charts. Some studies suggest physicians lose 30% of their time searching for files. Losing a superbill or claim rejection has a real dollar cost.

Yet with these benefits and pressure from insurance companies and governments for doctors to adopt electronic medical systems, those actually converting only account for 7% of practicing physicians. While there are many reasons electronic billing and medical records have not been adopted, training and startup costs usually top the list. Implementing the EMR system is especially challenging since the doctor can’t delegate those entries to office staff.

The rest of this article will discuss the considerations to be made when creating a paperless medical office as well as which computer hardware and software will be required for the best chance at success.

What to consider when implementing a paperless medical office.

It helps to approach converting to an electronic model as an investment instead of an expense since improved productivity, decreased costs and a faster collections process will result.

* Remember that your office won’t be completely paperless; it will just have less paper.
* If you have to convert existing paper records, be sure to choose a scanner that can handle high speed imaging and non-standard paper sizes.
* Everyone in the office should be properly trained and sold on the paperless concept. The paperless office will fall apart if someone doesn’t participate.
* Choose software based on usability, not price. Cheap software that doesn’t suit your office will be hard to sell to the staff and will make conversion difficult.
* Decide upfront if you want software that has medical billing and EMR functionality together or separately. Medical office software has a tendency to be proprietary, so not all functions may work together if you buy EMR software after your billing software and vice versa.

Hardware requirements for medical billing software.

Computers
These days you can tell a lot about your computer by the operating system installed on it. (Windows 2000, Windows XP, etc.) We’ll skip a bunch of technical specifications here and just say you’ll need a computer that runs Windows XP and works well with your office Internet access.

Your software choice will also help determine required hardware. Web-based medical office software will be more open to your existing configurations.

Scanners
Perhaps the most important hardware choice you can make for a paperless medical office is the scanner. There are many scanners available that serve as printers, faxes and copiers so you can consolidate space with one machine. If you have a lot of paper records sitting in files, be sure you choose a scanner with fast scan times. Getting one that will scan multiple documents at a time is a necessity. Converting to a paperless office is certainly a challenge, but you can reduce problems by getting a good scanner.

Printers
A high quality laser printer is recommended for going paperless. Make sure you get one with high output capability so you’re not letting your hardware decrease productivity. You may also want to get a laser printer or inkjet that is color capable for printing patient photos.

Cameras
You’ll want a digital camera to take patients photos to match their records. You can also scan ID cards, but a color digital photo will provide the best look and decrease the chance for errors.

Portable computing devices
Using a tablet PC or PDA allows physicians to chart while the patient is in the room. It reduces forgetting to record treatments and allows fast, accurate documentation. Utilizing one of these devices is a great way to get the doctor to adopt the paperless process.

Software requirements for medical billing software.

EMR / Billing / Practice Management
Most important in choosing your medical office software is which components you feel are necessary. Some software packages only cover medical billing and practice management. Others only have electronic medical record capability. Some have all of these features combined and they work together. If you decide to purchase separate billing and EMR software, find out from the vendor which programs they’re compatible with in case you decide to implement the missing component in the future.

The most efficient paperless medical office system is one that has full integrated medical billing and EMR capability.

Web based / Client Server
Your next choice is between a web based system that is completely accessed over the Internet, or one installed on your office computer and networked through the office. Web based systems offer the most amount of flexibility since records can be accessed anywhere – much like online banking. Web based medical software meets HIPAA security requirements while removing concerns about backing up or losing data.

Client/server systems present a feeling of security because they are housed in office, but present a number of issues including uptime, upgrades, security and cost. A web based system removes a number of operational headaches and places those responsibilities on your software provider.

Paperless Printing
The ability to print or manipulate digital documents, while maintaining security, requires the use of PDF creation software. The industry standard is Adobe Acrobat, which has a free reader. Acrobat 7.0 is the latest PDF creator.

Flexibility / Training
Many medical office software programs use template based functionality which is counter intuitive to a standard medical work flow. When these programs are implemented, not only is new software needed to be trained on, but the whole flow of the office visit.

There are flexible medical software programs available that are easier to implement and flow well with a typical medical office visit. Make sure you get a full demo of the medical software you’re investigating before you try to implement it.

All the benefits of a paperless office will go out the window if not properly implemented. Make sure you know what kind of setup training is required of your staff as well as ongoing education. Is technical support responsive, or will you spend hours just trying to get a hold of them? Learn the answers to these questions before you buy.

Summary – Paperless Medical Office
Converting to a paperless office may seem like an expensive challenge that isn’t worth undertaking, but staying competitive in the medical field is contingent upon it. Not only are there increasing pressures from payers and government laws, (HIPAA) but having a paperless office improves time efficiencies, reduces costs and ultimately allows physicians to provide better patient care.

References:
physiciansnews. com/business/101lares. html
square. umin. ac. jp/DMIESemi/y2004/20040913_2.pdf
adobe. com/products/acrobat/

Medicare offers insurance coverage for prescription medicines

Most of us know the value of good insurance, whether it's life, home, auto or health. Medicare is now offering insurance coverage for prescription medicines to help seniors and disabled persons with the cost of their medicines.

Those who join a drug plan will pay a monthly premium (just as they do now for their Medicare doctor visits), pay a part of the cost of their prescription medicines and may have a deductible, depending on the plan they join. But unlike some types of insurance, people with Medicare cannot be turned down for prescription drug coverage.

On average, people with Medicare spend over $2,800 per year on prescription medicines, more than $1,500 of which they currently pay out of their own pockets. With the new Medicare coverage, the money that an individual will spend out of pocket is expected to drop to about $850.

Even those seniors who currently take few medicines and spend little money will have the security of knowing they're protected for future prescription drug needs. This coverage is important because health care needs generally increase with age-the chance of having more than one chronic health problem doubles by the time beneficiaries reach 80 years - as does the need for prescription medicines. About 85 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who are ages 65 to 74 use at least one prescription medication.

Health care needs are unpredictable and people with Medicare who don't initially sign up will have to wait until the next calendar year even if their health care needs change. When they do sign up later they will pay more for the coverage because there is a penalty-a higher premium-for those who do not already have equivalent coverage. Paying higher premiums the longer you wait is the same way life insurance works.

The new Medicare prescription drug coverage provides access, protection and peace of mind, just like every other type of insurance.

What you must know about cataract surgery

If you have a cataract it means the natural lens in your eye is cloudy. In a cataract operation your surgeon will remove the cloudy lens and put an artificial clear lens in its place. Your lens sits behind the coloured part of your eye (the iris) and helps you to see things in focus.

When you look at something, light comes into your eye through the hole in the centre (the pupil) and passes through the lens to the back of the eyeball (the retina).The light is then changed into nerve signals that travel to your brain. Your brain tells you what the image is.

If the lens is cloudy, the image on the back of the eye will be blurred. It’s rather like looking through a dirty windscreen or frosted glass. Different parts of the lens can become cloudy. Commonly cataracts begin as clouding around the edges of the lens.

You may notice that you get a lot of glare or a ‘halo’ effect around bright lights, or when the sun is low in the sky. If you drive you might find oncoming headlights more difficult to cope with than before. Cataracts can also affect the middle of the lens, which makes your vision foggy. As the cataract grows:your sight becomes blurry;you may have double vision;you may find it hard to tell the difference between some colours, especially shades of blue;you may see ‘halo’ effects around lights, especially at night.

Cataracts are common. About a third of people aged over 65 have cataracts in one or both eyes. Getting older and exposure to bright sunlight are the main reasons people get cataracts. Having diabetes, smoking and drinking too much alcohol may also increase your risk of cataracts.

A cataract operation can:help you see better and stop your poor sight interfering with your life. Not everyone with a cataract needs an operation. Doctors usually suggest the operation when your cataract interferes with your daily life rather than when your eyesight reaches a particular score on a sight test. Your cataract may mean you can’t see well enough to read, work, play a sport, go shopping or drive a car.

Some people manage with their cataract for longer than others because their poorer sight does not affect them much. For example, a person who loves bird-watching may decide they need treatment before a person whose main hobby is listening to music. In the past, people were advised that their cataract had to be ‘ripe’ (very bad) before it was worth having an operation.

This is because cataract surgery was a big operation that took a long time to recover from, and the artificial lenses used then were not very good. Now, with safer, quicker operations, cataracts are generally removed earlier, before they cause serious problems. And modern lenses are better.

Sometimes a cataract should be removed even if it does not cause problems with your sight. This is because there is another eye problem that needs treating and the cataract is in the way. Examples of other eye problems are diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. They are problems with the blood vessels in the eye. If you have cataracts in both eyes, it’s normal to do them one eye at a time, usually a couple of months or more apart. This is because the treated eye can be sore and needs to settle down for a while.

A cataract operation usually lasts about 10 minutes to 20 minutes. You should be able to go home the same day. You may know someone who has stayed overnight after their cataract operation. People usually only stay in hospital if they have problems after their operation, if they have other eye diseases (glaucoma, for example) or other medical problems that doctors need to check.

For most people it’s as safe to be at home as it is to stay in hospital, and most people prefer to be in familiar surroundings. At hospitals that are very experienced in doing cataract surgery, you may be in and out of the hospital within 90 minutes.

Private label vitamins why pay top dollar for generic supplements

Today’s vitamin supplement industry is one of fierce competition between distributors and retailers. Numerous companies promise to bring consumers the best supplements money can buy, and often make claims of superior product components and exclusive raw material sources.

And yet the majority of vitamin supplement providers are buying their products wholesale from the same manufacturers.

It’s true. Major retailers like GNC and Vitamin World rely almost exclusively on private label production companies to manufacture and package their supplements for them.

The same is true of direct marketing companies that use independent sales representatives and multi-level affiliate networks to distribute their over-priced vitamin products. This is especially ironic, since this type of retail model often places a strong emphasis on concepts like ‘unique formulas’ and ‘patented processing techniques’ in an effort to justify their high markups.

Manufacturers like Randal Nutritional Products and Vitarich Laboratories produce and package nearly one third of all brand name vitamins supplements sold in the U. S. And Vitarich alone is responsible for the high-priced, ‘exclusive formula’ products sold by at least 21 different multi-level-marketing companies.

There is nothing particularly scandalous about this fact. But it is something I feel the average consumer of vitamin supplements should be aware of.

In essence, there is little reason to pay exorbitant prices for a vitamin supplement. I have spoken with dieticians, pharmacists, and physicians who freely recommend buying the more affordable ‘drug store brand’. As long as a supplement label bears the USP (U. S. Pharmacopeia) approval statement, you can be confident you are purchasing a quality product.

This is not to say that superior supplements are not available. But you shouldn’t take a retailer’s claims at face value.

Do a little research on a product line before spending the extra money. If a distributor doesn’t want to provide you with some basic information about the location of their manufacturing center, you should think twice about shelling out big bucks for their ‘secret formula’ supplements.

How to stop migraine headaches now

"The good news is I feel much, much better after taking the course you prescribed and I thank you very much for your help and advice”…?

They are a common type of chronic headache. They most commonly occur in women and usually begin between the ages of 10 and 46. In some cases, they appear to run in families.

Migraine is the cause of 20 per cent of all headaches. This type of headache occurs when blood vessels of the head and neck constrict, resulting in a decrease in blood flow to the vessels. Migraine is usually experienced as a throbbing pain on one side of the head with an associated feeling of sickness and sensitivity to light and sound. Migraines are known to affect more women than men and are often chronic. Below are some of the factors that have been identified as being associated with migraines

Do you have?

· Throbbing, pulsating feeling usually worse on one side of the head.

· Pain may be dull or severe and often begins in the morning, gradually worsening in an hour or so.

· Pain may be accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, vertigo-like feeling and visual disturbances.

· Sensitivity to loud noises and light.

· Commonly lasts from a few hours to one or two days in some cases.

You must be observing a fact that in last several years, despite the fact that you are taking regular medication as per your doctor’s advise, your dose must be increasing and with this instead of reduction of your problems they must be increasing or getting complicated. While correction of the problem the essence is not to just control this health problem but the Detoxification, rejuvenation and Chelation of body and correction of the deep-seated health problem.

But after learning about your health use blended dietary supplement using the extracts from the precious range of proven, rare exotic organic herbs, and other natural sources from all over the world to suit your health needs particularly. It will contain oral supplements to cleanse and rejuvenate your body and skin to make it fit and energetic; all this will enhance your confidence in life with several folds. The results are excellent as the herbs are not restricted to one country but are a combination of best possible herbs from all over the world. For More click here.

Is online medical retailers right for you

There is a wide range of medical supplies available today. It is important though that before you buy your supplies you need to make an informed decision. Whether you need bathroom aids, walkers or wheelchairs it is important to investigate the quality, prices and type of supplies available. With the growth of retail sales in the Internet, there are endless choices of medical supplies. That is why smart shopping pays.

Physicians are often bombarded with countless discount offers from these online retailers. Online shops offer a more convenient way to shop especially to those time-strapped doctors. This is why online medical supply retailers have gained popularity over the years. Nevertheless, some physicians are reluctant to try this virtual market because some sites are not yet a year old. As a result, physicians often wonder if they would be able to deliver their promises. But one cannot deny the fact that online purchasing cost less than buying from regular retailers. With the increased competition in the Web that constantly reduces prices, it is even more appealing for physicians to try these online shops. Additionally, with the products and their prices only clicks away no wonder many physicians are lured into this virtual market.

For individuals who simply need medical supplies or equipments for their home, the online market can also be a good place to shop. There are no nosy salespersons that follow you around, no fuss and no worry of having to make a decision right away. However, you have to ask your doctor, caregiver or rehabilitation therapist which specific piece of equipment is appropriate for you. Know all the details about the supply or equipment. Sometimes a simple crutch can be made more comfortable and safer when correctly used and adjusted. Simply put you need to find a good selection, get informed expert advice and find reasonably priced supplies to find the right medical supplies and equipments.

The continued efficiency of the Internet has helped a lot in keeping the prices of medical supplies and equipments low. Aside from low prices, the easy order system of online stores has made them more appealing. You can easily put a request online and wait for distributors to respond. And bulk purchases are always welcome as most retailers have not set a minimum number or orders. But of course the security issue is always there. Although encrypted sites do well in protecting their transactions, the procedures for distribution of controlled items and drugs has somehow added to the slowed medical sales of online shops. Additionally, because there are no paper trails involved in Internet sales, resolving problems and disputes are often difficult.

Thus, when considering online retailers make sure you have the right reasons to do so. You would not want to regret your purchase in the end. So make an informed decision.