Much buzz is swirling around about the government’s healthcare technology stimulus money. Nineteen billion to be more specific. What’s the money for? Well, it’s for you of course! At least if you’re a doctor and a Medicare or Medicaid provider. “The man” would like you to purchase an EMR (Electronic Medical Records)software. If you do you can receive up to $64,000.00 for doing so. Sound good? Yes it does. Don’t forget the number goes down the longer you wait and if you wait too long you may be the one giving the money to the government instead of getting it.
So what is the point in all of this? Is this just another waste of stimulus money? Quite the contrary actually. This idea of all physicians using EMR will benefit the A) Doctor B) patient as well as C) our health care system!
A) The Doctor: Imagine doc if you will, Patient X comes to you with a problem. You have never seen patient X before because he just moved here to Los Angeles from other side of the world, Georgia. So you truly know nothing about him other than what he tells you that is. Now you can rely on patient X and diagnose with caution or type in patient X to your nifty EMR and there he is! Patient X in all his glory. Previous complaints, diagnosis, x-rays ………. Everything since he was a wee lad in Georgia. You see Doctor in the long run, being connected aside from being incredibly organized can help you make better decisions! Which if I may add doesn’t just help you but also…………………………………
B) The Patient: That’s right. If the Doctor is making better decisions you win! Faster diagnosis means your doctor will be able to notice patterns and treat accordingly. Also, why shouldn’t you, the patient have a right to a copy of your full medical history?! Now you will (Of course your doctor may charge small fee) be able to attain copies of your medical records as well. So I win. You win. What about……………
C) Our Healthcare System: Good question! Well you may not realize that all the cures for various illnesses and diseases that we have now have all been achieved through extensive research. A lot of this research is funded by the government and who funds the government? You do! Can you imagine the positive effect this will have on research and studies? It’s incredible. We’ll be able to notice trends in different geographic areas. Why is everybody getting asthma in Smokey, Oklahoma? Or why are there so many people with bad skin in Acne, Missouri? While keeping it light, you see where I’m going. We can track illnesses by age group, weight, ethnicity geographic location etc. So this EMR, while beneficial the doctor and the patient also aids our healthcare system in their research which inevitably help us all.
Mandatory EMR?…………… Not a bad idea!
It can be said that even for the most ignorant to politics and current events over the last year we have learned a new word. Some may have used the word before and most people know it exists. However, now more than ever this word has been thrown around like a Frisbee in a dog park. The word is……….. STIMULUS! Yes, stimulus. As in, economic stimulus, stimulus package, stimulus money etc. We have all heard something about the multibillion dollar stimulus package whose purpose is to provide relief to different parts of the economy and promote healthy solutions and opportunities to companies and individuals. Yes, you know what I’m talking about! Get money to go back to school…… Less taxes……. Cash for clunkers. We have all heard of it and some of you may have benefited from it. So why are we discussing all this on an EMR website??? So glad you asked! Here it goes…
Our government has set aside 19 billion dollars of healthcare technology stimulus money. That is once again, 19 billion dollars. The purpose is to use healthcare technology, purchasing an EMR/EHR in particular to keep our healthcare records safer and better connected. Now if you’re reading this your immediate questions are…. How do I get some of this money and how much? When can I get some of this money? Where do I go to get some of this money? What do I need to do to get some of this money? And of course….. What’s the catch?
Well, these are all good questions. I would be skeptical as well but believe me this is happening and if you get on board with this early on you will benefit the most. According to the guidelines of this stimulus package a Doctor or hospital that is either a Medicare (part B) or Medicaid provider can qualify. To qualify under Medicare you must be filing Medicare claims. For Medicaid, your caseload must be at least 30% Medicaid (20% for pediatricians). You can qualify under either Medicare or Medicaid but not both. If you qualify under Medicare you can receive up to $44,000.00 and under Medicaid $64,000.00. These maximum payouts are spread over 5 years starting in 2011. Keep in mind that 70% of the money you receive will be paid over the first 2 years.
Now for you procrastinators out there, I advise you to get your act together. You see, they are very serious about the implementation of EMR/EHR. So much so, that if you do not implement it by 2015 you can begin receiving a penalty of 1% off your Medicare/Medicaid payments. This penalty may increase to 5% by 2017. So it is in your best interest to get with the program while the offer is on the table!
At this point you must be saying to yourself, “good to know” or “I better get moving”, all true. But now you have to exert some effort. You must choose an EMR vendor and have them set the software up and train you in. You also have to go after the stimulus money. It does sound a bit overwhelming with all the choices and time you’ll have to put in to make this happen. What if I would tell you there is a company out there that will handle the entire process for you and to top it off…….give you the software for FREE and allow you to put that stimulus money in your pocket?! You would probably say “Sign me up”. Well that is what the people at medicalsoftware.com are hoping you’ll say.
It’s true! Medicalsoftware.com gives you the software, trains you and gets you your stimulus money…… FOR FREE! (www.medicalsoftware.com)
Written by: Issac Yenowitz of medical-billing.com
Electronic medical record (EMR) software is quickly becoming a necessity rather than a luxury in the field of medicine. In fact, President Obama recently asserted his intention to completely digitize all medical records in the nation over the next five years; practices that fail to do so will be penalized by a reduction in their Medicare funding. All requirements aside, there are many reasons why a physician would want to adopt EMR software for his or her practice; in fact, this type of medical software actually has many different applications and uses beyond mere patient data management.
In addition to providing doctors, nurses and other medical care practitioners with an electronic space for patient data, transcripts, notes and observations – the standard medical record fare – EMR software can also help streamline coding and billing, appointment-making and scheduling, and prescription writing. Most programs also offer search capabilities, so a patient’s record can be found quickly and easily by entering certain specific terms or keywords, and many provide forms and templates to make the process of creating new records or adding to existing records even easier.
As with any type of medical software, the ultimate goal of these EMR programs is to benefit the physician, the practice, and – by extension – the patient. To that end, here are a few of the reasons why you may want to consider using electronic medical record software in your practice if you haven’t already made the switch:
- It’s efficient. Stop wasting valuable moments searching for misplaced files or thumbing through page after page to find a specific piece of information!
- It’s convenient. All of the information you need will be right at your fingertips, not off in a storage space somewhere.
- It’s cost-effective. You can reduce the size of your staff and your storage expenses through the use of EMR.
- It’s accurate. Sidestep problem like illegible handwriting and careless filing.
- It’s secure. Records can only be accessed by individuals with special identification codes.
Practice Fusion recently announced a free EMR for private practice physicians by permitting pharmaceutical companies to advertise within the EMR and on the web-based patient portal.
Concerns of a conflict of interest and of patient privacy has caused many practices to think twice before jumping in.
Copy of recent press release:
Practice Fusion, Inc. to provide on-demand services to the healthcare industry.
San Francisco, CA, August 29th, 2006 – Practice Fusion, Inc., today announced its official company launch as a leading provider of on-demand solutions and services to the healthcare industry. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Practice Fusion offers the healthcare IT industry integrated, on-demand solutions that streamline costly and inefficient manual processes between physicians, patients and healthcare groups associated with claims adjudication, eligibilities, authorizations and sharing medical records. The company’s mission is to empower providers to deliver the highest quality of care to their patients by creating solutions that enable seamless collaboration across the entire healthcare industry.
“Today, the entire healthcare industry is forced to pay tremendous upfront licensing fees while having drawn out implementations,” said Chief Executive Officer Ryan Howard. “Current vendors continue to deliver software in an antiquated enterprise model. These solutions force healthcare groups to saddle costly and complex implementations of hardware, software, databases, connectivity and integration. Customers are required to pay licensing fees, as well as consulting, training, support and maintenance, resulting in multimillion dollar installations, which can take years to implement. According to Gartner, more than half of all new enterprise systems have failed completely, healthcare groups today are left with no guarantee of return on their investment.”
Practice Fusion enables healthcare groups to create health information organizations to integrate and collaborate with their physician and patient communities. Practice Fusion’s services are on-demand, requiring no on-site software installation, eliminating the hassles of installing and supporting software, hardware, databases and connectivity. The service is completely integrated with practices and patients, enabling healthcare groups to collaborate with their community without the costs and complexities of drawn out integration projects.
Built on a service-oriented-architecture, Practice Fusion can easily integrate into healthcare groups current legacy systems, allowing them to retain their current investments. Practice Fusion natively incorporates security, HIPAA/HL7 compliance, data synchronization, reporting and analysis. The platform also provides a unified patient record, enabling physicians to access critical patient information from any location, as well as access and share records with the entire provider community. Delivered in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription model, as a web-based service, Practice Fusion enables healthcare groups to pay for usage, not software, hardware and integration.
“We are pleased to offer healthcare groups a faster, more efficient way to collaborate with their physician and patient communities. Practice Fusion has distinguished itself from other vendors by providing on-demand services to healthcare groups, physicians and patients, integrating all aspects of the healthcare cycle,” said Chief Operating Officer Alan Wong. “The end result is that physicians will be able to focus more time on their patients and less time on managing their practices. Healthcare groups will also be empowered to eliminate cumbersome administrative tasks, allowing them to better serve their physicians and patients, while lowering their bottom line.”
About Practice Fusion.
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Practice Fusion addresses the complexities and critical needs of today’s healthcare environments by proving a revolutionary application and delivery model for physicians and patients at no cost. Practice Fusion offers an integrated, on-demand healthcare platform delivered in a software-as-a-service model. Practice Fusion’s services require no on-site software installation, eliminating the complexities of licensing, implementing and supporting traditional enterprise software solutions. Practice Fusion removes the need for integration, hardware and software for physicians, dramatically reducing cost and complexity, while enabling providers to deliver the highest level of care possible to their patients.
Practice Fusion recently announced a free EMR for private practice physicians by permitting pharmaceutical companies to advertise within the EMR and on the web-based patient portal.
Concerns of a conflict of interest and of patient privacy has caused many practices to think twice before jumping in.
Copy of recent press release:
Practice Fusion, Inc. to provide on-demand services to the healthcare industry.
San Francisco, CA, August 29th, 2006 – Practice Fusion, Inc., today announced its official company launch as a leading provider of on-demand solutions and services to the healthcare industry. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Practice Fusion offers the healthcare IT industry integrated, on-demand solutions that streamline costly and inefficient manual processes between physicians, patients and healthcare groups associated with claims adjudication, eligibilities, authorizations and sharing medical records. The company’s mission is to empower providers to deliver the highest quality of care to their patients by creating solutions that enable seamless collaboration across the entire healthcare industry.
“Today, the entire healthcare industry is forced to pay tremendous upfront licensing fees while having drawn out implementations,” said Chief Executive Officer Ryan Howard. “Current vendors continue to deliver software in an antiquated enterprise model. These solutions force healthcare groups to saddle costly and complex implementations of hardware, software, databases, connectivity and integration. Customers are required to pay licensing fees, as well as consulting, training, support and maintenance, resulting in multimillion dollar installations, which can take years to implement. According to Gartner, more than half of all new enterprise systems have failed completely, healthcare groups today are left with no guarantee of return on their investment.”
Practice Fusion enables healthcare groups to create health information organizations to integrate and collaborate with their physician and patient communities. Practice Fusion’s services are on-demand, requiring no on-site software installation, eliminating the hassles of installing and supporting software, hardware, databases and connectivity. The service is completely integrated with practices and patients, enabling healthcare groups to collaborate with their community without the costs and complexities of drawn out integration projects.
Built on a service-oriented-architecture, Practice Fusion can easily integrate into healthcare groups current legacy systems, allowing them to retain their current investments. Practice Fusion natively incorporates security, HIPAA/HL7 compliance, data synchronization, reporting and analysis. The platform also provides a unified patient record, enabling physicians to access critical patient information from any location, as well as access and share records with the entire provider community. Delivered in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription model, as a web-based service, Practice Fusion enables healthcare groups to pay for usage, not software, hardware and integration.
“We are pleased to offer healthcare groups a faster, more efficient way to collaborate with their physician and patient communities. Practice Fusion has distinguished itself from other vendors by providing on-demand services to healthcare groups, physicians and patients, integrating all aspects of the healthcare cycle,” said Chief Operating Officer Alan Wong. “The end result is that physicians will be able to focus more time on their patients and less time on managing their practices. Healthcare groups will also be empowered to eliminate cumbersome administrative tasks, allowing them to better serve their physicians and patients, while lowering their bottom line.”
About Practice Fusion.
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Practice Fusion addresses the complexities and critical needs of today’s healthcare environments by proving a revolutionary application and delivery model for physicians and patients at no cost. Practice Fusion offers an integrated, on-demand healthcare platform delivered in a software-as-a-service model. Practice Fusion’s services require no on-site software installation, eliminating the complexities of licensing, implementing and supporting traditional enterprise software solutions. Practice Fusion removes the need for integration, hardware and software for physicians, dramatically reducing cost and complexity, while enabling providers to deliver the highest level of care possible to their patients.