How Healthcare Practices Can Overcome Common Challenges with Electronic Health Record (EHR) Implementation

How Healthcare Practices Can Overcome Common Challenges with Electronic Health Record (EHR) Implementation

Electronic Health Records (EHR) deliver enhanced efficiency, improved patient care, and streamlined workflows. However, the implementation of EHR systems is complex and challenging. In this article, we explore common challenges faced during EHR implementation and provide insights into overcoming these challenges to achieve a seamless transition.

Choosing the Right EHR System

The market is flooded with various options for EHR systems, so organizations need to carefully evaluate and select a system that aligns with their specific needs. This typically necessitates thorough research of vendors and systems, as well as having a grasp of the timeline needed for implementation. Additionally, you’ll want to establish a generous and flexible budget that allows for additional or emergency resources. Implementing a system that caters to the unique requirements of the practice with an expert vendor that is transparent and knowledgeable ensures a smoother transition.

Communication and Training

When implementing EHRs, effective communication and patience during the rollout are paramount. Here are some valuable tips for fostering smoother communication and ensuring successful training:

  • Enable and Support the Launch Team: Healthcare providers should grant launch staff the authority to proactively manage unexpected challenges. A clearly defined escalation strategy helps to swiftly address emergencies and mitigate potential frustrations among both staff and patients.
  • Develop resolution strategies: Go-live support teams should establish detailed protocols for identifying and resolving technical issues, including issues with both hardware and software. Designate individuals responsible for each type of problem and be share they share solutions for issues. Keeping everyone involved in all stages of identifying and solving issues will go a long way in making the transition as smooth as possible.
  • Support from Leadership: Implementing EHRs can be disruptive to a working environment. Leaders who communicate effectively to staff and patients on successes at setbacks, who can acknowledge the benefits and the challenges of an EHR rollout, and who can make sure users are aware of available support staff if issues arise can ensure a smoother implementation experience.

Workflows

Emphasizing the significance of workflows is crucial for healthcare professionals as they strategize, document, and communicate information regarding EHR implementation. Recognize that healthcare workflows vary, with certain processes being more integral to the well-being of patients.

Consider these workflows that warrant special attention in your EHR implementation:

  • Blood banks: Blood banks play a vital role where lives depend on efficient processes. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure that your EHR implementation thoroughly addresses the intricacies of this workflow.
  • Medication Reconciliation: Before the EHR system goes live, organizations need to confirm that the system effectively tracks patients’ medications both pre- and post-admittance.
  • Patient Movement: Tracking patients’ movements throughout their hospital stay is paramount for ensuring proper care. This aspect of the workflow is critical to maintaining a holistic view of patient care and facilitating effective communication among healthcare teams.
  • Level of Care: Accurately documenting a patient’s stages, whether they are in the ER or ICU, significantly influences accurate medical billing and ensures appropriate levels of care.
  • Careful Transport: The careful monitoring of how patients are physically transported within the facility deserves special consideration during EHR implementation so that patients are moved smoothly and securely.
How to Improve Your Healthcare Practice’s Revenue Cycle for Efficiency and Profitability

How to Improve Your Healthcare Practice’s Revenue Cycle for Efficiency and Profitability

Medical practices face the dual challenge of providing quality patient care while ensuring financial sustainability. Optimizing revenue cycle management – the series of processes that manage patient billing, insurance claims, and revenue collection – is a key component of achieving this balance and ultimately improving your bottom line. In this article, we’ll explore key strategies to enhance your revenue cycle management in order to drive both financial success and patient satisfaction.

Streamline Patient Scheduling and Registration

Efficiency starts at the very beginning of the patient encounter, so it’s important to streamline scheduling and registration. Ideally, you want a system where patients have the capability to schedule their own appointments, receive reminders of upcoming appointments, and pay online. When you provide a simple and accessible payment process, your patients are more likely to respond in a timely manner.

Invest in Patient Eligibility Verification

Automating patient eligibility verification is crucial for avoiding insurance claim denials. Invest in technology that verifies a patient’s insurance coverage before their appointment. If there is any incorrect or expired insurance information, this will allow your staff to address those discrepancies ahead of time and reduce claim rejections.

Offer a Transparent and Convenient Payment Process

Clear communication about patient financial responsibility is essential. Before appointments, provide patients with estimates of their out-of-pocket costs, including copayments and deductibles. This transparency prepares patients for their financial obligation and minimizes the risk of unpaid bills. In addition, consider offering flexible payment plans to help patients manage their healthcare expenses. And as mentioned above, offer a convenient online payment option would encourage timely payments.

Optimize Revenue with Claims Scrubbing Software

If you want to optimize revenue flow, you need to modernize your claims processing system. Claims scrubbing – the process of checking claims before submitting them to insurers to ensure that they’re accurate, complete, and have the correct codes – increases the chances the insurer pays each claim quickly. Claims scrubbing used to be a time-consuming manual undertaking, but modern software with claim-scrubbing technology can execute the process almost immediately.

Partner with Professional Billing Services

Outsourcing medical billing can improve your revenue cycle management while freeing up your staff’s time to focus on patient care. Professional billing services specialize in navigating the complexities of billing and coding, leading to reduced claim denials and faster reimbursements. A revenue manager will look for ways to improve your process efficiency and expedite payment.

Invest in Claim Denials Management

Claim denials, though inevitable, can be major obstacles to healthy revenue flow, but they can be minimized. Establish a systematic approach to manage denials by identifying common reasons for denials and addressing them at their root. You need to invest in staff training and software to improve coding, accuracy, claim documentation, and claim resubmittal. Regularly review denied claims, appeal when appropriate, and continually refine your processes to minimize future denials. You can also outsource your claim denial management to experts, which typically sees a 99% first-pass acceptance rate.

Offer Flexibility for Collecting Payment

Have a plan for collecting delinquent payments from patients. Anything from providing staff with a prepared script to follow when contacting patients to offering a payment plan will help keep communication open and maximize revenue.

How Your Healthcare Practice Can Maximize Point of Service Collections

How Your Healthcare Practice Can Maximize Point of Service Collections

Healthcare practices rely on prompt payment for provided services to maintain financial health of their business. Point of service collections refer to the process of collecting credit card or cash payments at the time of service, rather than going through a billing cycle, which can take months. Below we’ll go over some of the ways that healthcare practices can use point of service collections efficiently in order to cut the billing cycle, improve cash flow, and get paid more quickly while providing a positive experience for patients.

Train Staff to Discuss Payment Options in a Way That is Polite and Professional

Staff members who interact with patients should be trained to discuss payment options and expectations in a polite and professional manner. They should be prepared to explain services as they relate to a patient’s bill and answer any questions the patient may have about the billing process. This helps the patient feel comfortable paying their bills without confusion, surprise, or frustration regarding the cost of care. Transparency and approachability also help to build positive relationships with patients.

Offer Multiple Payment Options

Accepting multiple forms of payment increases your chances of receiving payment more promptly. Offering flexibility with methods of payment, including credit cards, checks, debit cards, cash, and virtual payments like Apple and Google Pay makes payment more convenient for patients. You can also consider offering payment plans or financing options for patients who cannot afford to pay in full at the time of service. Offering payment options that fit a patient’s financial situation can help ensure timely payment and build trust with patients.

Be Proactive and Transparent About Payment Expectations

By providing pricing transparency and establishing financial responsibilities, you help to create a more successful patient/provider relationship. This information can be provided over the phone, during the appointment scheduling process, or through the practice’s website. Staff should be prepared to provide a price estimate upfront, discuss the various payment options available to patients, and emphasize that point-of-service payment is preferred.

Use Technology to Streamline Payments

Medical billing software with an integrated payment processing platform that allows for point of service payments is essential in collecting up-front payments from patients. Look for one that offers point of service collections as a default. You could also implement a patient portal where patients can view and pay their bills online. This will help streamline point of service collections, reduce administrative burdens, and improve collection rates.

Why Your Healthcare Practice Should Offer Flexible Patient Payment Options

Why Your Healthcare Practice Should Offer Flexible Patient Payment Options

Medical debt in the United States outpaces student loans, auto loans, and credit card debt. And with more financial responsibility falling on the patient than ever before, healthcare practices are being forced to come up with new ways to collect money owed — for profitability, but also for patient flexibility in order to incentivize patients to seek the care they need without fear of how it will affect their pocketbooks. Below are some successful, reliable methods for improving payment processes while providing convenience and options for patients.

Flexible Payment Options Are a Post-Pandemic Reality

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the move to more digital payment options for patients. Contactless payments were safe during the height of the pandemic, but they’re also convenient. Online portals, mobile apps, and mobile wallets allow patients to pay their medical bills quickly and safely without needing to stop by the office or wait on a phone call during specific business hours. Here’s how flexible payment options help greatly in retaining satisfied customers.

They Address Patient’s Financial Needs While Also Benefitting Providers

Flexible payment options include methods like splitting large balances into manageable monthly installments, and offering lump-sum discounts or automatic recurring payment plans. Not only does research back the success of these methods in collecting payment from customers, but flexible payment options also reduce bad debt and boost patient loyalty.

Digital Payment Options Translate to Quicker Payment Collection

Digital payment methods are fast and simple, and research backs that patients pay their medical bills more quickly when prompted via digital notification such as text, email, or automated phone call rather than through regular mail. When you send quick reminders through familiar digital platforms that patients already use, the result is typically quicker payment collections and fewer outstanding balances.

Reduce Paper Waste

The cost of healthcare billing can be cut drastically by moving from paper statements to digital reminders. Flexible payment options eliminate the need to over-send paper billing statements. For instance, implementing a card-on-file option can provide a way to process an outstanding balance with a patient’s stored credit card once insurance claims are determined. Additionally, many online payment solutions include email billing reminders, giving providers the opportunity to prompt collection of payments from one platform.

By leveraging technology to implement digital and automated payment methods, healthcare organizations can boost efficiency, cut billing expenses, and allow staff more breathing room to concentrate on improving patient experiences.

 

Why Health Practices Should Implement a Team-Based Care Model to Optimize Telemedicine and Streamline Efficiencies

Why Health Practices Should Implement a Team-Based Care Model to Optimize Telemedicine and Streamline Efficiencies

The Covid-19 pandemic propelled the healthcare industry into telemedicine almost overnight. Now, more than two years later, doctors and health care practices and organizations are able to take a breath and consider how to optimize virtual visits for patients and physicians. One way to do this is by implementing a physician-led team-based care approach much like the systems used for in-office visits.

What is Team-Based Care?

Team-based care is an orchestrated office system that allows doctors and other in-office professionals to work together to take care of a patient. They accomplish this by each professional bringing their strengths to the task at hand, and performing at the highest level of their skill set and training. When the pandemic hit, the hard-won workflow of these office systems reverted to a routine rooted in the past, where physicians alone carried out most of the work.

Why is Team-Based Care Important?

For many physicians and practices, the pandemic forced health care providers to pivot to telehealth before a team-based approach could be established, but a physician-does-all system is not sustainable in a telemedicine environment any more than it’s sustainable in an in-office environment. The benefits of team-based care include increased accessibility, improved quality of patient care, increased patient access to care, improved team efficiency, improved satisfaction among patients and physicians, and reduced burnout among professionals.

Team-Based Care Provides an Advocate for the Patient

When a medical assistant or nurse accompanies a physician in an exam room, they are serving partly as an advocate for the patient, and this can be true for telemedicine environments as well. The nurse or medical assistant on the virtual call can be sure that the physician has provided all the care that was needed in the context of that visit.

Team-Based Care Strengthens Trust with Patients

Trust is a crucial component of the patient-physician relationship. Adding another clinical staff member to that dynamic during a telemedicine visit gives the patient a chance to establish a trusting relationship with an additional medical professional. This person can be an added ear for the patient — someone else they can turn to with questions or concerns. Additionally, when a member of the clinical staff can take care of electronic health records and documentation, the physician is free to focus solely on the patient, which further solidifies the trust built between them.

How to Implement Team-Based Care

Successful team-based care approaches center the patient and promote strong written and verbal communication. Each care team member must be appointed a clearly-defined role in which they use their skills at the highest capacity. Organization leaders should also develop procedures for communicating information about the patient, ensuring that each team member has access to the data needed to make informed care decisions. Finally, be sure the patient understands that they have the support of a team by emphasizing each team member’s role with the patient.

How the Consolidated Appropriations Act Will Change the Way Americans Shop for Healthcare

How the Consolidated Appropriations Act Will Change the Way Americans Shop for Healthcare

The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) was signed into law in late December, 2020 under former President Trump. It tackles multiple long-debated healthcare policies. The law stipulates new regulations that will require providers, insurers, and employers to provide consumers with data pertaining to coverage and costs before consumers receive care. This means that Americans will now have access to information that could change the way they shop for healthcare.

No Surprise Billing

Included in the CAA is the No Surprise Act (NSA). The NSA includes requirements for health insurers and group health plans to provide information and tools for consumers to better navigate their healthcare. Surprise billing — also known as balance billing — has long been debated for patients in covered out-of-network situations, such as when receiving emergency services. However, due to the NSA, beginning January 1, 2022, health plans must treat these out-of-network services as if they were in-network when calculating patient cost-sharing. Patients won’t be held accountable to the “surprise” bill, with insurers and providers handling any payment disputes.

A range of consumer protections are also included, such as a mandatory advance cost estimate. Health plans are obligated to implement a price transparency tool and provide accurate, up-to-date directories on public websites. Furthermore, providers will be prohibited from billing patients more than the applicable in-network cost sharing amount, and a penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation can apply.

A New Final-Offer Arbitration Process

The NSA also creates a new final-offer arbitration process to decide how much insurers must pay out-of-pocket network providers. If an out-of-network provider is dissatisfied with a health plan’s payment, it can initiate arbitration. The arbitrator must choose between the final offers submitted by each party after analyzing various factors, including the health plan’s historical median in-network rate for comparable services.

Health Insurer-Related Policies

The Act includes many health insurer-related policies such as forbidding “gag clauses” in contracts between plans and healthcare providers that limit access to cost and quality data. The law calls for reporting on drug costs and similar issues, and contains provisions related to “non-qualitative treatment limitations” for mental health or substance use disorders.

The Future for Healthcare Consumers

The price and quality transparency requirements set forth in the CAA can empower healthcare consumers to make informed decisions, and they’ll now have the ability to shop for high-quality healthcare at a fair price. The overall healthcare system and insurance markets will likely evolve quickly to reflect the demands of a more educated consumer with actionable data at their disposal.