The Hot Growth Area That is EMR and Scribes

Posted by Allison on Tue, Apr 14, 2015 @ 08:30 PM

A few years ago, one of the first big whitepapers on EMR as a hot growth area for staffing came out, titled "The Electronic Paper Trail: Why EMR is Staffing's Hot Growth Area", and this piece identified the EMR growth in healthcare. But, with this "hot growth area" that is EMR staffing for implementation comes another piece to the puzzle, one that our team at Scribe Solutions is very familiar with: the medical scribe. The article says, "healthcare information technology is the new big thing in staffing, thanks to the growing need for healthcare organizations to implement electronic medical record (EMR) systems. While this article is correct in saying that there is/was a growing need for healthcare organizations to implement EMR systems, since this article was written in 2011 some of that has changed and the new need is for data entry. There was an initial wave of EMR systems implementations following the Affordable Care Act becoming effective in 2010.

While some organizations still have a need for EMR systems implementation, there is a new need tied to Health IT, as mentioned above, and that need is for data entry into these EMR systems. Patient records need to be properly documented online, especially with meaningful use requirements in place, and often times this documentation  adds extra hours of work to doctors' already busy work schedules. Here is where scribes come in: scribes take away this burden, and as the meaningful use deadline approaches, hiring scribes is more important than ever for these busy physicians. 

More literature has come out on the need for scribes, and the benefits of hiring scribes are becoming more evident. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons boldly highlights these benefits in its published paper on the benefits of using scribes. On the top of the AAOS paper it is clearly stated in the header:Physicians can spend more time with patients; charting accuracy is increased. 

The AAOS paper's author, a physician himself, makes a strong case for hiring scribes, and who better to hear this news from than a practitioner himself. G. Klaud Miller, MD, the author of the paper, is a member of the AAOS Practice Management Committee who is in private practice in Chicago. Miller highlights the reasons why scribes are key to success in the age of required documentation using EMR, advocating:"...using a scribe saves time. The physician never has to do after-hours dictation in the office or bring charts home to dictate. The chart is completed when the physician leaves the examination room. A physician who sees 20 patients a day and spends 5 minutes per chart dictating or writing the notes saves more than an hour and a half of time by using a scribe. Independent of any of the other benefits, how much would you pay to get an extra hour and a half or more per day?"

He says it best when it comes to summing up just how helpful hiring scribes is and how using scribes is the way of the future, stating, "Although using a scribe may sound like a luxury to some, I have found that scribes more than pay for themselves in numerous ways, and I would never practice without one."

 

Tags: healthcare, meaningful use, healthIT, Scribe, EMR

HHS, Interoperability, & Healthcare IT: New Program

Posted by Allison on Tue, Feb 10, 2015 @ 12:54 AM

Interoperability has become a key topic in today's healthcare research and this issue has brought the collaboration between the private and public sector into the spotlight. 

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has increased efforts recently, timing these efforts with the Meaningful Use deadlines approaching organizations nationwide. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell announced a new program last week that would be a two-year grant program for $28 million to encourage adoption of health IT and to increase interoperability, thus supporting the use of the health information exchange. HHS and the new program will include 12 new awards; these awards will be cooperative agreements to states, territories or state designated entities to continue work under the same intent as the original State Health Information Exchange Program. 

As quoted in FierceHealthIT, HHS Secretary Burwell spoke about the new program: "This two-year grant program will ask awardees to demonstrate innovative, community-based solutions to advance, standardize, and secure an interoperable movement of health information across organizations, vendors, and geographic boundaries."

She continued to discuss the importance of the new program for interoperability: "It's important to remember the real reason we're doing this work because if we succeed in our efforts around interoperabilty and delivery system reform, it means that a patient who's admitted to a hospital or referred to a specialist will be more likely to get the right tests and medications because her doctors are doing a better job of coordinating with each other." 

As we know in the medical scribe industry, the increasing presence of technology in healthcare operations can increase efficiency. While technology can improve efficiency and help streamline activity in practices and hospitals, this high-tech environment can cause headaches in the process. This HHS program and the Health Information Exchange are keys to improving the quality of care for patients. But, it is key to hire the right people to implement these changes and to help in the adoption of the rapid changes in the way the healthcare industry does business. Medical scribes can be of assistance to busy practices and organizations that are adapting to the new technological changes in healthcare. 

Tags: ICD10, meaningful use, Improve Efficiency, healthIT, Scribe, EMR

Reporting Periods for Meaningful Use: CMS Changes

Posted by Allison on Mon, Feb 02, 2015 @ 12:39 AM

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently announced that it is considering proposals to shorten the meaningful-use reporting period to 90 days in 2015. Providers have been requesting this change.

What does this mean? 

This change would mean that providers could meet the meaningful-use requirements and in turn could avoid financial penalties with software in place for less time than what is currently required.

It is clear the providers are faced with the modernization of healthcare and improving efficiency in healthcare today. Many have turned to EMR and medical scribes to adapt to meaningful use as a whole, but extensions in the reporting period among other changes could help physicians transition smoothy and without hassles and headaches. 

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Experts and researchers have weighed in on this potential change.

President and CEO of The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, an organization that is an advocate for the changes in reporting period length, stated, "Meaningful use has the potential to be a transformative program for the nation's healthcare delivery system and we commend CMS for recognizing the need for a course-correction." Other groups have also praised CMS for looking into/and most likely changing the reporting window. The Medical Group Management Association and The American Medical Association praised the CMS for agreeing to modify the window, and they are pushing for CMS to issue the new rule quickly. 

In addition, according to the Modern Healthcare article, CMS also is considering changing reporting periods to the calendar year to "allow eligible hospitals more time to incorporate 2014 Edition software into their workflows...and will modify other aspects of the program that may lessen providers' reporting burdens.

Also, CMS explained that the rulemaking on reporting period flexibilty will be separate from the upcoming third-stage meaningful-use rule, which is expected to come out in March. 

Meaningful use takes some navigating by these physician groups. While CMS is doing its best to work with practices and hospitals to come out with the best-fit programs for healthcare as a whole, this space can be tough to handle in a busy healthcare environment. Medical scribes can lead to increased efficiency, and this has been proven in many practices and organizations. Scribes may be the answer to some of the problems physicians are facing in the switch to EMR. With supportive legislation from CMS and useful and beneficial programs by CMS, together with scribes, healthcare as a whole is on the path to becoming a more organized, high-tech sector. 

Tags: healthcare, meaningful use, Scribe, EMR

Healthcare & Privacy: Study Finds EMR Benefits Outweigh Risks

Posted by Allison on Wed, Jan 28, 2015 @ 10:52 AM

According to a new study by global consulting firm Accenture, consumers with chronic illnesses are less bothered by privacy concerns tied to EMR. Instead, the chronically ill are more concerned about the privacy of shopping and banking transactions than EMR and healthcare records. 

The study's research shows that more than half (51 percent) of the U.S. chronically ill (consumers who have chronic conditions) feel that the benefits of accessing medical records electronically outweigh any risks of privacy invasion. In this study, titled the Accenture 2014 Patient Engagement Survey, more than 2,000 U.S. consumers were polled. A unique fact was uncovered in the study, that when it comes to perceived risks in terms of privacy and EMR, the opinions on the matter varied based on specific chronic illnesses of each type of patient in the survey. 

The highest percentage of patients believing that EMR benefits outweigh the risks were those with cancer (57 percent). Other patients that were surveyed had smaller percentages of belief on the risks versus benefits of EMR; asthma and arthritis patients weighed in at a 48 percent belief that benefits of electronic health record sharing outweigh perceived risks. Another key finding in this study is that patients expressed their desire for access to EMRs, revealing their belief in the right to access their EMR, with 69 percent saying that having access to their health data is a human right. 

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Additionally, Accenture's findings indicate that it is clear that people, especially those with chronic conditions, want access to their health records. But, as fedeal legislation supports the shift to EMR, it will be interesting to discover just how many patients will shift to accessing their records via EMR technology. While the switch to EMR may seem daunting to many practitioners and patients alike, medical scribes can ease the transition to EMR. Meaningful Use Stage 2 is here, so this topic is pertinent. Scribes can help improve efficiency in healthcare practices and organizations. Combining new technology with the added resource of a scribe can increase efficiency and aid in the better documentation of patient health records. 

Tags: healthcare, meaningful use, Improve Efficiency, healthIT, Scribe, EMR

ICD-10 & Meaningful Use: 2015 and Healthcare Efficiency in EMR Use

Posted by Allison on Thu, Jan 15, 2015 @ 09:32 AM

ICD-10 has been in the news...alot. Whether you like it or not, ICD-10 is going to be shaking things up. So, it is better to get on board now, before it is complicated and costly to do so at a later date.

The American Medical Association published a list of the top 10 issues for physicians to watch in 2015, and ICD-10 implementation and meaningful use are part of this list. 

The AMA list examines the large amount of regulatory requirements, and this list explains that these regulatory requirements can take away from what is most important to most physicians...treating the patient. According to the AMA research, in order to advance health IT, many are asking for some relief when it comes to government mandates. While improving efficiency can be a result of switching to electronic medical records (EMR), the heachaches and hassles that many physicians are facing relate to government regulation and lack of time in effectively treating the patient while also switching to EMR. On the AMA list, meaningful use is focused on and the need for improvement is highlighted, according to FierceHealthcareIT.  

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Meaningful Use has been criticized as being too broad and its one-size-fits-all nature has been called incomplete. Sustainability of practices is of great concern to physicians today, so these issues and complaints noted in the AMA list need to be addressed in order to allow for the efficency that improved documentation can provide. Medical scribes can assist in the shift to electronic medical records (EMR) and can stay on as continued providers of efficient documentation of patient records. Using a medical scribe can take away the obstacles that many physicians face in treating the patient while also using EMR technology. Healthcare efficiency is an important topic in today's world, and while the technology can be helpful in documenting patient records and staying organized, using the technology can be time consuming without the assistance of scribes. 

According to the article, the AMA has pushed for end-to-end ICD-10 testing, which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced would take place from Jan. 26-30, April 26-May 1, and July 20-24. Also, the article notes that many are starting to make the shift to ICD-10, citing figures by CMS, which revealed that acceptance rates during the November ICD-10 acknowledgement testing week improved to 87 percent. 

Tags: healthcare, ICD10, meaningful use, Scribe, EMR

What You Really Need to Know About Meaningful Use

Posted by Allison Dewan on Thu, Oct 09, 2014 @ 02:12 PM

Meaningful Use was created in order to create infrastructure for the health information system in American medical industry today.

The various stages were thought out and decided upon in order to ensure successful EHR use to establish an electronic health information network in the United States.

  • Stage 1 - this stage was established for data capture and sharing to start taking place

  • Stage 2 - this stage, began in January 2014, and intends to advance processes

  • Stage 3 - this stage leads to improved outcomes

Requirements for Providers:

When looking at requirements for providers, these must be broken down into Medicare program requirements and Medicaid program requirements.

  • Medicare program meaningful use requirements include 13 core measures that must be met and 5 of 9 optional measures. A 90 day reporting period to execute against goals of the program is also required.

  • Medicaid program requirements include showing proof that the practice has purchased and installed a government certified EHR and after 1 year the practice must then meet the medicare requirements also with the 13 core measures.

Meaningful Use and its requirements intend to allow for progress tracking and more connectivity.

While using EHR will improve connectivity and is the way of the future, it is a lot of work for practices and physicians. But, it doesn't have to be! Scribes can help.

  • Our medical scribes here at Scribe Solutions perform all the data entry work but also can assist in other services such as tracking labs, transcribing radiology reports, attending to patient needs, and helping physicians organize data.

  • Scribe Solutions understands the demands that physicians face and offers a low cost, innovative approach to significantly improve the process of patient care.

Tags: meaningful use, EMRs, healthIT, Scribe

Meaningful Use's Roots in HITECH Act

Posted by Allison Dewan on Tue, Oct 07, 2014 @ 05:10 PM

As most of you probably know, Meaningful Use is rooted in the HITECH act. If you don't already know or understand the HITECH act, here is a "snippet" from Health and Human Services website:

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was signed into law on February 17, 2009, to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology.  Subtitle D of the HITECH Act addresses the privacy and security concerns associated with the electronic transmission of health information, in part, through several provisions that strengthen the civil and criminal enforcement of the HIPAA rules.  

HITECH act allows for financial incentives for EHR use. The goals behind these incentives include the desire by the U.S. Government to have an efficient and centralized National Health Information Network and better quality care for patients. 

To qualify for government's financial incentives, the practices need to demonstrate meaningful use and purchase and use of a government certified EHR system. Physicians must meet all meaningful use requirements to qualify for incentives from the government. 

See more info here at CMS.gov 

Tags: meaningful use, healthIT, Scribe, EHR

Meaningful Use and Proper Planning

Posted by Allison Dewan on Tue, Sep 09, 2014 @ 05:04 PM

Meaningful Use & Dealing With Technicalities

Meaningful use is using certified electronic health record technology for a number of tasks in health care. Technology plays a clear role not only in day-to-day life, but also in the way business is done. In terms of healthcare, this means that technology and the medical world are intrinsically linked. EMRs and EHRs are more popular and readily available.

But just having these systems in place is not the only piece to the puzzle. Providers need to take control of their Health IT plans to ensure that data is reported properly. Correct reporting to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is key in order in order to collect incentive payments. This could be complicated if proper planning and management isn’t in place.

Without proper planning and management, a breakdown in coordination could lead to failure to properly report data. This is particularly important for critical access hospitals. Health IT consultant Marcia Cheadle, who is Senior Director of Meaningful Use and Advanced Clinicals for Engage, explains “The CAHs in particular are challenged there because of the way the government views their cost accounting...They also have to go to the fiscal intermediary related to the depreciation of assets required for each of the stages.

The landscape of the Health IT industry is constantly changing and thus it is important to keep up with meaningful use news and maintain planning and coordination efforts at your organization.

Technology is strongly present in meaningful use, and it is imperative that it be properly administered to allow for efficiency in reimbursement.

Stage 2 Meaningful Use has made it obvious that the administrative function of your organization must flow in an organized manner in order to flourish in the current healthcare environment.

Tags: healthcare, meaningful use, healthIT, Scribe, EMR