Medical Practice Efficiencies & Cost Savings

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Many health care providers have found that electronic health records (EHRs) help improve medical practice management by increasing practice efficiencies and cost savings. EHRs benefits medical practices in a variety of ways, including:

  • Reduced transcription costs
  • Reduced chart pull, storage, and re-filing costs
  • Improved documentation and automated coding capabilities
  • Reduced medical errors through better access to patient data and error prevention alerts
  • Improved patient health/quality of care through better disease management and patient education

Electronic Health Records Create More Efficient Practices

EHR-enabled medical practices report:

  • Improved medical practice management through integrated scheduling systems that link appointments directly to progress notes, automate coding, and managed claims
  • Time savings with easier centralized chart management, condition-specific queries, and other shortcuts
  • Enhanced communication with other clinicians, labs, and health plans through:
    • Easy access to patient information from anywhere
    • Tracking electronic messages to staff, other clinicians, hospitals, labs, etc.
    • Automated formulary checks by health plans
    • Order and receipt of lab tests and diagnostic images
    • Links to public health systems such as registries and communicable disease databases

Affect On Revenue: Automating Clinical Documentation and Orders

  • Enhanced ability to meet important regulation requirements such as Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) through alerts that notify physicians to complete key regulatory data elements
  • Reduction of time and resources needed for manual charge entry resulting in more accurate billing and reduction in lost charges
  • Reduction in charge lag days and vendor/insurance denials associated with late filing
  • Charge review edits alerting physicians if a test can be performed only at a certain frequency
  • Alerts that prompt providers to obtain Advance Beneficiary Notice, minimizing claim denials and lost charges related to Medicare procedures performed without Advance Beneficiary Notice