Wondering Why Everyone is Talking About EHR? Well you should!
Paul B. Bindell
As a CA, here are some of the powerful benefits that a complete EHR system can give you:
1. Practice Marketing — One of the best resources for new patients is to get your existing patients to talk about the doctor and the practice. The EHR system includes letter templates for patient education and health information, as well as a merge feature to personalize each letter. The more you remind a patient about your practice, especially if you ask for referrals, the more likely you will build the practice.
2. Better Collections - The EHR system never forgets what is owed by an insurance company or by a patient. Various aging and collection reports empower you to follow up on any outstanding amounts in a timely manner so that the practice income is as high as it should be. Resubmitting claims or resending patient statements is easy. In addition, when it is necessary to call the patient or insurance company, all of the information you need is at your fingertips.
3. Improved Coordination - Many times, patients and insurance company representatives tell you things that need to be relayed to everyone else in the practice— the doctor(s) and other staff members. Not only does the information need to be relayed, but it also should be recorded in the appropriate patient file. A complete
EHR system has a phone log, sometimes called a patient log, where this data can be entered and stored. At break times and during staff meetings, you can refer to this log and discuss it with everyone who needs to know the information. This way everyone will be able to coordinate what needs to be done.
4. Reminders - It is critical that many things must be done on time, or the practice will lose patients and income. The EHR system provides pop-up reminders for many tasks that must be done atjustthe righttime. This includes a reminderfor when it ¡stimeto call fora new authorization to continue insurance benefits, say happy birthday to a patient, change the diagnosis, and many other things that should not be allowed to slip through the cracks.
5. Time Saving and Paperless -This is the elimination of most, possibly all, paper filing. It requires having a scanner and verifying the law in your state about saving documents that have original signatures. Since the doctor's notes are entered directly into the computer (ideally while the patient is still in the room), there is no need to pull out and put away files on every visit. Instead of spending two or more hours every day at the filing cabinet, you can be more productive for the practice with recalls, reactivations, and collections. In many states, once
“A complete EHR system makes life easier for you and enhances the practice. ”
a paper document is received, just scan it into the patient's file, and then, depending on the state's law, you may be able to feed that piece of paper into a shredder instead of filing it.
6. Greater Efficiency - The EHR system enables you to sign in the patient at the front desk, and then the patient's account will appear on the doctor's computer for him or her to enter SOAP notes without having to hunt for the patient's file. The doctor has the ability to enter messages in his or her SOAP area that will appear on your computer as you check out the patient. Best of all, if the doctor enters the services provided to the patient while the patient is still in the room, then by the time the patient is being checked out, the system will automatically enter the fees for that day. This means that the doctor's documentation and billing will always match, which is critical when insurance companies perform an audit.
7. Automated Features - A complete EHR system makes life easier for you and enhances the prac-
tice. For example, it provides automatic diagnosis pointing. Once set up, anytime a patient receives a specific service, the EHR system knows which diagnosis should be assigned to a given line item on the CMS1500 claim form. Proper diagnosis pointing usually increases collections from insurance companies while reducing rejections and requests for additional information.
These are just some of the benefits that a complete EHR computer software system will provide for you, the chiropractic assistant. It will elevate you to a higher level and make you more valuable to the practice.
Dr. Paul Bindell is available to speak to your LfeggjÉà group, organization, or association. He is a 1975 graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic. He has lectured on chiropractic in Brazil and Israel. Dr. Bindell is a past chairman of public relations for the Northern (NJ) Counties Chiropractic Society. The Chiropractic Answer was a cable television program, newsletter, and newspaper column produced by Dr. Bindell in the 1980s. In 1991, Dr. Bindell and his family began Life Systems Software so that the profession would have reliable computer programs based on real chiropractic practice. Dr. Bindell has written numerous articles about computers and chiropractic, which have appeared in several chiropractic journals. Dr. Bindell can be reached by e-mail at IsisalesffLife System sSoftw are. com, or you can call Life Systems Software at 800-543-3001.
