Ways EHR can help improve the practice efficiency
As medical practitioners deal with a bewildering array of new laws and demands from third-party payers, the use of electronic health records (EHRs) is accelerating. Some healthcare providers have been hesitant to use EHRs due to concerns about poorer productivity, which they believe will result in a reduction in patient load and revenue.
EHRs, on the other hand, should contribute to higher efficiency when correctly installed and used by well-trained employees on defined and optimized workflows. The correct EHR solutions give practitioners continuous visibility into their efficiency, making it easier to spot bottleneck issues and alter operations as needed. One practice was able to establish workflows that increased the pace of documentation by about 17%.
Here are 4 ways EHR can help improve the practice efficiency.
1. Begin with adequate EHR training.
Consider training as part of the EHR implementation expense, and don’t scrimp on it. You must take advantage of any training resources provided by your EHR vendor. Simply putting an EHR in place will not teach your employees what they need to know to experience efficiency advantages. Training takes time and will temporarily reduce efficiency, but efficiency will eventually recover and surpass what it was previously.
Having your EHR training take place on-site can help your employees succeed in the long run. With onsite training, a trainer can assess current procedures, job roles, and responsibilities to discover where the EHR can minimize redundant or time-consuming chores. Your provider may provide relevant training and effective recommendations after they understand how you use your system and how each employee will use it.
2. Streamline and define the processes
In a busy medical practice, administrative activities take up a hefty chunk of time, but streamlining processes can help. Staff should be cross-trained so that people can handle diverse record and document handling duties. Companies don’t want a large slowdown because one of the employees is unwell, and cross-training can help to avoid that slowdown. Determining which duties can be completed without the involvement of a physician and allocating them to non-physician personnel is a time-saver.
When selecting an EHR software, always be certain that you will be able to use it for internal communication and work assignments. This functionality will assist your practice in effectively channeling communications and expediting the entire process, thus saving time.
3. Become familiar with EHR templates, triggers, and shortcuts.
Many practices use standardised treatment plans to ensure that specific duties are completed consistently. When a practice chooses, say, the top five situations it sees and treats the most, it can utilise its EHR software to create templates to swiftly document these encounters. Using an EHR software to create “triggers” can also help physicians become more productive. A finding that a patient has fully recovered, for example, could trigger a default set of remarks that can be automatically placed into notes. Triggers can save a lot of time, but they shouldn’t be utilised excessively because many third-party payers will reject claims if there are too many “cloned notes” in the paperwork.
4. Make Back Office Processes More Efficient Using EHRs
Billing and claims submission accuracy can be improved with the correct EHR system, resulting in faster billing and fewer rejected claims. Providers can generate a list of billing codes, removing the requirement for handwritten notes to be translated into billable services. Another option to simplify billing is to use your EHR system to integrate diagnostic codes with current procedural technology (CPT) codes.
EHR systems should help you keep better track of patient co-payments and other payments by allowing you to submit, track, and manage claims electronically rather than on paper. You may also use your EHR system to rapidly detect which patients are behind on payments by searching your patient database.
Conclusion
While EHR implementation may temporarily decrease productivity, the end outcome should be increased practice efficiency. With the correct EHR solution, both medical and non-medical workers should see increased efficiency. These are 4 ways EHR can help improve the practice efficiency.
However, practices will not benefit from these enhancements unless all staff members receive EHR training and understand the use of all their EHR capabilities. To get the most out of an EHR system and maximize their return on investment, medical facilities must spend on training.
