EHR enabled medical practices report that they are experiencing improved medical practice management through integrated scheduling systems that link appointments directly to progress notes, automate coding and managed claims.

They are saving time (which equals money) because of easier centralized chart management, condition-specific queries and many other shortcuts.

They have better communication with other clinicians, labs and health plans because there is

• easy access to patient information from anywhere
• tracking electronic messages to staff, other clinicians, hospitals, labs and more
• automated formulary checks by health plans
• order and retrieve lab results easily as well as diagnostic images
• links to public health systems such as registries and communicable disease database

Because there is an increase of accuracy in coding, this leads to an average of $26 per patient visit of billable gains! There increased patient flow and staff productivity which results in increased revenue.

Electronic health records reduce paperwork overall. Administrative tasks, such as filling out forms and processing billing requests, represent a significant percentage of health care costs. EHR's increase practice efficiencies by streamlining these tasks which significantly decrease costs.

In addition, EHR's can deliver more information in additional directions. They can be programmed for easy or even automatic delivery of information that needs to be shared with public health agencies or for the purpose of quality measurement.

Because EHR's contain all of the patient's health information in one place, it is less likely that providers will have to spend time ordering, and reviewing the results of unnecessary or duplicate tests and medical procedures. Bottom line, less utilization means fewer costs.

Few doubt the benefits of implementing an EHR, but can confused on where to turn for help.

After speaking with several providers over recent weeks, it is obvious there is still much confusion about the basics of EHRs, where to turn to for incentive funds and the complexities of meaningful use.

Even though Indiana is at the forefront of the Health Information Technology, there is a severe shortage of skilled healthcare and IT professionals able to understand, apply and manage these emerging technologies.

As we blogged earlier, Ivy Tech has recently begun to offer classes in EMR implementation and optimization. These classes will help bridge the gap between healthcare and information technology.

The Indiana Health Information Technology Training Collaborative (I-HITTC) is a collaboration between IUPUI School of Informatics, IU School of Medicine, and the Regenstrief Institute. This program is funded through the Office of National Coordinator for health information technologies program of assistance for university-based training.

I-HITTC has developed and deployed the following IT training programs:

• Certificate in Clinical Informatics
• Certificate in Informatics for Public Health Professionals
• Certificate in Informatics in Health Management and Exchange
• Certificate in Informatics in Health Information Security
• Certificate in Informatics in Health Information Systems Architecture
• Master of Science in Clinical Research

Students also have the choice to work in the field for hands-on experience such as St. Francis Hospital, IU Health North, IU Health Methodist, or in an operational HIE.

For more information on the following, click on their name;

Office of National Coordinator

Ivy Tech

IU Certificate and Degree Programs in HIT

Indiana FSSA announced last week that a St. Joseph County hospital has received a substantial incentive payment for meeting federal requirements for electronic recordkeeping.

“I think our work with asthma is just the beginning of managing all the practice patients with complex medical problems. As each patient sees a specialist or has contact with another health care provider, regardless of the location or institution, that information could then be sent to the medical home and have the key drivers captured for surveillance, management, pay for performance, and quality improvement efforts. This can be done with minimal staff requirements and a high level of sustainability in an electronic environment.

- Dr. Scott Callahan, pediatrician and medical director with Children’s Health Care in Batesville, IN