Texas cardiology practice has successfully implemented electronic practice management

Electronic practice management systems can benefit a medical office in many ways. Improved practice efficiency, fewer mistakes on insurance claims and a reduction in staffing costs top the list. One-time data entry, faster data retrieval, the elimination of paper charts and less time spent searching for lost patient information are other factors.

The ease with which doctors can obtain patient information drives the trend toward the implementation of these systems, but many physicians wonder if the benefits really outweigh the overall time and monetary investment.

What are the benefits?

Physicians who have implemented electronic practice management systems in their practices have seen favorable results. With electronic management systems, patient information is obtained during a visit instead of after the patient leaves.

Better documentation of patient and medication information and maintenance and tracking of release and authorization forms also improve accuracy. Revenue increases when excessive staffing costs are reduced and lost insurance reimbursements are recovered.

John Bret

HeartPlace, a cardiology practice with 20 locations throughout northern Texas, implemented an electronic practice management system from NextGen Healthcare Information Systems in January 2003.

John Bret, MD, cardiologist and president of HeartPlace, said his practice made the switch “to improve the quality and efficiency of our practice. It’s an attempt not only to practice better medicine but also to make ourselves more efficient.”

Complex coding

Brett Bennett, director of the central business office of HeartPlace in Dallas, said: “Cardiology more than any other practice or specialty has such a dynamic range of coding schemes for what the physicians are doing today. It’s not like family practice. There’s such a wealth of data that goes into billing from just one cardiologist visit, either in the office or in the hospital.

“We’ve been able to centralize and automate insurance verification. We were able to cut the number of employees doing insurance verification from 16 to eight. We went from nine employees posting payments to four. We’ve also been able to redesign our workload and make changes in how we practice — very quickly and efficiently,” Bennett said.

“We increased our net revenue by more than 1% in 2003. We found $140,000 in improper adjudication by one of the insurance companies. Practices need a system like this to have claims paid properly,” he said.

Concerns about price

“Any practice that does not have an open practice management system that facilitates the automation of processes is at a great disadvantage,” Bennett said.

There are a few barriers to the successful incorporation of electronic management systems and electronic medical records in the office. Issues of patient information security and total time for integration can deter some physicians from switching.

The chief concern among physicians is the hefty integration cost. For some practices, implementing an electronic practice management system is the largest single expenditure they make. Developing a budget and researching financing options can alleviate concern.

President Bush has proposed having interoperable electronic medical records for most Americans within the next 10 years. David Brailer, MD, the National Health Information Technical Coordinator from the Department of Health and Human Services, said during a practice management software webcast that “it is necessary to have interoperability.” – by Nancie Brown