Doctoring Data

The paperwork heaped upon healthcare providers is sickening. The overwhelming volume generated by patient care, insurance claims and practice management alone is a major pain. Since automation can save time and improve efficiencies, while helping to speed payment cycles for care providers, the healthcare industry is increasingly looking to technology for a cure.

Several software companies are coming to the aid of the industry. As Tim Burns, sales manager for Misys Healthcare Systems (www.misyshealthcare.com), Raleigh, N.C., pointed out, “[Medical professionals] looking at spending a couple hundred thousand dollars on a system are going to want to know they are dealing with an established company that is financially stable. This is very important to physicians moving forward.”

Misys Healthcare Systems has been providing electronic clinical decision support and practice management tools for more than 25 years, including a total EMR (electronic medical records) solution. Misys EMR automates the administrative aspects of patients’ clinical data, such as chart notes, prescriptions, lab orders and transcription. There are also revenue cycle management tools, as well as online patient self-service links, which enable HIPAA-compliant secure communication between patients and healthcare providers.

“People purchase an EMR system to realize a return on investment,” noted Burns. “American Medical Association statistics show that it costs between $3 and $9 to [manually] pull and refile each chart, and approximately $7.50 when a chart cannot be found. This is just one way the system can save money and increase productivity.”

Other key areas of return are in transcription and coding. “Many physicians are under coding [for the patient services they perform], since there are heavy fines if they get caught over coding,” Burns explained. In addition to comprehensive, pre-defined, specialty-specific templates for documentation, the Misys Coding Assist feature allows users to evaluate their chart notes against CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) documentation guidelines to suggest the appropriate codes and ensure proper pay for performance.