Medicaid is set to implement a new rule. If your patients aren’t happy, nobody will be happy.
The Affordable Care Act asserts that medical providers with the highest ratings will be given more funding.
Hospitals have always vied against competitors to gain more customers, utilizing tactics such as visiting rooms more often or having patient call buttons go directly to nurses’ cellphones.
Creative efforts however continually miss an excellent opportunity: electronic content management.
We have seen government incentives to go paperless, urging medical providers to adopt a document management system.
This new act outlines another benefit often overlooked: patient satisfaction.
With a content management system, hospitals can see a dramatic increase in client happiness; they consistently appreciate the quick service and streamlined prescription process. With added focus on quality of care, medical providers could stand to gain a competitive edge and extra financial backing.
In an effort to go paperless, medical offices should replace their paper charts with electronic charts, use electronic prescriptions, and eliminate the paper fax machine.
An electronic system would allow medical offices to send reports, prescription requests and patient records from any computer within the office to any other computer with an internet connection.
| “Document management solutions typically allow you to print a barcode on your everyday forms so that after they are completed they can be scanned and automatically filed in an electronic chart,” Mike Chouffani said on Healthcare IT. “Typically, the chart is a folder that resides in an electronic representation of a filing cabinet.” |
With using an electronic document management program, Chouffani said medical offices and doctors can access medical charts from anywhere, easily backup data with little worry of losing it and eliminate the cost of paper charts and other printing services, all adding to improved customer satisfaction.
In an effort to help other medical offices and doctors start going paperless, the American Medical Association has launched a group online called The Paperless Practice Group for paperless support, according to American Medical News.
Practices, doctors and others who want to pass along tips, ask questions and share their own stories on getting claims processed and paid electronically can use this opportunity to their advantage. With the immense amount of benefits, as well as the added incentives provided by the Government, more medical professionals are turning to document management in their paperless efforts.
The group, launched in October, was “designed to encourage dialogue between physician practices, health insurers and intermediaries,” according to the American Medical Association. The news source said in November, the group will highlight tools and help for doctors and other professionals wanting to go paperless with “Heal That Claim Month.”
Members of the group are currently discussing the use of electronic claim submission, eligibility requests and prior authorization requests, all important conversations to have in the medical community.
According to the American Medical Association, up to 14 percent of a doctor’s revenue is taken by administrative costs such as ensuring payments are taken care of, highlighting how electronic document management can reduce administrative overhead and save money in addition to the customer service benefits.
About Jonathan Beaton
