Running a busy, profitable medical practice requires the integration of many different elements. From your staff, to medical equipment, office procedures, insurance, and other worries, patient medical records and their secure management are one of the most critical aspects of your practice’s vitality. If you are an independent health care provider responsible for your own IT, trying to juggle multiple systems, programs, and paper records can add considerable amounts to your operating costs, not to mention stress and the temptation to tighten the financial belt in mission critical areas of your practice.
Paper Patient Histories Pose Significant Risks
Disaster recovery is not just about forces of nature or random catastrophic events. Identity theft has become rampant in our society, and medical records are a favorite target of ID thieves to obtain the names, social security numbers, and other personally identifiable information of your patients. Struggling to house and maintain bulky and dated paper patient files is risky in today’s business climate. Many states require physicians to house patient records going back 7 years or more, regardless of the patient’s status as active or inactive. Storage, risk, lack of access control, and the costs associated with these negatives are giving many doctors pause to think about how to balance their need for a cost effective, streamlined solution with the mandate for patient information security, HIPAA compliance, and adoption of modern record storage methods.
EMR Systems Offer Off-site, Secure, and Completely Integrated Record Management
Electronic Medical Records (EMR) provide busy physicians the ability to house their patient histories, test results, digital imaging, prescriptions, immunizations, allergies, and other critical data in one place, as well as manage accounts receivables, medical coding, and insurance reimbursement. Because EMR systems are hosted off-site at a secure data center, big servers and other peripheral computer hardware are not taking up valuable real estate inside your office, nor do you need to worry about the breakdown or maintenance of such equipment. In addition, your data is backed up automatically and risk of data loss is significantly reduced. With a professionally installed, modern EMR system, data replication and remote storage allow you to focus on the health of your patients, not the integrity of their medical data.
Patient Convenience Means Higher Retention Rates
Other than disaster recovery, patient convenience is another bonus of an EMR system. Instead of arriving at the doctor’s office 30 minutes beforehand to fill out layers of paperwork, patients can securely log into their personal medical file and provide answers on their complete medical histories, family history, and current concerns. This marketable feature will appeal to both new patients and present ones.
Have a Plan and Have Peace of Mind
With almost half of any business going OUT of business less than five years after a catastrophe, planning for the unthinkable is imperative to your practice and your reputation as a health care provider. Intec IT has been helping independent medical practitioners choose the right EMR and managing its implementation for over a decade. Intec can provide custom database management, integration, digital imaging, and receivables management within your EMR. Intec can look at every aspect of your IT system, identifying inefficiencies, gaps, and potential risks you may have not even thought about. They can then customize features within your EMR system and provide IT support so you will never again have to fret over system failures and data integrity.
By addressing fears about backup and disaster recovery now, you can avoid the potential downfalls of using out-dated, unprotected methods of patient and business record keeping, saving time, money, and a world of hurt.
Intec Solutions has provided service to the Healthcare IT Industry for 10+ years.
Please contact us (859) 757-2804 if you would like information about how Intec Solutions can help your practice with Electronic Medical Records (EMR).
