Transcription Services & Transcription Outsourcing Solutions Provider in India

Professional Medical Transcription Services

Among the various transcription solution providers that offer medical transcription services for US healthcare professionals very few companies sustain a long lasting relationship with the client. There are a numerous criteria’s that makes the client satisfied with the medical transcription service provider.

The Patient health records are outsourced to Indian companies for the documentation of medical records in a much cost effective way with higher quality and fastest turn around time.

In this era of Information technology, IT rules all the domains across all the industries throughout the world. Healthcare professionals starting from the ones who practice individually to the ones who work with multi specialty hospitals prefers the medical
transcription companies that offer excellent medical records transcription services that is embedded with the Electronic medical records.

The US healthcare economy is revolutionized in the end of 2008 where the current trend of the year 2009 is Documentation of patient health records happens with the greater efficiency and functionality of EMRs.

The doctors who used offshore transcription companies are taking aback to ensure whether their Documentation work flow operation is implanted with the Electronic medical records and Online Database availability. The individual practitioners, healthcare facilities, and multi specialty hospitals prefers to proceed with the medical transcription companies that enable the use of EMR software and Online Reports database software.

Successful implementation of EMR software facilitates effective and efficient supervision on Clinical, Clerical and Administration management.

One of the specialized EMR software is Report Vault which is sweeping the healthcare industry with its prominent features of 24*7*365 E-Report Access, unlimited database storage and immense mailing interface. This software is based on the MS SQL platform which enables safe and secured online patient record transfer. The medical records are readily available through round the clock access of file transfer protocol (FTP).

The excellent user friendly features of Report Vault include:

• Greater Efficiency
• Enhanced documentation
• Superior quality of care
• Improved Safety measures
• Reduced documentation expenditure
• Reduced malpractices

With the requirement of very less office space the medical records can be searched through a search query feature and can be printed at any time eliminating the need for storage of handwritten paper documents.

Report vault gets rid of missing medical records of patients which saves the healthcare professionals from charged against law suits and insurance malpractices. This online data storage software is an ideal choice for physicians who are cautious on choosing the Professional Medical Transcription service providers for safer online patient record storage with secured password protection, quality documentation at a faster turn around time and 24*7 accesses to completed patient records.

EHR, EMR, PRH, CPR, HIE, RHIO Confusion Reigns

Consumers and healthcare professionals remained confused about the meanings of healthcare information technology terms, despite HHS/ONC for Healthcare IT funding “official definitions” from the National Association for Healthcare IT. It is important that all come to consensus on what is meant by the many healthcare information technology terms.

Standard definitions by the National Alliance for Health Information Technology (which recently ceased operations shortly after delivering its healthcare IT terminology report):

Electronic medical record: Information on a patient that can be created, gathered, managed and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff in one health care organization.

Electronic health record: Information on a patient that conforms to nationally recognized interoperability standards. It can be created, managed and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff across more than one group.

Personal health record: Information on an individual that conforms to nationally recognized interoperability standards and that can be drawn from multiple sources. It is controlled by the patient.

Health information exchange: Electronic movement of health information among organizations according to nationally recognized standards.

Health information organization: A body that oversees and governs the exchange of health information among organizations according to nationally recognized standards.

Regional health information organization: A body that brings together health care stakeholders within a defined geographic area and governs health information exchange among them to improve health and care.

Article Source : http://www.ehealthdesigns.com/?p=575

Time to Switch to an Online Personal Health Record?

If you’re like most people, your personal medical record is a multiheaded beast: pieces of information scattered among the offices of multiple physicians, prescription data at a handful of different drugstores, and a manila folder full of receipts and lab reports in an overstuffed file cabinet at home. Now that it's possible to tame the beast, should you? A host of Web-based personal health records, or PHRs, have been rolled out over the past few years, including offerings from Internet heavyweights Google and Microsoft. The pitch: a central repository for all your health information—from family history to lab results to cholesterol readings—gathered from all those disparate sources, and ways to share it with doctors or other people that you deem appropriate. Plus, cool tools that draw on your information to alert you, for example, if you are taking medications that might interact, or to help you track weight loss. But there are cons as well as pros to putting all your personal health information online.

First, some background: The PHR that you can access on your computer as easily as checking your E-mail does not belong to your doctor. She has her own files full of your medical charts, either in digital form or, more commonly, on paper. (And she’s getting a big push from the Obama administration to convert hers to the digital format in what most say is the inevitable national conversion to electronic medical records, which are supposed to improve the flow and quality of information, lower costs, and benefit your health.) Your PHR is your own collection of all or part of this information.

Personal health records are offered by a variety of sources—employers, insurers, healthcare organizations, and companies that aren’t in the healthcare arena. Kaiser Permanente said in April that more than 3 million of its 8.6 million members use its My Health Manager system to access their records, make appointments, look at lab results, and order prescriptions. The Cleveland Clinic also offers its own PHR to its patients for managing information and appointments. Your employer or insurer may also offer you a PHR through sites like Dossia or WebMD. Finally, there are stand-alone sites, including Google Health, Microsoft HealthVault, Revolution Health, and PassportMD, all of which offer PHRs to people whether or not their employers, insurers, or doctors are on board. If your doctor or insurer is on board, some of those sites allow you to transfer information directly to your personal record.

Most anyone can imagine how helpful these online records might prove to be at some point. If you were on a work trip and developed a sinus infection, you could call up a list of your medications so that your out-of-town doctor could check for interactions with the antibiotic he wanted to prescribe. But certain people will find PHRs particularly useful. If you have a chronic condition like diabetes or heart disease that requires active management and a lot of information juggling, you’re an obvious candidate, says C. Martin Harris, an internist and chief information officer at the Cleveland Clinic. Even more helpful for these frequent users is making it a team effort and getting your doc, even if he is still in the era of paper records, to log on once a week or so and look at the data you’ve recorded—say, checking your blood glucose levels to make sure they’re in line. Don’t be afraid to ask him to participate, says Steven Waldren, a physician and director of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Center for Health Information. “Be a little forceful,” he says. “Say, ‘I’d really like to try this. Can we figure out a way to make it work?’ ” Also likely to find PHRs worthwhile: people who are caring for an elderly relative or parents in joint-custody arrangements who split time with their kids and want access to things like vaccination records.

For those of us with only occasional medical problems, convenience will likely be the biggest factor in deciding whether to use a PHR and, if so, which one. Everyone is busy, and gathering paper records from multiple sources and then manually entering the information is tedious; all but the most tech-crazy users are likely to abandon a PHR unless it makes collecting and managing data easy. Google Health and Microsoft, among others, provide secure access to some health insurers, pharmacies, and providers so you can request and upload your records, saving yourself some work. Even if your doctor hasn’t already moved into the 21st century, those sites can link you to third-party applications like yourHealth (by healthcare services company Unival) that, if you send them your paper records by fax, will scan and digitize them and put them in your PHR. Revolution Health will upload information faxed from your medical providers for free. But elsewhere you may pay for this and other time- and labor-saving applications. The stand-alone PHR company PassportMD, for example, charges an annual fee and then has an a la carte pricing structure for collecting your information for you, including, say, X-rays and CT scans, and putting them into your electronic file

Article Source : http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2009/09/16/switch-to-an-online-personal-health-record.html

How Much Will An EHR System Cost You?

In most instances, it's not too difficult for a business looking to make a significant software investment — say an ERP (enterprise resource planning) or CRM (customer relationship management) system — to put together an RFP and receive some solid, and fairly accurate, cost quotes in return. This has not been the case in healthcare, particularly when it comes to EHR software. Most of the hospital executives I speak with have been frustrated and overwhelmed by the EHR buying process. For example, when they ask vendors how much an EHR system will cost them they are typically given one of two responses — the vendor either does a song and dance to successfully duck the question or they provide the hospital with a pricing matrix containing so many variables it requires an advanced degree in calculus to decipher.

Why is this seemingly simple question so hard to answer? Well, unlike ERP and CRM systems that are mature and have most common system integrations standardized, EHR systems are still in their infancy. Therefore, the truthful answer to the EHR cost question is "it depends." It depends on the size of the hospital, the implementation cycle, the legacy systems involved, and whether the software you're evaluating has integrated with your legacy systems before.

The one universal truth in all scenarios is that an EHR system is going to be expensive — it's just a matter of how expensive. For example, I've heard of EHR system price tags for 500-bed hospitals ranging from $10 million to $70 million. What's the reason for such a huge discrepancy and how can you know whether your hospital requirements will correlate to an EHR system that costs $10 million, $70 million, or somewhere in between? The information below illustrates the reasons for EHR cost discrepancies and hopefully will provide you with a framework to get more concrete and consistent quotes for your EHR project based upon the requirements of your hospital.

Ensure You Compare Apples To Apples When It Comes To EHR Systems
One reason hospitals often become frustrated with the EHR evaluation process is because they compare EHR solutions that are built on completely different underlying technologies. There are three main frameworks for EHR systems: 1) server-based EHR systems, 2) ASP (application service provider)-based EHR systems, and 3) open source EHR systems. Each of these EHR system models has their own distinct pricing structure, capabilities, and internal IT requirements. For example, vendor-built, server-based EHR systems typically carry the heftiest license fees (upwards of $75,000 each) and overall costs ($25 to $50 million for a 500-bed hospital), and upgrades to these systems must be uploaded on a regular basis by IT personnel. However, vendors offering server-based solutions typically work closely with hospitals to build custom integrations to legacy systems, upgrade the system based on client feedback, and provide service and support to the system throughout its life cycle. ASP-based EHR systems have lower license fees (around $6,000 each) and, because the solution is hosted, the ASP automatically implements upgrades. However, with this model, EHR data resides on the ASP's offsite server, requiring the hospital to relinquish control of its data, including disaster recovery capabilities. The open source EHR model has proven to be an affordable alternative to proprietary vendor systems. In fact, 320-bed Midland Memorial Hospital in Texas is reported to have implemented an EHR system based on a commercialized form of the open source VistA EMR operating in all veterans hospitals across the country for approximately $6.4 million overall. The downside to this model is that it requires a great deal of internal IT labor and expertise to develop custom legacy integrations. Furthermore, the open source community — not a vendor — is typically responsible for upgrading the system over time. You can streamline your EHR evaluation efforts by first deciding which EHR model is best for your hospital and then only comparing EHR offerings built on a common model.

How Common Are Your Legacy System Interfaces?
An EHR system must interface with the disparate practice management, laboratory management, diagnostic, pharmaceutical, accounting, and other systems already in use at a hospital. The cost associated with these interfaces depends on the "uniqueness" of your legacy systems. For example, if you have a practice management system from a popular vendor, then it's more likely that an EHR provider has already developed integrations with that system. This will help keep your integration costs low ($2,500 range). However, if you use a lesser-known, discontinued, homegrown practice management application, then a vendor may need to develop integration scripts from scratch — raising your integration costs to $8,000 or more per application. By knowing the systems you'll need to integrate with an EHR prior to evaluation, you can make more informed vendor decisions and control your overall implementation costs.

Get What You Pay For When It Comes To EHR Implementation
From what I've learned, the average EHR system implementation cycle is between three and five years and the cost of implementation services can range from $3,500 to $10,000 for ASP systems and $20,000 to $40,000 for server-based EHR systems. However, different vendors may have very different ideas of what those implementation services will include. You'll want to clarify this deliverable with your vendor prior to signing a contract. Quality implementation services should include workflow analysis and redesign, template customization, and staff training and shadowing.

While I know the information contained in this article won't allow you to precisely calculate your potential EHR spend, hopefully it does help provide you with a starting point and game plan in which to collect some more specific and accurate answers to your EHR cost questions. Finally, it's important to remember that implementing an EHR system is a journey rather than a destination. In other words, you're never really "done" implementing an EHR system. Ongoing use of the system will always require additional integrations and upgrades that will carry with them recurring costs. The information contained in this article is only intended to help you evaluate costs for implementation of the initial system.

Article Source : http://www.healthcaretechnologyonline.com/article.mvc/How-Much-Will-An-EHR-System-Cost-You-0001?VNETCOOKIE=NO

Dell Hopes to Help Hospitals Digitize Medical Records

With health care reform pushing for digital medical records, there could be big money at stake for whoever provides the necessary platform, and Dell hopes to be at the forefront. The OEM on Thursday announced a new service it says will help doctors and hospitals easily transition to electronic medical records (EMR).

The service is already in use by a handful of hospitals, and according to Dell, its EMR system will serve as a link between doctors and their sponsoring hospitals to share patient information, collaborate on health care, and for the bean counters, cut back on administrative costs.

The bean counters also know that thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed earlier this year, doctors and hospitals which can demonstrate a meaningful use of EMR systems in their practices by 2011 stand to receive financial incentives in the form of reimbursements. Dell apparently knows it too.

Article Source: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/dell_hopes_help_hospitals_digitize_medical_records

Dell service to help hospitals with digital records

One key component of U.S. health care reform is the move toward digital medical records. Dell is hoping to play a role in that move.

Dell announced Thursday a new service to help doctors and hospitals more easily switch to electronic medical records (EMR).

Already in use by certain hospitals, the new EMR service--a combination of hardware, software, and support--is designed to make the transition from paper to digital records more affordable and practical for the average physician or medical staff.

Dell said its EMR system will also connect doctors and their sponsoring hospitals so they can share patient information, helping coordinate care, and slash administrative costs.

As part of its EMR package, Dell will go on site to a hospital to determine its needs and readiness. The company will install all hardware and software, offer training to the hospital staff, and provide 24-7 hardware and software support. The EMR application can be hosted either by the hospital or with a Dell EMR partner in a secure data center.

Dell said hospitals can integrate the service into their own information systems and offer it to affiliated doctors for their local practices. Dell's EMR system is modular, so hospitals can tailor it to their specific needs.

Electronic record keeping is seen as one measure to reduce health care costs across the board for consumers, companies, and the government. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed early this year offers financial incentives in the form of reimbursements to doctors and hospitals that can demonstrate a meaningful use of EMR systems in their practices by 2011.

Different surveys have found a variety of results on the rate of adoption of EMR systems in the U.S. Dell cited a survey from the July 2008 New England Journal of Medicine, which reported that less than 10 percent of physicians at the time had a fully-functional EMR system. That survey was compiled in late 2007 and early 2008.

A more recent March 2009 survey by the New England Journal of Medicine discovered that 17 percent of U.S. doctors and 8 percent to 10 percent of U.S. hospitals have even a basic EMR.

A December 2008 survey by the Center for Disease Control found that only 4 percent of doctors said they used a full EMR or Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, but 20 percent reported using a minimally-functional electronic record system.

The Congressional Budget Office forecasts that about 90 percent of doctors and 70 percent of hospitals will be using EMR within the next decade as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Article Source : http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-10349454-247.html

Hospital Medical Transcription Services

The services of medical transcription companies become vital to hospitals as reliable and systematic hospital medical transcription services reduce the burden of hospital staffs and physicians.

Most of the medical transcription companies offer affordable and safe to individual physicians, hospitals, group practitioners, clinics and healthcare management companies. With the transcription services EMR (electronic medical records) systems, medical transcription companies help hospitals in managing and preparing records such as death summaries, histories and physicals, follow-up notes, consultation reports, referrals, laboratory summaries, medical billing, insurance related correspondence, medical coding and patient scheduling.

Ensures High Accuracy Rates and Privacy

The role of an expert transcriber is very important to the perfect documentation of medical files; therefore medical transcription companies employ capable and experienced transcribers to handle various needs of hospitals. They are specially trained to provide transcription services to a number of specialties including orthopedics, gastroenterology, radiology, cardiology and more. They help medical transcription companies to convert voice recorded files into text format with high accuracy rates. Ensuring high accuracy rates, medical transcription companies maintain in-house proofreaders and three levels of quality assurance. Above all, the medical transcription companies keep high confidentiality and privacy following various norms of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Advanced Technological Systems - Allows Online Review and Editing

Medical transcription companies incorporate various advanced technological systems to meet the rising demands of the healthcare industry. Most of the companies provide web-based transcription service. One of the major advantages of web-based transcription service is that it allows online review and editing. The digital dictation transcription services help physicians to record and send their files through digital devices or computers. The use of HL 7 transcription interface and document flow management software ensures perfect organization, safety and online file transferring. Furthermore, the companies offer toll free number facilitating physicians to convey dictations using telephones.

Depending on the specific requirements of hospitals, medical transcription companies provide client focused and systematic medical transcription services within customized turnaround time.

Article Source : http://www.information-online.com/node/17716

Outsource Medical Transcription Services

Medical Transcription Companies in Usa

As the demand for medical transcription work is increasing at a rapid rate, medical transcription companies are mushrooming in the USA. Medical transcription is a necessity in all healthcare facilities, whether they are clinics, hospitals, or other organizations. Medical transcription companies in the USA occupy a unique niche in the medical transcription field. No matter where you are located in the USA, these firms can help your practice in every stage of transcription process – all from dictation capture to document distribution.

Most of the medical transcription companies in the USA can provide superior quality, accurate medical transcription services as they employ highly skilled and experienced medical transcriptionists on staff. Moreover, these services are mostly cost-effective to cater to all kinds of budgets. These companies take care to apply and maintain up-to-date digital technologies to provide value-added transcription services.

In the USA, medical transcription companies provide services in almost all medical specialties. Professionals in these firms can undertake transcription of various medical reports including cardiology reports, operative reports, patient discharge summaries, emergency room reports, history and physical examination reports, chart notes, medical evaluations, peer reviews, psychiatric evaluations, x-ray reports and many more.

The greatest advantage of availing of the medical transcription services from a standard MT firm in the USA is that you can get access to accurate and efficient services within fast turnaround time. Apart from this, other benefits that you can gain include:

• 99% accuracy
• Security and confidentiality of the medical records and documents
• Three-tier quality checking with assured high quality work
• HIPAA compliant medical transcription services
• Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solution
• Total dictation and transcription solution

If you need a complete medical transcription solution or if you are considering outsourcing your medical transcription assignments, you will be able to find medical transcription companies online that can meet your needs. If you are interested in finding a standard medical transcription company in the USA, there are some important considerations that you need to take into account before making your choice. It is an excellent idea to conduct some research on your own in order to get the best deals.
Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a medical transcription company and a medical billing services company providing HIPAA compliant medical transcription services. We offer reliable family practice transcription services as well.

Article Source : http://outsource-medical-transcription.blogspot.com/2009/09/medical-transcription-companies-in-usa.html

Will The Rush To Health IT Create Talent Shortages?

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal government is funding numerous new technical assistance centers to help doctors and hospitals deploy e-medical records systems. That should fill some support needs. But won't many doctors require more hand-holding and won't most hospitals need tech people working closely with clinicians on-site? Where will all this talent come from?

The estimates vary depending on who's providing the figures, but it's safe to say that fewer than 20% of the nation's doctor offices and hospitals have deployed E-medical record systems. (In fact, some estimates have those percentages in the low single digits.)

So, the current pool of clinicians and IT people who have battled through these deployments and can effectively help others do it too, isn't very deep. Yet the competition for this talent will become fierce as these "regional extension centers" (as the feds are calling them) gear up--and as healthcare providers who can afford (or need) their own internal clinical IT/EMR teams try to hire these people, too.

On top of all that, health IT services providers and vendors are surely strategizing how to grow their armies of EMR consulting talent, too.

Thousands of hospitals and doctor offices (not to mention clinics and other healthcare facilities) will be racing to deploy EMR systems between now and 2014 if they hope to cash in on any of the $20 billion in rewards being allotted for the "meaningful use" of health IT. (Sooner or later, even the worse laggards will likely try jumping on the EMR bandwagon in order to avoid the financial penalties that start in 2015 for non-users of health IT.)

To assist healthcare providers in EMR deployments, the federal government is seeking applications right now from non-profit organizations that want to provide these regional center services. Among the requirements for applicants is being able to support a minimum of 1,000 "priority primary care providers" over the initial two years of the program.

Also, the number of healthcare providers served by the center must represent a minimum of 20% of the "priority primary care providers" in a region. "Priority primary care providers" include small doctor offices with fewer than 10 physicians, rural and community clinics, and public and critical access hospitals.

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services materials describe the purpose of the regional extension centers as "furnishing assistance, defined as education, outreach, and technical assistance, to help providers in their geographic service areas select, successfully implement, and meaningfully use certified EHR technology to improve the quality and value of health care."

Article Source : http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/09/will_the_rush_t.html;jsessionid=JRT4JVIO4RULJQE1GHOSKHWATMY32JVN

Electronic Medical Records

The topic of electronic medical records has been big in the news. Our governor is pushing for it in all state health care facilities. It might even be required. Supposedly, nationally, "EMR" will save a lot of money and make medical care more coordinated, thereby making it "better." All these things remain to be seen.

I like computers and I do think that, ideally, EMR would be an improvement, but like all things in life, it can be a mixed blessing. I've had several personal encounters with EMR that show the downside and pitfalls, but the previous system, all in all, was probably worse.

A couple of years ago, my son went to a clinic, had a cursory check up and test, and got a prescription. We got the bill, insurance EOB, etc, and paid our portion of the bill. Our son had to go for a few monthly rechecks, so there were more bills, but the next statements were for much higher amounts. We questioned the higher fees by asking him what exactly was done at each visit, and we also wrote to the clinic. The clinic manager replied that the fees were justified by what the doctor had done at the visits, based on the charts. Our son OK'd release of the records, which showed a complete history and physical at each visit, which my son said was not done. We had the records reviewed by a physician, who agreed that the doctor could not possibly have done what he said was done within the time frame that was electronically recorded on the records, plus the time frame on the records agreed with my son's recollections. And the supposed H&Ps were not justified. When confronted, the clinic and doctor agreed that the doctor had used the EMR incorrectly, that is, he just checked off that he had reviewed every bodily system completely. They refunded the charges and corrected the records, and stated that they were going to review all the charts from that doctor.

I have been a patient at the same clinic for many years. My paper record files are quite large, so that looking up any thing old is inefficient. Ideally, a physician will keep a record on the front cover or front page of the current medications and problems. Not all physicians are that organized. My clinic converted to EMR a year ago. My yearly visit was on the first day of the new system, so they hoped I would be patient, which I was, but it was easy to see the pitfalls. First, somebody had put some of the old records into the system. Imagine how expensive it must be to input lots of old files. I had to fill out a paper form with a list of my medications, over the counter meds, as well as past surgeries, etc. It was like just like the paperwork one fills out when going to a new clinic. This was then entered into the computer by a clerk. Obviously there is a great chance for error or omission in my memory. There is even a chance for deliberate omission. The good side of my clinic's system is that the computer sent me a letter after the visit listing the results of my blood tests as well as the meanings of the values. I also got a note from my doctor, so I knew that a real person had reviewed the tests.

Recently, I went to a certified nurse practitioner at another clinic. Before I saw her, I had to fill out papers, just like I mentioned above. Then nurse entered all the lists of medications, previous surgeries, etc. into the computer. Then the CNP did a very thorough history and checkup. She entered a number of things into her computer, which printed out a paper for me. It told what we talked about, what was recommended that I try, what tests were ordered, plus my list of medications, and notations about past immunizations, etc. I was impressed with this printout. For one thing, I can't remember the medical jargon or the names of tests I don't understand, but now I have them listed in writing. Secondly, it let me see that there might have been a couple of misunderstandings in my communication with the CNP. But since this isn't my primary clinic, there were gaps in my record. It looks like, for example, that I've way out of date on immunizations and certain types of normal yearly checkups.

The CNP is talking about a specific test that I may have, but it involves some medications. I believe I've had these medications in the past, but, of course, I don't know specific names, amounts, etc, but I know I've had some very uncomfortable reactions. I decided to write a request for past records so that I can be sure about what meds I'd rather not have. I received a packet in the mail for a company whose business is going through old medical records.(??) This contained photo copies of exactly what I asked for, so I expected it to be helpful. Well, the suspect medications were clearly listed. But there were no amounts given listed. On all the pages but one, the notations were in various handwritings, some quite messy, or barely legible. I really don't think this will be helpful.

The next point has to be handwriting vs. typing. Typed notes are clearly better for future use by other people. In the past, some doctors just wrote, or scribbled, notes into their charts. Some doctors dictated their notes, which were then transcribed by somebody else, and, if the doctor was compulsive, the notes were read and countersigned by him/her. Medical transcription is a dying art, not taught in schools as in the past. These days, the doctor has to type his own notes. The plus side is that they should be readable and they should be correct since he/she can see them as he/she types. [Yes, some doctors do use a program such as Dragon Speak to avoid the typing.] The down side is that we are paying doctor's salaries to the typist. EMRs do contain a number of features that can streamline the charting process if the doctor knows how to use them. Some EMR programs necessitate that the doctor must finish the record before signing off, which would mean that the doctor could be late for the next patient or, OTOH, that a particular doctor still uses old note taking methods and goes to the computer later in the day or week to finish the records, which, of course, undermines the value of the EMR system.

Lastly, to be at their best, either all clinics and hospitals have to use the same EMR system or the systems have to be compatible. When I was going to see the consultant/specialist, my basic records should go with me, but they didn't. I had to tell them about my history and my doctor had to include a few photocopied pages of tests with his introduction letter. Obviously, this is still very inefficient.

In the long run, if EMR is used by all clinics, hospitals, and doctors to the fullest extent, records should be more complete, efficient, and useable. Doctors should be able to look at charts showing trends of testing, for example, rather than just looking at a number of screens showing various values of test results. At this point, much of EMR is just using the computer instead of paper, the computer being a glorified typewriter. There are doctors still resisting using the computer for their recordkeeping. There are the usual computer hassles we all have run into that does make us suspicious of keeping important documentation in the never-land of digital information. EMR is far from an ideal system, but the thick stack of papers, possibly disorganized, in a tradtional medical chart, with many notes handwritten, seems to have even more drawbacks.

Article Source : http://proclaimingsoftly.blogspot.com/2009/09/electronic-medical-records.html

How will technology change the future of healthcare?

The future does not bear thinking about for many healthcare practitioners in Asia, which is faced with the world’s fastest ageing population. FutureGov asked a group of experts for their views on how technology could clear a safer path for the sector.

Pascal Tse, CIO, St Teresa’s Hospital, Hong Kong Health IT is going to shape the health delivery process globally. Health IT can start as simply as taking a phone call to a doctor, up to building a seamlessly integrated healthcare workflow. On the one hand, IT functions as an enabler in delivering faster and more accurate medical information to end users and at the same time reducing the manual labour-intensive process. An example is the use of the Computer Physicians Order Entry (CPOE) system that helps doctors to order different laboratory tests and prescribe medication for patients.

Associate Prof Dr Low Cheng Ooi, Chairman of the Medical Board, Changi General Hospital, Singapore The convergence of broadband penetration into homes and the emergence of more sophisticated portable medical devices is creating an opportunity for harnessing innovative technology to push the point of healthcare delivery to the home. Telemonitoring and videoconferencing with care co-ordinators will enable the management of patients with chronic diseases away from the acute care setting.

Prof. K. Ganapathy, President, Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation, India Trained in the BC era (Before Computers!) it is mind boggling for me to see how simple history-taking, and clinical examinations have given way to technology, and more technology still. In the second decade of the 21st century, clinical intuition may even be challenged by expert systems armed with Artificial Intelligence. It is impossible to expect the clinician be familiar with the nuances of every piece of technology he is using. Technology is a double-edged sword and clinical judgement becomes even more important.

Dr Goh Zenton, CEO, Cadi Scientific One of the key challenges in the future of healthcare will be how to deal with an ageing population. A worldwide phenomenon, the ageing population is going to result in a higher patient to nurse ratio. Technology will probably never be able to replace a doctor’s judgment or a nurse’s touch. But it can help tip the balance by improving workflow and making manual and routine tasks more efficient. The automation of tasks such as temperature taking will free up time for other nursing tasks. Also, with a rapid decrease in hardware size and increase in mobility and connectivity, doctors will always be in the know.

Dr Chong Yoke Sin, CEO, Integrated Health Information Systems, Singapore IT will re-define healthcare. Most of us are moving towards an electronic health record (EHR) system that unifies patients’ records. But the new-era EHR will provide the clinician with systems that could dispense the course of action through analysis of the past history and the assessment of the present health issue. Doctors should be able to focus on making real decisions that require human judgment aided by IT. Standards such as the ICD-10 and Snomed will be used pervasively, and clinicians will become familiar with codifying diagnoses and procedures since the language of healthcare will be universal. This provides for great opportunities for the globalisation of healthcare where records could also be retrieved from a foreign country where the patient seeks treatment. Common standards and terminology will make this possible.

Dr Wong Merng Koon, Co-Director for Trauma Service, Singapore General Hospital Technology will increasingly be deployed right next to clinical care and the patient in a number of ways. Using biometrics, RFID, and barcode to establish patient identity before treatment administration. Bedside clinical information displays to keep patients engaged in their own care. Computer navigation via integration of a multitude of medical imaging datasets through the real-time display of anatomy during surgery. This will be taken further via telemedicine, head up displays and haptics feedback technologies. Knowledge bases will increasingly be deployed to bring about best evidence healthcare. Evidence-based driven guidelines will bring about rule-based diagnosis and treatment. Algorithm-driven diagnosis is already well tried and tested and will be implemented in EMR to bring about cost-effective diagnosis and increasingly, the same will apply to the treatment of chronic diseases.

Melvin Choi, CIO, Adventist Health, Hong Kong Technology is one of the catalysts for changing the future of healthcare. However, changing this cannot be achieved by technology alone. Harmonisation between standards bodies is also essential. Take IT, for example. One can be easily drowned in the ocean of health IT standards and standards bodies. Besides technology, the other two essential components for any system in today’s world are organisation direction and people engagement. With direction from the top of an organisation, any endeavour will have a better chance of becoming a reality. A good example is the direction that President Obama gives on IT as a critical part of the country’s health reform. People, including both healthcare providers and consumers, must also be engaged in the game from the very beginning of any project. Then the outcome will have a better chance to benefit all parties.

Ron Emerson, Global Director of Healthcare, Polycom Few people realise that the healthcare industry led the way in implementing wireless voice communications. Hospitals were the earliest adopters of this technology. The system integration of wireless voice communications with other applications like voice recognition, telemetry, patient monitoring alarms and real-time location tracking will allow hospitals to streamline their communications structure. This should have the effect of cutting response times, improving information flow between patients and caregivers and overall patient care. Interactive communications tools have evolved to help the healthcare industry tackle real-world challenges such as the need to extend geographical reach to provide healthcare in remote areas, deployment of healthcare professional resources and the reduction of operating costs.

Article Source : http://www.futuregov.net/articles/2009/sep/01/how-will-technology-change-future-healthcare/

Five Healthcare Information Technology Drivers

It is estimated that the healthcare reform bill that was released by the Congressional Budget Office will amount to $600 billion within a span of 10 years. If studies are correct that approximately 30% of dollar spent on healthcare is spent on diagnostics and testing, then the opportunity for an enormous cost reduction is definitely an attractive proposition not only for doctors, patients, and insurers, but also for the government who is planning to overhaul the system.

But the ultimate benefit will be to the American patient, which is why reforms are being pushed. I believe that essential to having good care is having complete and accurate information. At present, only 20% of doctors use computerized healthcare information. This means that these doctors have uploaded their patients' data on paper into the digital network that in any case one of these patients gets into an accident and health history needs to be accessed, then it will be just by entering his or her driver's license number. Many of these doctors who've bought into the system does not even know how to maximize its use. Getting into the system does not only require relearning effort but also is expensive for the doctors too that is why yet only a few are participating.

Benefits of healthcare information technology adoption:

1. Access to medical records will be faster and cheaper for the healthcare provider.
2. Complete and accurate health record of the patient.
3. More efficient delivery of care.
4. Can decrease time spent on administrative duties and increase time spent on direct patient care.
5. Enhance clinical decision making process.

Megatrend Drivers:

1. Obama administration proposing $50 billion for the Healthcare IT adoption.
2. Government incentives for action in implementing an electronic medical record (EMR) system and penalties for non-action.
3. 3) Out of 800,000 clinicians in the US, only 17% use nationally recognized electronic health record system.
4. Reimbursement systems like Medicaid and Medicare and other insurance and healthcare providers are now requiring healthcare IT adoption from physicians and hospitals.
5. Healthcare IT adoption outside the US is expected to increase too as standard of living goes up along with the need for better healthcare services.

Focus:

Estimates indicate that up to 80% of healthcare is delivered by small scale practices. These practices usually are made up of 1 to 5 physicians. Thus, expect that the bulk of the healthcare IT adoption funding to be given to rural hospitals and small scale physician practices. And because big players will somehow be disinterested in this fragmented market, their role is to consolidate those small players serving this market. Expect these big companies to acquire small players if they want to participate in the small practices market.

List:

• Computer Program and System (CPSI) - Small to medium market
• Eclipsys (ECLP) - Small to large market
• Cerner Corp. (CERN) - Large market
• Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (MDRX) - Large market
• Quality Systems (QSII) - Small to medium market

Article Source : http://seekingalpha.com/article/159349-five-healthcare-information-technology-drivers