AdvancedMD Blog

A new study has found that doctors are resistant to installing EMRs not only due to their financial and workflow impact, but also because they fear government will use the data to impose controls on their daily practice. The study, released by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, reached 400 doctors, and was designed to capture a portrait of their attitudes about HIT adoption.

Physicians Practice recently surveyed physicians on their technology usage, nearly three in 10 practices told us that their practice management systems are at least five years old, while 10 percent bought their systems more than a decade ago. More than half the physicians surveyed don’t use technology to keep up with payers’ chaotic coding and billing rules. Read this interesting article in Physicians Practice.

Have you ever been offered a pair of “free” tickets in exchange for subscribing to a concert series? Likely, you enjoyed the concert, but the real price tag — the entire series — was quite a bit higher than you initially wanted to pay. In the end, the concert wasn’t free at all, was it? Read this article in Physicians Practice to some Physicians who thought they were getting a free EMR.

Unfortunately, physician reimbursement continues to decline, according to the results of the 2007 Fee Schedule Survey (PhysiciansPractice.com).

Trading e-mails with patients is easier than playing phone tag, and you may even get paid for it. View this interesting article at Modern Medicine.

Excellent article about budgeting for a practice in Physicianspractice.com.

Industry experts state that the failure rate of electronic medical record (EMR) implementations exceeds 50 percent. Over half of medical offices that attempt to gain the benefits of EMRs fall short and abandon their implementation efforts resulting in wasted time and money.

A study published in the online medical journal BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making shows significant advantages achieved by using a properly organised EMR, such as improved patient care, lower mortality and cost-reduction in chronic disease.

Mortality was reduced 40%. Furthermore, use of the EMR increased staff efficiency, allowing for the reduction of staff levels by 25%.

Incentives are a key to convincing doctors and hospitals to computerize patient health records, a report by a state task force recommends.

Incentives could include higher payments by insurers for doctors who use electronic records. Proponents say health information technology can cut costs by preventing duplicate medical testing or procedures, and errors that can lead to allergic reactions or potentially harmful drug interactions.

Over the next two years, hospital executives expect to spend on IT more often than service or building expansions or make acquisitions, according to a new industry survey conducted by Prince Market Research for the law firm Waller Landsen Dortch & Davis.