WebPT Blog
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4 CommentsAug 13, 2011| Mike Mannheimer
While looking at an EMR for your clinic, it can be hard to understand what will work for you and what won't. To add to it, the messages in the industry seem a bit mixed and muddled.
On any given day, you may read an article outlining all of the reasons why EMR adoption is slow and difficult for a non-technical staff. A number of reasons fault the user and not the software.
The next day, you may read an article that shows 25% of clinicians use a Smartphone and a tablet in their day-to-day documentation and patient management.
We have a hard time believing that the same clinicians who are having trouble moving their documentation to the cloud are the same ones who use iPads and Smartphones on a daily basis. While every clinic needs to asses the right technology for their practice, it is up to the providers to know and understand the needs of the therapist. This is not a new idea. Successful businesses listen to their customers and provide a product that solves their problems. By that same token, it is through asking key questions of your EMR provider about thier philosophy and business that can help you to understand who you're dealing with.
Top 15 Questions to ask your EMR provider
When reviewing EMR providers, you'll want to ask key questions to understand the quality of the product and the security of your data: -
Aug 12, 2011| Mike Mannheimer
One of WebPT’s strategic partners and web-based billing software provider, Kareo, recently posted a blog regarding the 2011 National Health Insurance Report Card. The findings were that insurance payments were actually declining from last year. Some of the worst offenders paid as low at 62% of what they were contractually obligated to.
What can be done to keep insurance companies honest while maintaining the thousands of private practice clinics that are struggling to make it in this economy? In any other industry, it would be unacceptable to pay anything under 100% of what we were contractually obligated to pay. Please respond to this post if anyone has ideas on how to change this trend.
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Aug 11, 2011| Mike Mannheimer
A recent article critiqing new products in the EHR market found that services like billing for telephone advice is proving to be near impossible. While this type of service and others may be a stretch, the topic on providing a Patient Portal may prove to be a valuable asset to your clinic. While the perspective in this article is that Patient Portal technology isn't mature enough right now, it is worth keeping an eye on as it evolves.
We believe, however that the technology is there and the value is strong. A patient portal that addresses key aspects of a patient visit could be incredibly valuable.
Top 10 Benefits of a Patient Portal
- Allowing patients to have some level of control over their information, which will in turn add more value, in their treatment.
- Allowing patients to view appointment and billing information
- Abilty for patients to schedule their appointments, cancel their appointments, view past appointments
- Ability for patients to fill out demographic information prior to visits.
- FAQ area
- Ability to plug in Marketing messages
- Posting of special clinic hours/holidays
- Allow therapists to create post-visit instructions or home exercise programs for therapy in between visits.
- Allow for patients to get receipts or bills from the portal. Not only will this information help the patient, but it will also take some of the stress off of the front office staff members.
- In other healthcare settings, post surgery protocols could be available for patients with a simple log in screen.
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Aug 9, 2011| Mike Mannheimer
Thank you to everyone who attended our webinar on Cloud technology last week. If you missed the broadcast, you can view the recorded version here at anytime. I wanted to debrief everyone on the highlights of the webinar and also share some of the questions that were asked by attendees.
Here were some of the most common questions about Cloud technology:
- Where is my data stored?
If any of you have used a server-based system in the past, you know that your data was stored underneath your desk or in a closet/private room at your facility. In a cloud-based system, your data is stored in an maximum-security facility complete with armed guards and retina scanning technology.
- How is my data backed up?
The data is backed up regularly and stored in separate, yet equally secure, geographic locations to protect against natural disasters of any kind. In the cloud, your data is protected against flood, fire, burglary, or any other type of unfortunate event that could more easily happen at your clinic. Physical Therapy of Joplin, a WebPT member, was struck by the deadly tornadoes earlier this year. Because their data was stored in our cloud, they were able to recover all their patient information as soon as Internet access was restored.
- What about hackers?
WebPT uses the same SSL encryption that is standard for all online banking applications that you use on a daily basis. The federal government uses this same type of encryption for all of their data and communications. WebPT also employs specialized staff who are well versed in online security measures and who look at ways to further improve security everyday.
- Where is my data stored?
