Technology is constantly advancing with the purpose to streamline procedures, to increase the expediency of daily tasks and duties, while decreasing the manpower and manual hours to perform them. One industry that is benefiting greatly from technological advancements is the healthcare industry.
We see it in the news all the time, as well as in political debates, the hot topic of rising healthcare costs. Information technology that has been integrated into the healthcare system is driven to help ease this issue. Streamlining the work of the administrative team, decreasing the manual hours of the physicians and medical staff, creating more ease-of-use and simplifying the transfers of patient records and data between providers.
The goal is to maximize efficiency with better care and services for the patients with these technological advancements in the medical field.
What is Health Information Technology?
Health information technology is the infrastructure that houses patient records for ease of retrieval, updating and sharing among providers, pharmacies and labs. It is also used to analyze and record patient data.
Health IT also encompasses software that creates a more systemized approach to collecting data, scheduling appointments and reminders, suggesting tests and prescriptions, and to assist with patient marketing outreach.
Manual labor hours and tedious tasks are facilitated through an electronic format to decrease waste and money spent on materials, plus have a faster submittal and retrieval time.
Ways IT Services Are Affecting the Cost of Healthcare
Electronic Health Records
Electronic health records are a proven and effective upgrade in the healthcare setting to help lower healthcare costs. In a study reported by Science Daily, community doctors who had switched to electronic health records saw an overall cost reduction in patient care of 3%, resulting in a $5.14 savings per patient. This may not sound like a lot but where healthcare costs continue to rise, this decreased expenditure does make an impact.
Going electronic with health records, opposed to traditional paper records also comes with the benefit of better quality care from providers, a cost savings on materials used for print and storage, and fewer medical errors.
Another plus for digitizing this system is that data is more easily collected for medical researchers to track health trends, outbreaks and epidemics, which can assist in increased substantial treatment with more vaccines and medically-assisted protocols available for the need.
Medical assistants, nurses, medical billers and appointment schedulers all rely on inputting, retrieving and sharing information from within the medical records. With ease of access to this information, protocols are faster and more efficient, saving time and manpower. Medical billers can also send out claims faster to the insurance companies.
You may have noticed the last time you went to the doctor’s the front desk manager handed you a tablet to enter in your information opposed to a stapled packet of paper on a clipboard with a pen. Opposed to manually filling out your personal information and health history to then hand it off to the front desk staff to decipher the handwriting and enter into the computer system. With electronic registration, patients are also asked to jump on the bandwagon of streamlining medical practices.
The data you enter at registration goes right into your electronic health record for ease of access by the medical assistant. The medical assistant can then record your vitals right into the same chart, and the information is right there for the provider to review all within the appointment setting. This allows for quicker access and better quality of care all around from the M.A. to the physician to the check out at the front desk.
Medical Practice Management
The medical office manager is the hub of the whole medical practice, keeping the office moving and flowing competently. Without the front end under control, the rest of the practice feels the pressure and the chaos start to creep in, which is not the ideal message to be translating to patients.
A medical practice management software implemented into front desk workstations provides streamlined efficiency for the office’s clerical and administrative duties, which keep the overall office running smoothly.
The practice management software is designed to automate almost every clerical task associated with health information management. The medical practice management software eases the workload submitting insurance verification, other communication with insurance companies, and storing basic patient information including appointment scheduling.
This is a software system that was designed specifically for the healthcare setting and can be tailored to the specific needs of the practice as well.
With the medical industry adopting the electronic health record movement, a trusted and secure environment is required to house all of this data. Cloud services are a cost-effective and trusted method to store this big data that is now being collected, shared, analyzed, and updated daily.
Cloud based services for data storage free up space in the office setting by eliminating the need for bulky server stations that are vulnerable to power outages and crashes. Without this risk, it also decreases the need for IT support services and downtime associated with crashes and power outages.
Cloud managed services are managed at a remote location where information is safely stored and always retrievable.
VOIP Phone Services
The Voice-over Phone Internet Protocol phone service has been widely incorporated into the healthcare setting to better streamline the calls from providers and patients according to their needs. This frees up the need for the front desk manager to play receptionist with incoming calls and redirecting them. Multiple phone lines can be added and directed to the appropriate department within the office. With less time on the phone, this allows front desk staff to focus on other clerical tasks.
When compared to a landline service, a VOIP phone system tends to run cheaper for businesses. VOIP phone systems also have the flexibility of adding more phone lines without a limited number, which is not so for a landline service. There are also many more benefits and features for VOIP phone services that healthcare offices can reap, including the ability to make conference calls whether in or away from the office, and call routing to different services.
Medical Portals and Apps
For a faster and easier way to communicate with patients, healthcare providers are implementing online patient portals and mobile apps. Patients can get reminders of bills that are due, when lab tests are available, appointment reminders, have access to a whole database of health resources, and communication methods with the medical staff for questions.
Online accessibility for patients decreases the need for call backs, phone call appointment reminders, calls to discuss labs, or to mail out paper invoices – these administrative tasks can be drastically reduced by automated, online services.
Online Marketing Strategies
A lot of healthcare providers spend a lot of time and money working hard to get their credentials, the office space and equipment for their practice. What good is all of that hard work if patients and other providers don’t know that you exist? Online marketing for healthcare gets the medical practice in front of those who need the care that is provided. There are specific target market strategies that can be employed to create an effective online presence and marketing approach.
The trend has been set to move away from direct mailers. Mailers take time to create, are expensive to produce and have an added wait time for delivery. Digital healthcare marketing gets the provider’s name and practice in front of way more qualified patients at the click of a button than any mass mailer could.
Managed IT Services
With all of these resources going digital and with your healthcare practice getting busier, it only makes sense to have a solid IT support company enlisted to monitor all of these tools. Physicians and their staff have enough on their plate working to care for their patients. The implemented technology is designed to make their lives easier and more efficient so they can spend more time with their patients. What is helpful with these systems is that there are IT consulting and service companies to monitor all system activity to make sure the workflow is fluid.
As technology advances for the healthcare industry, so does the technology to support these systems. IT support companies stay ahead of the ball watching for any potential threats or malfunctions, which, more likely than not, can be remedied before the office even knows there was an issue.
To protect the VOIP phone system, the automated marketing services, the cloud services housing crucial and sensitive patient records and health data, and the other digital services implemented, managed IT services help to decrease any downtime, thus loss of service and revenue.
Healthcare Practices are Upgrading to Information Technology Systems
Healthcare professionals are jumping on board the digital tidal wave to decrease manual efforts, increase efficiency, play a larger role in medical research, create more face time with their patients, and, to overall, decrease healthcare costs in their practice.
Your Local Medical IT Solutions Professionals
To learn more about healthcare technology contact Northern Arizona IT for professional and experienced IT consulting support for your practice. Northern Arizona IT is an IT services company located in Prescott, AZ serving small to medium-sized businesses and medical practices. They provide VOIP services, automated marketing, cloud services, managed IT services and excellent customer service with around-the-clock monitoring of business systems.