Eligible professionals who utilize Medical Records Suite™ toward Meaningful Use certification, but do not achieve funding because of a failure of Medical Records Suite™ to meet Meaningful Use certification criteria, will be compensated equal to the amount of lost stimulus funds that would have been paid during the Medical Records Suite™ compliance failure.

Catherine Maley, MBA, Author of Your Aesthetic Practice and President of Cosmetic Image Marketing has announced its endorsement of PatientNOW as a valuable resource for aesthetic physicians who need easy-to-use patient-management software for their practice.

Having worked with aesthetic practices for over a decade, Catherine Maley of Cosmetic Image Marketing knows the unique needs of the aesthetic physician and the solutions they require to give their patients what they want now.

PatientNOW has been named an important resource for their unique patient management software that makes it easy for the aesthetic physician to track their patient relationships so they return for more and refer their friends said Ms. Maley.

About Cosmetic Image Marketing

Catherine Maley, MBA is President of Cosmetic Image Marketing. The firm specializes in consulting with physicians to attract aesthetic patients to their practice.

About Catherine Maley

Catherine Maley is the author of the ASPS-endorsed book, Your Aesthetic Practice: What Your Patients Are Saying, a noted speaker and regularly contributing editor to numerous medical trade journals, and was recently interviewed by the New York Times. Visit her blog at www.CatherineMaley.com.

PatientNOW, a leading electronic medical records (EMR) and practice management software company, announced today that PatientNOWs Medical Records Studio and Medical Spa Studio solutions have been enhanced with a fully integrated fax system.

Medical practices can now send and receive documents, such as prescriptions or orders from within PatientNOWs practice management system using any workstation, laptop, or tablet in the practice.  This fully HIPAA compliant fax solution allows medical practices to send and receive faxes from PatientNOWs software without additional hardware or dedicated phone lines.

Medical practices can reduce operating costs by removing dedicated fax phone lines and disposing of fax equipment that may break or wear out. Dedicated fax numbers are moved to PatientNOWs Fax Service and all faxes are sent and received via the medical practices Internet connection.

The practice’s electronic mail system is not burdened using PatientNow Fax Service as other fax solutions use email to send and receive faxes causing added strain and maintenance to the email system.

The practices medical staff can easily check the status of any outgoing fax by referring to PatientNOWs Task Manager to indicate if the sent fax was received successfully. In addition, staff members can view any previously sent or received fax via the PatientNOW Fax Service archive.

PatientNOW, a leading medical spa practice management and electronic medical records (EMR) software company, announced today that Dermotique Skin and Laser Clinic in Queensland, Australia selected PatientNOWs Medical Spa Studio 3.0 as their practice management and EMR solution. Medical Spa Studio 3.0 allows MediSpas to better manage their practice while saving time and improving services.

Located on the northwest shores of Australia in the city of Gladstone, Dermotique Skin and Laser Clinic provides medical spa services such as anti-aging & cosmetic procedures, skin cancer & sun damage management and diagnosis, acne & problematic skin programs, laser hair removal, lipolysis (fat dissolving) treatments, as well as med-spa & beauty therapies.  With the addition of Dermotique in Australia, this increases their customer base to three continents with customers also in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Bermuda.

Medical Spas continue to understand the importance of implementing a complete practice management solution that allows their practice to run smoothly while increasing efficiency and overall revenue. Medical Spas like Dermotique are taking advantage of PatientNOWs Medical Spa Suite 3.0 to make their medical spa a success.

In today’s economy, new medical spas are focusing on decreased startup costs and improved efficiencies as methods to ensure their success. PatientNOW understands the challenges that Medical Spas face and provides a variety of programs for the practice to make modest payments until they are generating a strong revenue stream. Financing plans and starter packages are just a couple of programs available.

Medical Spas can also upgrade to the full PatientNOW Medical Records Suite 5.0 if the practice provides Medicare services and wants to qualify for a $44,000 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Stimulus Package) Reimbursement for implementing Electronic Medical Records (EMR).

About Dermotique

Dermotique Skin and Laser Clinic is the ultimate skin clinic that offers comprehensive treatment programs for a wide range of skin conditions from medical aesthetic skin care to beauty treatments. Dermotique can be contacted via email at info@dermotique.com.au or on the web at www.dermotique.com.au.

Medi Spa practice management software, web-based training, computer hardware and marketing consulting are all included in the higher level package. Both packages are available with a graduated payment plan that allows the Medi Spa to pay nothing for three (3) months and then make payments as low as $142/month.

Each package helps any Medi Spa get started and pay modest payments until they are generating a strong revenue stream. Medical Spas can also upgrade to the full PatientNOW Medical Records Suite 5.0 if the practice provides Medicare services and wants to qualify for a $44,000 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Stimulus Package) Reimbursement for implementing Electronic Medical Records (EMR).

PatientNOWs Medical Spa Studio 3.0 is a complete practice management software package that allows a practice to run smoothly while increasing efficiency and overall revenue. PatientNOW has used its extensive experience in the medical spa industry and put together these starter packages to help spa owners launch and manage their medical spa. The business can select the starter package that is appropriate for them.

Included in every MediSpa starter package, each practice will receive 2 hours of in depth aesthetic marketing consulting from Susan Browner, a leading marketing consultant since 1993.

“We are a start-up medical spa with little experience with electronic records.  Not only does PatientNOW have all the functionality we require (both clinical and administrative), but the customer service and technical support has been outstanding.  We receive prompt responses to any questions or problems we are having.  In addition, the staff is friendly and not at all intimidating.  We also appreciate the customized training format that has been guided by our needs.”

- Skin Beautiful Medical Spa

For additional information on PatientNOW and the new Medical Spa Starter Packages or to see a demonstration, contact Race Proffitt or use our Contact Us form.

Computers have become an integral component of medical practices over the years, and with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or what is referred to as the Stimulus Package propelling Electronic Medical Records (EMR) into healthcare, the need for medical practices to move to a paperless office has become paramount.

Today physicians are seeing more patients on a daily basis than ever, creating larger number of charts that need to be completed by the end of each day. A growing number of physicians are using a portable wireless tablets, such as Tangent’s Medix 10T, to enter patient information during the examination. This allows the physician to document the necessary details in the Electronic Medical Records system while meeting with the patient. This also permits the physician to see the allotted number of patients without having to deal with paperwork at the end of the day.

Tangent recently released the Medix 10T touch screen tablet that uses hot swappable batteries instead of a single battery, allowing a physician to use the tablet the entire day, switching batteries as needed, and never having to waste time waiting on the device to reboot. In addition, the Medix 10T has an integrated fingerprint reader and barcode scanner so that medical tasks can be performed efficiently anywhere in the office. Tangent’s systems are hospital grade and are used by personnel throughout the medical practice such as the front office to check-in patients or schedule appointments, and the back-office to quickly enter or access information on wall-mounted terminals.

Using PatientNOW’s Medical Suite™ 5.0 software running on Tangent computer systems allows the medical practice to manage patient information while saving time and improving services of the practice. Tasks such as insurance verification, e-prescribing, EMR, inventory, electronic billing, and point-of-sale can all be accomplished using PatientNOW.

For additional information on PatientNOW and the Tangent medical computers, or to see a demonstration, contact Race Proffitt or Medical Records Suite™ and Medical Spa™ Suite.

Medical practices have always been apprehensive in dealing with a patient’s insurance due to a possible lapse in patient coverage or handling insurance billing once the procedure is completed. PatientNOW has removed this worry by integrating an insurance verification and billing module into their Medical Records Suite 5.0 software. The suite already provides complete practice management features such as scheduling, electronic medical records (EMR), procedural estimates, and e-prescribing.

The addition of the Insurance Billing Module will allow the medical practice front office personnel to verify a patient’s insurance while scheduling the appointment or during a walk-in, reducing the concern that the patient’s coverage has lapsed.  Furthermore, the practice will be able to electronically submit claims and check their status using the same Medical Records Suite™ 5.0 software.

“Integrating PatientNOW into my clinic has been one of the best practice decisions I have made in recent years. The software is quite comprehensive and helps me manage both aesthetic and insurance-based patients in an entirely paperless environment. For the investment price, I am not certain you will find a more robust EMR system. – John M. Hilinski, M.D., San Diego Face & Neck Specialties.

“The transition (so-far) has been much less painful than I anticipated and at this point I feel really good about my decision to go with your company. The fact that the software is constantly updating to accommodate the needs of my practice is fantastic. Now that I understand how it works, the software seems to have enough flexibility for me to build it the way I want to function. I look forward to continuing to work with the team and making it even better. – Douglas Hendricks, MD., Pacific Plastic Surgery

For additional information on PatientNOW and the new insurance billing module or to see a demonstration, contact Race Proffitt or or Medical Records Suite™ and Medical Spa™ Suite.

A recent study by the Pew Internet shows that 83% of Internet users are going online to conduct research before buying a product or engaging with a service (Mandese, 2009). In addition, 80% of Internet users search for medical information online, making this activity the third most popular behind email (93%) and researching a product or service before buying it (83%) (Pew Internet, 2009).

By putting these two statistics together, people are searching for a wide variety of health information, such as H1N1, allergies, broken bones, laser peels, hip replacements, breast augmentations, and also information about the doctors that perform these procedures and treat them. Susannah Fox, author of the Pew Studies points out that “If there are doctors who are nervous, they should be nervous. This is a tried-and-true activity online, researching a product or service before you buy it.” (Chitale, 2009). The days of just getting your name in the phone book are gone.

Question: How can I better utilize my marketing efforts?

The medical industry continues to be a very competitive environment and physicians are needing to market themselves and their practices to attract new patients and keep existing ones. The question that doctors need to ask themselves is: How can I better utilize my marketing efforts?

Buying print ads in a variety of publications and seeing what response you get is not the correct way to go about it. Doctors need to have a marketing strategy and understand which campaigns generate revenue and which ones produce meager results. However, in order to completely understand the marketing efforts, a doctor needs to see more than just how many hits he or she is getting on their web site. They need to see revenue numbers based on procedures, campaigns, and other data points. This is how the doctors medical practice management software can reveal these numbers.

Yet, most medical practices can not integrate their practice management software with their marketing efforts and the possibility of truly understanding the result of their marketing endeavors is lost. The medical industry sees marketing and patient tracking as two separate parts of the medical practice. But patient tracking does just that…it tracks or records all the patient activities associated with the practice, including electronic medical records (EMR).

It is more important then ever to have these two sections of a practice connected. Looking how most advertising campaigns are run today, a practice runs a series of print advertisements. Potential patients or leads see the ad and go to the practices web site. The potential patient requests an appointment by submitting an online form or making a phone call. The practice receives the request and sets the appointment. At this point the lead has changed to a patient.

Marketing disconnect

However, this is where the disconnect starts. The information gathered from the web form or phone is rarely entered into the patient record. Any possibility of tracking the patient from a lead, to a patient, then understanding the behaviors of the patient is gone.

In addition, many medical practices market to their existing client base and not just to new potential patients. Look at all the recent advertisements and news concerning the H1N1 outbreak. Once the vaccine is available to the general public, all doctors who can administer it will want their existing patients to come into their office to get vaccinated. How does a practice track this type of marketing?

Doctors need to see the big picture

As we forge ahead into the upcoming electronic medical records paradigm due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Stimulus Package), doctors need to see the big picture. Buying an EMR solution that only solves EMR is short-sighted. Doctors will still need all the components and systems of a practice: scheduling, billing, insurance verification, EMR, document management, marketing, etc. If the medical practice has a different system for each task then a nightmare of maintenance, training, and communication will visit them each day.

Physicians that adopt a full practice management solution that tracks the patient from a lead through any and all activities associated with the practice, will be able to run detailed reports that show what campaigns are bringing in the most new patients or generated the most revenue. This gives the physician the information to make a sound decision on where to spend his or her marketing dollars that make the most bang for the buck.

Making this even more of a win-win situation, the doctor needs to select a practice management solution that qualifies for the Stimulus Package $44,000 reimbursement. Then, not only will the medical practice be more efficient and able to track patients more effectively, but the government will help to foot the bill.

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Race Proffitt has a software engineering background, has been involved with a number of start-ups, and associated with various product launches. He is currently the VP of Sales & Marketing with PatientNOW, an electronic medical records and practice management software firm. He can be reached at race@patientnow.com.

References.

Chitale, R. (March 5, 2009). ABC News. “Docs say keep mum but some patients want to tell all”. Retrieved Sept. 22, 2009 from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WellnessNews/Story?id=7008953&page=1.

Pew Internet. (Dec, 2009). “Internet activities”. Retrieved Sept. 22, 2009 from http://www.pewinternet.org/Static-Pages/Trend-Data/Online-Activites-Total.aspx.

Mandese, J. (July 16, 2009) Online Media Daily, “Recession fules use of internet, other media”. Retrieved Sept. 22, 2009 from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=109881.

So how will SaaS function in the healthcare industry, specifically medical practices?

As we know, the medical industry will be moving to electronic medical records (EMR) over the next five years due to the adoption of the Stimulus Plan earlier this year which provides physicians with up to $44,000 in reimbursements over a five year period for implementing and using an EMR system. Patient records will be easily accessible by the physicians from within their medical practices, instead of having to find the patient file in the sea of manila folders.

Patient Record Size

A patient record stores a wide variety of information such as correspondence, x-rays, lab results, EKG readings, and examinations. A single visit to the doctor can generate over 10 to 15 pieces of paper (Blau, 2004). More information will be added to these files as the industry moves to EMR. The amount of information going into a patient record is not slowing down anytime soon.

In addition, much of the existing data that is stored in the patient’s file will need to scanned and attached to the patient’s electronic record. X-rays, for example, will be scanned and stored as an image, increasing the size of the patient record considerably. Any new x-rays that are taken will be received as an image and also stored int he patient’s record. Dermatologists, cosmetic surgeons, reconstructive surgeons, and plastic surgeons all use photography as part of their medical practice. Before and after photos are taken from multiple angles and distances, and are then stored within a the patient record.

Dr. Blau (2004) points out that “one patient can easily have 500 pieces of paper added to her medical chart every year.” Retrieving a patient’s record that contains hundreds of pages needs to accessed quickly in order for the doctor to find the needed information.

Medical Practice Network

Another variable is the the network capacity and reliable that is used when accessing these records. A patient’s record being accessed by a doctor in central Kansas that is stored on a SaaS server in southern California will flow through many networks and take a large number of turns before being displayed on the physician’s computer. The biggest concern here is SPEED for both the physician and the patient.

Today’s physicians are seeing more patients in a less amount of time in order to make-up revenue that has been lost due to insurance companies determining the cost of each procedure. The days of physician sitting down with the patient and understanding a complete health history are gone. The physician only has a few moments to review the next patient’s chart before entering the exam room. Physicians demand access to patient information to be quick and reliable.

Over the past few weeks, we have see Google Mail, one of the most visible SaaS systems, have a number of outages resulting in users unable to access their email for hours (Fox News, 2009). How would a medical practice handle such an outage that would result in physicians unable to access any patient information? In addition, how will patients react to sitting in the waiting room for a few minutes, then being moved to the exam room where they wait again. Then hearing that the doctor can not see them since their patient information is inaccessible.

The result for the practice will be lost revenue and the potential for lost patients.

SaaS is a very good technology for situations where a small amount of information is needed from almost anywhere. However, the client / server architecture is a much faster and more reliable design when it comes to getting access to large amounts of information, quickly. The client / server design is where a computer server that contains the medial data, is located on the premises. Users would access the information by using desktop computers, tablets, or other devices from within the medical practice.

Since patient’s medical records will continue to grow with information from from a variety of sources, physicians and medical practices need to evaluate whether a SaaS or Client / Server architected software would function better based on their situation.

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Race Proffitt has a software engineering background, has been involved with a number of start-ups, and associated with various product launches. He is currently the VP of Sales & Marketing with PatientNOW, an electronic medical records and practice management software firm. He can be reached at race@patientnow.com.

References:

Blau, R. H. (2004). “One physicians journey into automation”. “ehrcentral”. Retrieved Sept. 9, 2009 from http://www.providersedge.com/ehdocs/ehr_articles/One_Physician-s_Journey_Into_Automation.pdf.

Fox News. (2009). “Gmail outage caused by server overload, google says”. Retrieved Sept. 9, 2009 from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,545571,00.html?test=latestnews.

The story focuses on the medical industry’s adoption of electronic medical records, EMR, into medical facilities. Most hospitals and doctors still use paper to track patient information, which easily creates errors that could jeopardize a patient’s health. Dennis Quad’s two new babies were giving the wrong dosage of a medicine at 12 days old. Mr Quad points out that the use of EMR could have prevented the mistake

The Obama Administration’s passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or what is referred to as the Stimulus Plan, has billions of dollars allocated as reimbursements to doctors for implementing and using electronic medical records. Doctors will start to receive payments in 2011 after they show that and EMR system is in place and is being used.

Some of the points made in this story:
• 100,000 patients die every year in hospitals due to errors.
• 83% of doctors store medical records on paper.
• Medical barcodes help reduce errors
• EMR will save time, save errors, and save lives
• Implementation of EMR will benefit patients.

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