52 Things Healthcare Learned in 2013 – Part 1

Well, it’s that time again. In what’s become an annual tradition here at Power Your Practice, we reflected upon the past year in healthcare and compiled a list of 52 industry developments for the benefit our readers.

So, feel free to take some time away from fiddling with the new gadget you received over the holidays and enjoy the first installment of our three-part series.

Surprise: Practice Design Affects Productivity
As you try to squeeze every ounce of productivity out of your staff, it’s important to know small tweaks like shifting the lights at your office can get an extra hour of productivity per week out of each full-time office employee.

Providers Just Aren’t Into Their EHRs
The numbers don’t lie – 80% of EHR users said their current system did not meet their needs, for reasons such as poor design and lack of interoperability. This represents a ton of pressure for EHR vendors going into 2014.

Don’t Let HIPAA Hurt Your Practice
Failure to comply with HIPAA can cost your practice up to $250,000 for a single offense. Providing up-to-date personal health information (PHI), proper training and securing all paperwork containing PHI are just some of the ways to avoid a hefty penalty.

Doctors Get Social Media
According to QuantiaMD, 67% of doctors use social media professionally. Yes, this means adopting social media won’t instantly set your practice apart. Start thinking out of the box in 2014.

The Most Misused Modifier
The 59 modifier is considered the most misused modifier by coders, partly because it’s used to indicate two more procedures performed on the same visit to different sites on a patient’s body. Warning: it should never be used to prevent a service from being bundled or to bypass the insurance carrier’s edit system.

User-Friendly Portals are a Must for Stage 2
Meaningful Use Stage 2 requires that at least 5% of all unique patients access their health information online. Therefore, selecting a user-friendly patient portal is essential to securing an MU incentive payment.

Diagnostic Errors Are Still a Problem
At least 85% of the 190 cases studied in a recent JAMA Internal Medicine study faced a moderate to severe risk of harm or injury to patients. It’s for doctors to implement ways to make visits longer and less pressure, so time crunches aren’t threatening the quality of patient care.

The Cloud EHRs are King
Cloud-based EHRs have low up-front costs, eliminate the need for cumbersome installations and can be accessed remotely, making them the perfect alternative to client-server systems.

What Happens If Your Data Goes Missing?
According to a 2013 HIMSS Leadership Survey, 19% of health IT professionals indicated their organization faced a security breach within the past year. In the event that your practice is faced with a medical data breach, you should be prepared to take action that lessens the repercussions from patients and HIPAA regulations.

Physicians Face Dangerous Levels of Stress
A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that 41% of doctors exhibit at least one sign of physician burnout.  Unfortunately, these physicians are more disposed to errors and receive lower patient satisfaction scores.

Radiologists Breathe a Sigh of Relief
On January 8, CMS updated the hardship exception rule for Stage 2 Meaningful Use to make it easier for radiologists to qualify. They are no longer lumped into the same PECOS code, but are divided into diagnostic, interventional or nuclear radiology.

Puppies Make for More Productive Practices
You read that right. According to researchers at Hiroshima University in Japan, displaying baby animal photos at the office boosts employee productivity. So if you forgot to get any of your coworkers a Christmas gift this year, keep your eyes open for calendar sales at the mall this weekend.

How a Simple Operations Manual Can Improve Performance
Unscheduled absenteeism costs employers approximately $3,600 per employee per year. Creating a medical operations manual can help employees cover for one another in case of an absence.

Purchasing an EHR Doesn’t Guarantee Proper Use
According to a study published in the Journal of Health Affairs, physicians who receive increased technical assistance during the EHR integration process understand their system better than those who don’t receive assistance.

The Case for Revenue Cycle Management Software
Features like code scrubbing allow RCM software to catch many errors that cause claim denials. Plus, the cheap cost of filing electronic claims relative to paper claims makes RCM software even more advantageous.

Free EHRs Ain’t Always Free
Some free EHRs don’t offer doctors the ability to extract their data in the event of an emergency or a system switch, which could be a huge cost to your medical practice. Others go a little further, charging patients to use the patient portal, with part of the subscription fees going to the medical practice.

Pay for Performance: The Latest Movement in Healthcare Payments
The PFP model rewards providers for improved outcomes rather than specific services rendered. But this new trend in payments has proven extremely difficult to measure.

If you’re excited for Part 2 of the series, sign up for our email list and we’ll deliver our next installment directly to your inbox!

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