Showing posts with label health care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health care. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

A Guide to Improving your Patient Interaction and Outreach

12:34 PM Nrip Nihalani

Technology enables, but man disables by not taking advantage of opportunities given to him. As a Physicians today, you have many key touch points to increase and consequently improve your interactions with patients. Some are simple methods, some require a little bit of work, but what is the end advantage of it all? For one thing it makes you popular amongst patients;  and the side effect could lead you to get more business.

Second it helps educate and provide information to patients and people who may read just what they need, thanks to you! A little help goes a long way in accumulating blessings.

Third, contributing to the general knowledge resource of the community improves the very community you are part off, it encourages others to follow suit.

So now what do you need to do?

1. Reach out to many in the general audience: Start writing, the internet lets you update and express views, either as 160 character bursts on twitter, or a long blog detailing your experience.

Twitter: On twitter you can start putting up bursts of interesting cases you see, new techniques you here about, information about your local medical network which may help people in your area! Go onto www.twitter.com, register yourself and type away.

Blogging: Doing a lot of research which you think people should here about, or have an opinion which potential patients should here about, blog about it. Many people will find it online as they search for an information panacea for their problem and be happy to come across your blog.

2. Create a mechanism such that people can contact you: For a start, get a practice website. It helps you disseminate information about your services for people looking for the same. It isn’t advertising, it’s a service, people today face many choices and are hampered by lack of information, improving their ability to find information quickly is beneficial to them.

On your website, don’t only talk about you, tell the patients more about what diseases and disabilities you treat, what are the latest treatments, generic advice and maybe even help them going to right person if you weren’t involved.

Use tools like interactive patient forms which can be filled before the patient arrives at the center, saving time and giving you a heads up on the patient’s needs. Use query forms on the website so that people can ask you about their problems, patients their doubts; this gives the feeling to your patients that you are available to them 24/7 without actually being there. Technical Doctor encourages doctors to have their own websites through their initiative http://www.technicaldr.com/tdr/websites-for-doctors. We also offer advice and consulting to help your website create the best impact on your patients and potential clients.

3. Using Software tools: Use softwares which improve communications. Invest in software which doesn’t just keep your records and accounts. The software should come with communications tools integrated and can be used with ease. Emailing of schedules and reports to patients is a must.

The software should also allow using SMSes to send reminders, alerts, prescription reminders etc. This is a new level of service, and patients will be thrilled to know there is always an alert to give them confidence in their moments of doubt.

Online Medical records allow patients to access their records remotely, insist on looking at software which promotes this feature if not today, but at least is compatible with this extension in the future. Technical Doctor provides EMR software products which come coupled with email, SMS and online EMRs. We encourage doctors to use these services to improve their service quality. You can see our products on http://www.technicaldr.com

4. Accessing data and messages on your phone: Today you may be using you phone to send SMSs, read emails and play games online. Why stop there, use it to drive business wherever you are. Neat and simple apps provide you fingertip information, coupled with your own website, or software they can become powerful tools in your hands to handle patients remotely.

Access patient alerts via the phone or your actual software to pull up data remotely. Technical Doctor already has a suite of products and apps which can run on phone browsers.

5. Contribute to journals and medical website online: Numerous sources are present where doctors submit their stories, research and experiences. The medical and patient community will be greatly benefited by your inputs, a little effort online will show you exactly where you should be adding your data.

6. Using new cool online tools to make education interesting: Nowadays making a presentation, cartoon strip or a cartoon movie to help educate your patients or interested clients is easy. Many tools are available online which let you render very interesting collaterals that can help ease patient doubts and also make it fun. Tools like www.bitstrips.com which we use to make cartoons helps in creating awareness in an educational yet informal way. Putting these up on your clinic facebook page or on your website is the best option.

These are just some pointers on how technology can help you as a doctor to interact with patients and also general public looking for information in your areas of expertise. It’s time to exercise your power using technology, so see you out there soon.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Cloud Computing in Healthcare

5:16 PM Nrip Nihalani

This article aims to discuss aspects of cloud computing that are relevant to the healthcare industry and can be applied by doctors to improve their practice.

What Should Doctors Know About Cloud Computing?

There is a sea of information available on the internet about cloud computing and how it works. As a doctor with limited interest in information technology, understanding all that jargon (most of which may not even be directly related to your work and computing requirements) can be quite intimidating and time consuming.

Simply put, the cloud is a set of hardware, networks, storage, services and interfaces that are equipped to provide computing power, infrastructure, applications, software, business processes and storage – in short, all your computing needs, as a service wherever and whenever you need it.

Migrating to the cloud 'can' help you reduce cost, space, time and power that would otherwise be utilized for traditional IT services performing the same functions. This is possible because the cloud puts together a large pool of computing resources available to be used as an assured service by anyone who wishes to use it, anywhere in the world. Traditional IT environments on the other hand, have a limited set of resources that are independently managed and delivered to a limited number of people confined to a certain geographic location, thus pushing cost, time, space and power factors.

Using Cloud Computing To Improve Your Practice

Cloud computing can transform the way healthcare is practiced by empowering professionals to deliver better care at lower costs. Cloud computing allows doctors, researchers and scientists across the globe to collaborate and form a centralized, integrated and regularly updated medical database that can be seamlessly accessed by healthcare professionals without having to invest in over-the-top infrastructure or software. Doctors can use the cloud for viewing reports, scans, EMRs, prescriptions and information required to solve complex medical problems anywhere in the world.

Patients’ health data and EMRs can be combined to form a single, comprehensive health record that can be instantly accessed from one single source. The cloud also brings together patient information like insurance claims, prescription and drug details, lab reports, patient history and progress in cases of chronic illnesses and other details and consolidates them to be available at the point of care whenever required.

This not only helps improve the level of accuracy with which care is delivered but also reduces the time and cost of treatment for physicians and patients alike. As all data is sourced from a single, homogenous center, it also brings down the possibility of conflicting treatments, prescriptions and medical data miscommunication in cases where multiple physicians and providers are involved.

Cloud computing is typically subscription based. In many cases, it works on a metered billing model of payment where you pay only for what you use. It also allows for flexible self-service by which you can enable and disable the provision of required services depending on your usage and needs.

Cloud computing users need not invest in heavy capital expenditure on hardware, software, and services. As resources can be unsubscribed whenever required, the risk of investment is considerably reduced. The cloud also addresses increased data storage needs of physicians without having them spend on expensive personal storage devices. Software updates and innovation are centrally managed by cloud service providers, helping doctors focus the best part of their day on patient care.

Cloud computing can thus help physicians meet meaningful use criteria as it demonstrates better quality of care, lower costs and higher insurance/government reimbursements.

Popular Cloud Services

Most of us have “been on the cloud” without even knowing about it (eg: Facebook is an example of a public cloud). Depending on the visibility of data there are three types of cloud platforms: Public, private and hybrid (a combination of public and private).

A more popular classification is based on the services offered:


1. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) offers hardware related services like disk storage, database or virtual servers. Amazon Web Services (AWS),Rackspace Cloud Servers and Flexiscale are popular IaaS providers.

2. Platform as a Service (PaaS) offers development platforms. Google’s Application Engine, Microsofts Azure, Salesforce.com’s force.com are well-knows in this category.

3. Software as service (SaaS) involves software services on the cloud like web based software applications, email services and so on. Popular examples of SaaS services are Salesforce.com (CRM), Google’s Gmail, Google Apps, Dropbox, Zoho, QuickBooks, Piwik, Microsoft Hotmail and their online version of office called BPOS (Business Productivity Online Standard Suite).

A good read on top cloud platforms at http://www.liventerprise.com/news/3608/.

Cloud Security

Cloud security and data ownership is a major concern for users and new adopters of cloud computing. As there is very little regulation currently pertaining to cloud computing, there are many data privacy and security issues to be dealt with. New users must be informed about details on who owns the data, third parties that may gain access to the data and the jurisdiction of the contract. We will look at Cloud Security in detail via a separate article.

References:



Tuesday, September 13, 2011

How Does Email Help You As A Doctor?

6:30 AM Nrip Nihalani

Email or electronic mailing has revolutionized business communication. The incentivization of technology in the healthcare industry coupled with its growing inclination towards consumerism and strong patient-doctor relationships has made it necessary for doctors and healthcare professionals to utilize this channel of communication to improve the quality and reach of their practice. However, even though a majority of doctors do own personal email accounts, not many are comfortable using the email for regular, professional correspondence.

Why Should Doctors Use Email?

Doctors are busy people. Email is fast, easy to manage and allows for instant response. As emails can be read on PCs, tablets, smartphones and practically any device with web access in your clinic, home or while commuting, incorporating email communication in your daily practice will help you stay connected with patients and other healthcare professionals wherever you are. 

Email not only improves your accessibility (especially in situations where instant responses are needed for critical correspondence) but also helps you shorten your workday by eliminating those piled up stacks of paper mail that welcome you to your clinic every morning! 
Managing your email is very easy and most free email services are built on simple, user-friendly models. You can send, receive and store all your correspondence instantly, without having to use paper, fax machines or courier services. You can prioritize your mails and respond to them based on the immediacy required. You can use the email to schedule visits, send appointment reminders, prescription refills, lab reports, scans, pre and post surgery care instructions, medication advice and billing details to patients. You can network with media, other doctors and medical professionals in the industry. You can also use it to educate patients by sending useful links and important online study material that could help them understand and work on their condition better.

One of the biggest advantages of using the email is quick and organized storage of all your communication which may include records and other documentation. Your files, scanned paper work, pictures, reports, graphs, numbers and other medical data which have been sent or received via email can be saved and stored online. These files can be neatly organized under appropriate tags for quick and easy retrieval whenever you wish to view them. Adding to that, convenient email search options save you hours of otherwise looking through paper files to find that one elusive paper that just won’t show up!

Using the email to communicate with your patients has a number of advantages. However, you cannot aim to completely replace telephone calls, personal visits and other forms of patient communication with it. One cannot communicate critical medical data requiring the doctor’s personal presence and support using this rather impersonal communication device. Doctors must identify the correspondence that will show positively on productivity and patient satisfaction if exchanged over email and only model those functions and areas under its purview on a regular basis.

Popular Email Services

There are many popular free email services that will help you send, receive, store and manage your correspondence. Gmail, Yahoo, Windows Live and AOL are widely used web email services. MS Outlook or Zimbra can be used to configure your email on your computer and is also a popular choice. Another email service that specifically complies with HIPAA rules is MD email.net (Medical Email). It is a medical industry secure HIPAA email for medical professionals and has over 395,000 doctor-users spanning over 65 medical specialties.

How To Set Up An Email Account?

To set up an email account, key in the URL address of the provider of your choice, click on the usually prominent “Sign up” button, fill a form and you’re ready to get started.
For example, if you wish to set up an account with Gmail, 

2. Click on “Create an account”
3. Fill in the registration form. 
Here is a video which shows you how.


What’s Keeping the Doctors Away?

The medical industry is historically known to be a conservative one characterized by sluggish and rather cynical adoption of technology. Studies indicate that while 90% patients would like their doctors to be accessible over email, doctors continue to elude this space.
One reason for doctors shying away from using the email could be that email correspondence is not reimbursed by insurance providers. Also, most doctors still prefer to operate under traditional models of communication simply because they have been using them for all these years and are too comfortable to venture out and try newer, faster and more productive ways of reaching out to their patients. 
Security and compliance issues are also responsible for doctors being weary about using email communication in their practice. Medical data is always sensitive and like any other form of communication, email too has its medical-legal implications. The AMA lays down guidelines for doctor-patient electronic communication that can be read at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/about-ama/our-people/member-groups-sections/young-physicians-section/advocacy-resources/guidelines-physician-patient-electronic-communications.page
Along with following these guidelines, doctors must ensure that they operate on a secure and reliable internet connection. Computers must be well-protected against spam, virus and other bugs. As a rule of thumb, unknown emails should not be opened. Your password must be unbreachable, kept confidential and regularly changed. Keeping these security guidelines in mind, doctors can safely utilize the benefits of email to improve the productivity and accessibility of their practice.

References:

Sunday, July 17, 2011

What Do Hospitals Look For When Buying A Practice?

3:11 AM Nrip Nihalani

Hospitals today are aggressively engaging in practice acquisitions in their local markets.  Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) statistics reveal that over 50% of physician practices are now owned by hospitals.  Before buying a practice, hospitals assess the practice’s value in terms of its patient volumes, number of hospital referrals, estimates of patient turnover, and so on.

Sustainability

Hospitals usually avoid buying practices that are in the last stages of their life cycle. Practices that cannot offer sustainability do not make good prospects as they lack future planning and goals. It is true that hospitals get tempted to buy out retiring physicians only because of their reputation and respect in the medical community. However, a growing number of hospitals have started to realize the importance of the asset value of a practice in terms of its long-term sustainability, to make the acquisition profitable.

Financial Stability of the Practice

The practice under consideration must be financially stable. A thorough financial and performance evaluation of the practice is conducted by hospitals in order to ascertain the feasibility of the acquisition. The profitability of the practice is determined by reviewing its financial history. Trends, patterns and discrepancies in the practice’s records help hospitals estimate their return on investment and revenue growth from the acquisition.

Referrals

Hospitals look to expand their referral networks and increase profits by acquiring private practices. This not only widens the hospital’s patient base but also reduces outpatient competition with local physicians. Practices that will add to a hospital’s inpatient and outpatient referral base will naturally be considered better buys.

Communication Skills

Medicare has been pressing hospitals to address inpatient medical errors that seriously affect patient-safety.  As a result, hospitals are looking for practices and physicians that value patient-doctor communication as well as communication between the doctor and other employees. Many hospitals conduct a communication audit of the physicians in the practice to ensure high patient-safety standards and quality of medical care.

Unity of Service and Quality Goals

Hospitals are looking to overcome the historic physician – hospital clash that has lead to many failed acquisitions. They are looking for practices that share similar service and quality goals in order to improve the acquisition’s strategic alignment.
Practices where the physicians support hospital goals and are more agreeable to work in collaboration with the hospital’s service, quality and organizational objectives are considered better prospects.

Agreement Contract

The physician employment contract is of crucial significance in determining a practice’s rank in the acquisition process. Hospital boards want physicians to align themselves to hospital goals and work ethic. Physicians, on the other hand, are not known to compromise on their autonomy and independence. Compensation is another major issue. Practices that agree to balance the terms and conditions of both parties without demanding a contract that sways majorly in their favor are naturally preferred.


Practice acquisitions require hospitals to review and consider a number of financial, administrative and personal factors that determine the feasibility and profitability of the deal. It is important for both the players to respect each other’s objectives, concerns and work cultures. Open communication and a collaborative approach will allow practices and hospitals attain higher profitability without compromising on their individual professional and personal goals.


References:

1.    http://www.healthdirections.com/articles/acquiring-a-physician-group/
2.    http://www.deltahealthcare.com/pdf/Why-Hospitals-Buy.pdf
3.    http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/jan/09/tdcomm03-hospitals-are-buying-private-medical-prac-ar-760564/
4.    http://www.darkdaily.com/hospitals-on-buying-spree-snap-up-physician-practices-531
5.    http://blog.acpinternist.org/2010/04/hospitals-check-doctors-communication.html
6.    http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/news-analysis/10-best-practices-for-increasing-hospital-profitability.html
7.    http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-physician-relationships/3-considerations-for-hospitals-acquiring-practices.html