The EMR Use by MS's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The EMR Use by MS's - Essay Example One can expect HIPAA to require this in the future, which also means that records need to be both accessible and private (Mandi, 2001). Although EMR’s have grown to become easier to adopt into a practice, and more flexible, there is nevertheless a significant learning curve for the medical staff and physicians, and a series of other issues which must be considered in (1) deciding to adopt an EMR system for an up-to-now written/paper-based practice, and (2) to adapt to the requirements of HIPAA and the competitive environment in order to make the changeover (Miller, 2004). The primary benefit of EMR’s is the ability to provide records quickly for a patient, which can speed up both a physician’s access to records (both in terms of time and completeness), and to communicate those records to stakeholders, such as patients and hospitals. (McDonald, 1997). A second key benefit is the ability, once on a digitized record, to enhance the speed and accuracy of billing. Billing carries two key considerations: is the billing accurate (i.e. does it capture the actual procedures performed), is it complete (i.e. are all billable procedures included—a big source of potential additional revenue for many practices), is it timely (i.e. how quickly does it get communicated from the physician’s practice to the third-party payer) and how much additional work will be required in order to complete the claim? The last of these four points can sometimes be the most difficult for a paper-based physician’s office practice, as all healthcare professionals know that they can get tied up on the phone and with back-and-forth traffic with the third party insurer on specific claims. In short, the more information available, the more likely that the claim will be accepted. Third-party coding has now become a big business. Those practices that are able to send digital files to onshore or offshore coding facilities generally find a better record of billing (i.e. more