As we mentioned in a previous post, Five Reasons Why Medical Billing and Coding is Booming, General Electric is one of several major corporations who have invested in creating the best, and most efficient, system of electronic medical records (EMR). The video below was released by General Electric to provide a glimpse into one of its EMR systems at Westchester Medical Group. Dr. Simeon Schwartz discusses the benefits of digital health records to individual patients, as well as to the American healthcare system as a whole.
Do you have any insight into any system of electronic medical records? Let us know about your experiences!
This is a wonderful and exciting time to be entering the allied health field. No matter what work setting you are in, allied health professionals are in demand. As costs continue to rise, there are greater demands for improved quality and safety in patient care. To tackle these problems, the U.S. healthcare system is turning to technology.
Why do allied health students need to know about electronic medical records? The answer is simple – because you will use electronic health records to accomplish tasks once on-the-job. The transition from paper records to electronic health records affects everyone working in health care today. Consider just a few examples of the changes electronic health records bring to these jobs:
Medical assistants enter patient information, such as vital signs, into the electronic health record.
Coding professionals review electronic documentation in the electronic health record to determine the appropriate code for an encounter.
Technicians working in blood and chemistry labs, radiology, nuclear medicine, cardiovascular medicine and other areas respond to electronic orders and send test results electronically using an electronic health record.
Billing professionals use information in the electronic health record to prepare insurance claims and patient statements. Read the rest of this entry »
While America’s eventual transfer to electronic medical records (EMR) is a foregone conclusion, the ways in which we accomplish the shift is still being debated. The key is to create a system that makes doctors’ lives easier, and not more difficult. To achieve this goal, medical coding professionals are crucial to the future of electronic medical records.
The most logical interface to aggregate all medical records is the internet. Individual computers that contain medical record information is a method of the past; to maintain all medical records – a huge amount of information – a web-based system is the only option capable of immediately updating and maintaining the digital system.
Aside from changing a paperwork-based system that has become standard practice for them, doctors are often times unfamiliar with the pages of coded medical terms that are central to electronic medical records. This is another obstacle that stands in the way of the full adoption of digital health records, and highlights the necessary inclusion of medical coding professionals in healthcare facilities.
Professionals who are trained and experienced in medical coding facilitate the full implementation of electronic medical records. President Obama guaranteed that every American medical record will be electronic by 2014; this means huge job growth for medical billers and coders. Read the rest of this entry »
According to a December 30, 2009 article in the NY Times, entitled “Bonus Planned for Digital Medical Records”, Medicare officials have outlined a plan to reward medical offices and hospitals that maintain systems of electronic medical records. Under the proposed stimulus, billions of dollars will be handed out across the country to healthcare providers that keep updated digital medical records of their patients. The announcement is just a proposal, however, and the plan does not expect to be completed until the spring.
The article features a quote from David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health information technology, who says that “Widespread adoptions of electronic health records holds great promise for improving health care quality, efficiency, and patient safety”.
The proposed plan will provide bonus payments to health care professionals who use electronic medical records for at least 80 percent of their medical instructions. These incentives will facilitate America’s full transfer to electronic medical records, which President Obama has promised by 2014. According to Obama administration officials, using digital health records will reduce costly medical errors and duplicate testing.
The national implementation of electronic medical records will also result with a high demand for healthcare technology professionals, such as medical billing and coding specialists, who can help medical offices and hospitals maintain these systems of electronic medical records.
Electronic Medical Records are revolutionizing healthcare in America. The system will help create a more efficient system of care that will benefit both doctors and patients. Check out this video from IBM that gives some great information on electronic medical records, and provides some valuable footage of digital records in action.
b. John Kerry’s recent legislation “The Small Business Health Information Technology Act of 2009” will make family doctors and small medical offices eligible for Small Business Administration loans to cover the costly transition to electronic medical records.
2.Obama has called for mandatory digitization of medical records by 2014.
a. When Obama was elected president, he guaranteed that all health records in America will be digital by 2014.
b. As electronic medical records become standard in medical offices and hospitals, so will medical billing and coding specialists.
3. Major corporations are also helping the cause.
a. General Electric recently launched a program to increase access to technology, and reduce the cost of transitioning to electronic medical records. Read the rest of this entry »
How will your career be affected if healthcare reform becomes law? If you’re a billing and coding specialist or student, questions like these have probably been on your mind:
• Will I see a big increase in demand for my services?
• If coverage is increased for eldercare, women’s care and other targeted needs, will that create new opportunities for me?
• If Medicare changes, how will that impact on my career?
Because the healthcare bill is still being modified and debated, there is no way to know definitive answers to those questions. But some predictions are still possible.
Let’s look at what we do know . . .
Millions of additional Americans will be covered if healthcare legislation passes. “The $1.1 trillion bill would expand insurance coverage to an additional 38 million people over the next decade by requiring that almost all citizens have insurance and providing subsidies to those who can’t afford it,” writes Emily T. Walker in MedPage Today.
Senator John Kerry recently introduced “The Small Business Health Information Technology Financing Act of 2009″, a piece of legislation aimed at aiding family doctors switch to electronic medical records. The Act would make family doctors and other small medical practices eligible for Small Business Administration loans that would cover the costly transition from paper to digital health records. As a senior member of the Finance Committee and former Chairman of the Small Business Committee, Kerry is committed to helping President Obama achieve his goal of digitizing all American health records by 2014.
“Electronic medical records and prescriptions are the common sense solution to restricting costs, reducing errors, and reforming a broken system, Kerry said. “Doctors don’t need convincing — they’ve seen the results. This legislation helps small practices acquire the technology that will allow them to be more efficient and to focus on patient care.”
Kerry is not a newcomer to healthcare technology legislation; in 2007 he introduced the Medicare Electronic Medication and Safety Protection Act of 2007, which required physicians to employ electronic prescription technology.
According to an October 2009 article from the Washington Post, “In a healthcare debate characterized by partisan bickering, most lawmakers agree on one thing: American medicine needs to go digital”.
The article, entitled “Electronic medical records not seen as a cure-all”, outlines many of the problems currently clouding the shift to electronic medical records (EMR). It is clear from the article that America has an arduous road ahead in implementing an efficient and error-free system. Aside from the technical issues that healthcare facilities have encountered with their EMR, the time that physicians are forced to spend on their computers to maintain the system has also been problematic. This is where healthcare technology professionals, such as medical billers and coders, can pay huge dividends in future procedures of EMR. Medical facilities will hire technical saavy medical billers and coders, who are specialily trained in running EMR systems; these specialists can help eliminate the current problems plaguing today’s electronic health records.
Doctors and nurses are at the forefront of patient care, and receive most of the attention associated with running a medical office. Behind the scenes, however, medical and billing and coding specialists serve vital roles in maintaining a successful healthcare facility.
Here is a quick rundown of some of the responsibilities of medical billers and coders:
Run the software and systems that help keep our healthcare network going
Process critical claims and medical records
Code medical and surgical procedures using proper terminology
Collect payment from patients and insurance companies
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