The eRx Incentive Program an Update — A welcome dose of Medicare common sense

Published on July 12, 2011 by Seth Flam DO in e-Prescribing. 0 Comments
Electronic Prescription eRx

Several weeks ago we authored a blog entitled, “The eRx Incentive Program – A lot of stick not too much carrot”. The essence of the blog was that the Medicare eRx, “quality initiative was poorly aligned with other government programs, especially ones that are intentioned to reward early adopters of EHR technologies.”

Let’s recap the government eRx program – from our prior blog

The eRx program for 2011 will pay a meager 1% of their Medicare Part B PFS covered professional services. Contrast that amount with the EHR incentive program, up to $18,000, and it is clear that providers should be focused on the EHR incentives and not the eRx program. Continue reading…

Take a Picture with Your Smart Phone or iPad2® — It’s a Practice Builder

Published on July 6, 2011 by Seth Flam DO in EHR Technology. 0 Comments
Doctor-Taking-Picture-Smartphone

Last week I was at a family event to celebrate Father’s Day. Aside from the fact that some relatives looked a little older and some a little plumper, I noticed a change when compared to last year’s Fathers Day celebration – no traditional cameras. This is the first time in years we had a celebration without a single device solely dedicated to taking pictures. There were of course many cameras – too many to count, since most everyone now has a camera and photo feature built-in to their smart phone. I posed for pictures taken with Blackberry’s®, Android® devices, iPads®, and of course iPhones®. Everyone was taking pictures, and at the end of the event my email inbox was full of memories.

Let’s face it – there is nothing more convenient than taking a picture with a smart phone or an iPad2®. In fact, the iPhone® alone has become the most common source of uploaded pictures at the commonly used picture-viewing site, Flickr®. Continue reading…

Get Onboard MediTouch® Grand Central — Zip through encounters at warp speed

Published on June 28, 2011 by Seth Flam DO in EHR Adoption. 0 Comments
MediTouch-Grand-Central

Many physicians resist EMR adoption because they believe that they can complete a paper chart faster than an electronic one; we understand. I recently ran into a doctor that showed me his progress note for a patient with a sore throat. It read as follows:

  • S. Sore Throat
  • O. Throat erythema
  • A. Pharyngitis
  • P. Amoxil x 10d

Without opining on the completeness of this encounter note, the fact is that this doctor’s chicken-scratched, handwritten note could be completed in several seconds. The status quo may be hard to compete with, but the status quo may not be optimal. This encounter note would be difficult to code with any reasonable E/M code, creating more work for the doctor than the amount of time he must have spent on this encounter. Continue reading…

iPad® Tablet Adoption by Doctors for EMR Use — No really means, not yet

Published on June 22, 2011 by Seth Flam DO in EHR Adoption. 0 Comments
Four-Doctors-Computer

Several years ago I was at a physician CME meeting and I asked my doctor buddies if they had purchased a smartphone, a phone with email capabilities, internet browsing, etc. I showed them my early version Blackberry®, and these were some of the comments:

“What do I need that for? – I have an answering service.”
“I work all of the time – now you want me to carry my work with me!”
“I already carry a beeper; do I really need another work related device?”

Recently, I met up with some of those very same doctors at still another conference – guess what? They were showing off their iPhones®, Android®, and Blackberry® devices. What a difference a few years makes in adoption of new technology! We were speaking about the ease of conversion to new smartphone technology. My physician associates all explained that they spent an hour or so at the local AT&T® or Verizon® store, paid a couple of hundred bucks, and they were out the door with the latest technology. The cell phone retailer was even able to convert their contacts and appointments to display perfectly on their new smartphone devices. Even though they were late adopters of this new, highly functional, and even fun technology, there were really no penalties or drawbacks. Continue reading…

MediTouch® Provider Uses iPad® to Get Stimulus Payment For $18,000, towards $44,000 — Why not you?

Published on June 13, 2011 by Seth Flam DO in EHR Meaningful Use. 0 Comments
Meaningful-Use-Cash-Check

HealthFusion® is proud to report that our first MediTouch® physician user has received their initial payment of Meaningful Use Incentive Funds as part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Stage 1 Electronic Health Record Meaningful Use Medicare Incentive Program.

MediTouch EHR® user, and Ear, Nose and Throat specialist, Mark Uzansky, D.O. of Livonia, MI became one of the first physicians in the nation to receive $18,000 in stimulus funds, successfully using HealthFusion’s MediTouch EHR® to complete the first phase of the CMS Incentive Program. Continue reading…

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