e-Newsletters: The Outsource: Work Smarter Every Day - May 2009

EMR and DRT: Hybrid Approach is the Best of Both Worlds.

The conversion to electronic medical records has begun. Like it or not, it's the wave of the future. Growing pains are to be expected.

One aspect in transition along with everything else is the role of the medical transcriptionist. Medical practices have come to rely on narrative dictation for quality care and the efficient use of clinicians' time. Many report a severe drop in efficiency when they convert to an EMR system. Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT) can help practices and practitioners regain that lost time.

A New England Journal of Medicine article, "Off the Record--Avoiding the Pitfalls of Going Electronic," notes that template-based documentation may distract from the important cognitive work of providing care by limiting thoughtful review and analysis. "Although completing such templates may help physicians survive a report-card review, it directs them to ask restrictive questions rather than engaging in a narrative-based, open-ended dialogue."+

DRT allows clinicians to use EMRs for viewing clinical information without giving up narrative dictation. Medical transcription services have the ability to import the narrative portion directly into your EMR. This hybrid approach can save your practice time and money, without sacrificing patient care.

In a study involving 573 patient charts, performed by the healthcare technology advisory and research firm, AC Group, standard EMR data entry took 140 minutes per day of clinician documentation time. While DRT-enabled EMRs averaged just 30 minutes a day. Without DRT support the monetary cost to a clinician with average earnings of $100 per hour would be approximately $180 per day or $4,000 per month.++
The AC Group study on DRT-enabled EMRs found that physicians were able to populate EMRs via dictation instead of entering the data manually and that there was no change in the way that they traditionally interacted with patients. In addition, the study found a 38% reduction in transcription costs for first time visits, while follow-up visits decreased by 82%. +++

With the advent of speech recognition editing the potential is there to save practices even more clinician time.

Everyone agrees, documented encounters capture the complete, cognitive analysis of physicians and other healthcare practitioners far better than one-size-fits-all templates. Whether you are contemplating EMR conversion, are in the process of converting or have already taken the plunge, your medical transcription service can help you regain lost billable time. Call Brown & Meyers for more information on the vital role of DRT in the emerging EMR landscape.

+ "Medical Transcription Relevance: DRT Aids Meaningful Use," George Catuogno ++ Ibid +++ Ibid

Going Green? Ten Ways to Walk the Talk

I admit, I didn't get into the scanning and document management business out of some altruistic goal to save the planet. But now that I am in the business, I've become a green convert. The less I use, the better I feel. Using less paper for instance, is a giant step toward going paperless. Here are a few tips to help you save paper, toner, time and the planet too.

1. Pay all of your bills online and ask for e-statements. Paying bills electronically will save the cost of stamps and checks not to mention paper. This is also a great time-saver!
2. Edit drafts electronically. Use the "track changes" feature in Microsoft Word instead of making changes to hard copy.
3. Fax via e-mail. Send, receive and manage your fax communications electronically through eFax (www.efax.com). They offer a free 30 day trial. And those who only receive a few faxes per month may qualify for free service!
4. Follow the one page rule. Keep all letters and memos to one page. This not only saves paper, but forces you to organize your thoughts and be concise.
5. Think before you print. If you want to save something you've read online, print to PDF and file it on your hard drive. It will be easier to retrieve that way and one less piece of paper to file (and forget).
6. Share company news via e-mail. Does your company print a newsletter? Think of the printing costs (and postage) you'll save if you convert to an e-newsletter format.
7. Print on both sides. If your printer has a setting for "duplex printing," it will automatically print documents on both sides of the page, cutting usage in half.
8. Preview your printing. You know those blank pages that the printer spits out at the end of documents? You can eliminate them if you remember to hit "preview" before every print job and delete any blanks.
9. Reuse paper. I have taken this one to extremes. No blank piece of paper gets recycled in my office unless it's covered with ink on both sides.
10. Go paperless. Start small with these steps and you'll be ready to take the plunge before you know it. Brown & Meyers is ready when you are.

Company News

Brown & Meyers Sales Representative Receives CDIA+ Certification

Sid Thorne, a sales manager for Brown & Meyers, has received Certified Document Imaging Architect (CDIA+) certification. Offered by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), CDIA+ designates expertise in the best practices and technology used to plan, design and specify document imaging and document management systems.

Tell Us What You Really Think

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http://www.brownmeyers.com/contact/feedback

We welcome your questions and comments. If you have any requests for future articles, feel free to forward them to us. And if you have any efficiency tips you'd like to share, send them our way!