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<\/p>\nWe all know that a lot of doctors are resistant to adopting electronic medical records.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s understandable because things already work fine for them. Some know that it can be useful anyway but also look at it as extra work to implement, something scary to learn, or just don\u2019t like the idea of patient records being digital.<\/p>\n
There definitely will be different points of view.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s always one thing that\u2019s brought up the most.<\/p>\n
Cost.<\/p>\n
More specifically: \u201cHow does having an EMR reduce my cost?\u201d<\/p>\n
Or put another way: \u201cHow can I justify the cost of having an EMR? \u201c<\/p>\n
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I was jokingly told by a doctor (one of our awesome SeriousMD power users) that doctors like getting paid but the thought of paying for something wasn\u2019t thought about in med school. 😂<\/p>\n
But seriously, I get it. I really do.<\/p>\n
Doctors will always be looking at the costs involved.<\/p>\n
In the case of adopting an EMR, who would ever want to pay for something that will replace a process in the business, entail a sharp new learning curve and at the same time, make no real changes to the way your business works? Why bother with something like that if it doesn\u2019t make you and your staff more efficient and with no added benefits? Of course you won\u2019t want to!<\/p>\n
Of course, those things aren\u2019t actually true with all EMRs. There\u2019s just a perception that they are.<\/p>\n
Why do doctors even view EMRs like that in the first place? Well, there are a ton of horror stories out there and as we all know, the negative things are usually amplified and spoken about virally. The good things never come to light.<\/p>\n
My aim for this article is to talk about the different ways that having an EMR can actually reduce costs for your practice: there really is an actual ROI for using an EMR.<\/p>\n
EMR companies like to say that they help you be paperless. It\u2019s a cool thing to say and doctors jump on board with it.<\/p>\n
Truth is, being completely paperless isn\u2019t possible.<\/strong> That\u2019s what I always tell doctors. It\u2019s just the honest truth. Having a completely paperless practice is a myth because you\u2019ll still probably need to print out something soon.<\/p>\n Still, an EMR can greatly reduce your need for paper, folders and other office supplies. That drops your hard costs each month.<\/p>\n Depending on your practice, doctors print out charts, use custom forms, print the billing documents, fax results, and so on.<\/p>\n For an average of 30 patients each day, assuming the clinic operates 22 days each month and assuming that half of your monthly patients are new, savings of around Php 5,000 – Php10,000 (around $100-$200) from office supplies alone wouldn\u2019t be far-fetched.<\/p>\n So ultimately, while getting an EHR won\u2019t lead to you going fully paperless, it does let you get pretty darn close. EHR cost savings add to the benefits of your practice going greener too.<\/p>\n No show rates vary wildly but from our surveys and talks with SeriousMD users, it can go from 50% to as high as 90%! That\u2019s crazy.<\/p>\n Other countries have studies showing around 35%-45%<\/a> and that\u2019s still pretty bad.<\/p>\n We usually get this statement after hearing of their no-show rate:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat can I do? It\u2019s just the local culture. It\u2019s not like I\u2019m in other countries where patients are forced to pay whether they show up or not for their appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking at all that, we can clearly see that there are plenty of opportunities to help reduce costs and improve revenue. An app like SeriousMD can remind patients of their appointments with no additional effort.<\/p>\n Even a little under ten years ago, reminders were already being proven effective at lowering no-show rates<\/a>. Nowadays, with handheld and portable communication devices more widespread than ever, they could be even more effective.<\/p>\n Minimizing no-shows enables you to give better care to your patients, optimize the number of patients you can schedule each day, and improve revenue as well. We\u2019re currently running a case study for no-shows and so far, there\u2019s has been a whopping drop thanks to reminders! We\u2019ll publish it soon.<\/p>\n Above all else, though, automated reminders can help save lives. They can be used to notify patients of their checkups. We\u2019ve all heard stories such as patients missing a cardiac stress test and suffers a heart attack some days later. Automated reminders can also help remind patients of their routine checkup with no fallout.<\/p>\n A common thing mentioned to me when talking to doctors is how EMRs slow them down.<\/p>\n This thinking can either be because:<\/p>\n As with anything else, learning to use something will take some time at the start but once you get the hang of it, that\u2019s when you see the difference.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the same thing with using an EMR because you are re-doing an existing workflow.<\/p>\n You and your staff may look at it like a daunting or overwhelming thing and it will definitely slow you down at the start. But that won\u2019t last.<\/p>\n Once you get the hang of the workflow, you\u2019ll start to notice the changes, for example, documenting appointments is faster, billing takes less time, etc.<\/p>\n Having the right software that adapts to your workflow will help you speed up, hence allowing you to spend more time with patients or just schedule more appointments with all your extra slots. That\u2019s extra revenue for your practice right there.<\/p>\n So how does an EMR save money through efficiency gains? Over time. Do not be discouraged by any early lag here: all change needs a bit of \u201csettling in\u201d time. Just keep at it and continue to tweak your implementation of the software as you go.<\/p>\n Chart retrieval and chart filing have labor costs. How many minutes can your staff save by simply switching to digital records?<\/p>\n If a typical chart retrieval task sets them back 2 minutes and another 2 minutes to file it after a consult, you can drastically minimize it using digital records. Automatic and intelligent electronic search can do it for you.<\/p>\n 4 minutes can become half a minute per patient. This frees your staff to handle calls, do work for your other services, and handle other tasks that you need to be done. That already boosts the productivity we were talking about in Point 3 too!<\/p>\n You get more office space by freeing up the space you used to use for file storage. It\u2019s often overlooked at the start but always mentioned to me when I visit doctors using SeriousMD.<\/p>\n I was shown a new play area for kids at one clinic. I was even shown the addition of a new potted plant that enhances the clinic\u2019s ambiance in another. The most awesome thing I saw was where one clinic turned the freed space into a small exam room that generated extra revenue.<\/p>\n There are definitely plenty of ways to make use of the free space because you don\u2019t have to deal with bulky file cabinets. It depends on your practice.<\/p>\n For example, instead of a new exam room, you can also turn the extra space into a private room for a support group meeting. Alternatively, you might turn it into a room you can sub-lease to a new doctor.<\/p>\n For some, an EHR eliminates the need for a full-time clerk who basically handles medical records. For private practices here in the Philippines, it can help you move your staff to do different things, like front-desk duties or checking a patient\u2019s blood pressure. Some EHR functions mean you can also continue to operate even if staff members get sick and there\u2019s no temporary replacement for the day.<\/p>\n There are other ways that an EMR can help reduce costs that might or might not directly affect your operations.<\/p>\n Think of duplicate or unnecessary tests. There are studies out there that state 1 out of 5 radiology tests are duplicates<\/a>. That has a cost for everyone involved, including staff. It might mean lost time getting or filing a new test that could be spent on other tasks. It also exposes the patient to unnecessary radiation.<\/p>\n Given the right EHR storing patients\u2019 records, that problem might be reduced. Electronic records can be shared more easily and can also be stored indefinitely. Studies overseas have already shown electronic health information exchange lowering duplicate test rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another one is related to medical errors. Medical errors have costs for both the doctors and the patients. They can also cause patient deaths (see this<\/a>).<\/p>\n2. Fill Your Schedule and Improve Patient Turn-Out<\/h2>\n
3. Be More Efficient and Productive<\/h2>\n
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4. Retrieve Complete Patient Information<\/h2>\n
5. Get More Office Space<\/h2>\n
6. Staff Resources Are Used Better<\/h2>\n
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