Practice Technology

Virginia physicians are sharing messages, patient records, lab results, dictated reports, discharge summaries, and other scanned documents with a secured statewide messaging service that launched this month.

In a survey pitting Medicare against Medicaid and commercial payers, see which group healthcare providers say most often reimburses to expectations. The answer may surprise you.

Practices report widespread claims denials since adopting the HIPAA Version 5010 transaction standard, MGMA says. Learn more about the kinds of errors practices are seeing.

Office-based healthcare providers receiving federal electronic health record system incentive payments will be part of a new national database created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The author presents his model for using remote locations without having one dedicated office. Find out how this saved him on his biggest expenses.

A Washington, DC, think tank is pushing lawmakers to invest in healthcare information technology. Discover which influence-makers are involved-and what they’re recommending.

More patients pick up their first prescription when it’s sent to the pharmacy electronically, an industry survey shows. Convenience may not be the only reason.

One major group is fighting the switch, and another is urging its members not to wait. Learn the reasoning behind their positions.

The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians have released free online video tutorials on technology. Discover how they can help you.

Physician practice owners struggle to implement EHR systems more than non-owners, a recent study shows. Your success may depend on those whom you least suspect.

Price, ease of integration and more come into play when considering updating your practice management system. You'll need a way to compare the many options and variables.

Decide whether to invest in an automated denial tracking system to keep better tabs on delayed or denied insurance payments.

Medical Economics' technology editor is on your side, here to help with every matter of health information technology, from barcoding to EHR to mobile apps and more.

Letters discuss 'death committees,' the growth of urgent care and decline of primary care, and increasing revenue streams without compromising one's ethics.

What to consider when deciding whether to contract with a communications vendor for appointment tracking.

What kind of technology exists to assist in tracking insurance claims from the office visit to paid in full?

In the "real" world, people expect to pay more for something if it's of higher quality or offers superior performance. The same cannot be said of the healthcare industry.

In a trend reversal, the proportion of American adults seeking health information from sources other than their physicians declined in 2010.

Discover what led EHR systems by vendors eClinicalWorks, Cerner, Sage, and NextGen to be named the best systems for midsize-to-large physician practices, according to a report by a market research firm.

Government and commercial health plans must now use an electronic tracking number to match your claim and the plan’s payment, according to a federal rule that went into effect this year.

The CEO of an accountable care organization participating in a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services initiative says he is confident his network of 180 primary care physicians will earn a cost-savings incentive throughout the 3-year program.

More than 100,000 primary care practices are using the services of a regional extension center to implement electronic health records. Consider joining them if your practice is closer to the beginning of the process than the end.

Physicians are doing their part to improve the lackluster economy. Healthcare employment grew by 12,000 jobs in October, with 8,000 of those jobs in doctors' offices, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This after September saw the highest growth in healthcare employment in 9 years. Find out how that rate compares with growth in other industry sectors and how long you can expect the healthcare boom to last.

The American Medical Association House of Delegates has voted to “work vigorously to stop implementation of ICD-10” by an October 2013 deadline. But don’t get your hopes up. The smart money is probably on the government. Find out what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said about changing the deadline, and why the agency is so anxious to start using the new coding system.

Here’s a novel use of electronic health records: Using the technology to provide an “electronic cohort” that allows you to evaluate a course of treatment on a real-time basis. Usually, physicians rely on randomized, controlled trials, when possible, and turn to expert opinion when necessary. But what if experts aren't available or testing is inconclusive? Find out how a medical team used a quick analysis of an EHR database to determine treatment of a pediatric patient with systemic lupus erythematosus complicated by nephritic-range proteinuria, antiphospholipid antibodies, and pancreatitis.