Technological Trends in Medical Office
Environments
by Anthony Sarro
| "My computerized billing system seemed
fine until I started to expand beyond simple ‘fee for service’ billing." "With the influx of new and complex medical office technologies, I no longer feel confident my practice is staged for future trends." It is fascinating to watch technology adapt itself to the medical profession while, at the same time, the medical profession is slowly adapting to the technology. The future of healthcare in the US will become more and more dependent on technology. Technology trends cross the boundaries of medical disciplines and healthcare environments, giving birth to the new science of "Medical Informatics". Medical Informatics brings together people from academia, industry, and government who have an earnest interest in using computer methods to solve problems in healthcare. The players dedicate their efforts to the development and application of medical informatics in the support of patient care, teaching, research, and healthcare administration. "It is a misconception that a computer will eliminate work." The utilization of computers in healthcare administration is not new and has been widely accepted. With the introduction of electronic claim submission by the larger carriers (Medicare), the adoption of computer technology into small and solo practices has grown significantly. Many offices are now computerized or use an outside billing company to service the need to submit claims electronically, follow-up on insurance aging, and analyie practice financial statistics. It is a misconception that a computer will eliminate work. In fact, the amount and degree of difficulty of work performed in a physician’s office environment is ever increasing. This leaves the computer as a productivity tool. As with any other tool, the medical office computer system can increase receivables and productivity if used properly. Conversely, if left in untrained hands, it can increase chaos and disorganization. One common computer "faux pas" I’ve found in medical office computing environments is the incomplete posting of credits. This creates a tremendous amount of extra work when performing monthly insurance aging (pursuing claims that have not been paid). The problem spirals out of control in many situations, leaving the office system as nothing more than a tool for claims submissions. The insurance aging task becomes "the one that we never have time to get around to". The result is usually lost money and frustrated employees. |
Many practices utilize outside billing
services as an alternative to an in-house system. The medical office provides the
demographic and billing information on paper and the billing service submits the claims,
performs all the follow-up, and provides the practice with monthly financial reports. They
also handle the posting of credits, following-up on claims denials and requesting written
justification, coding optimization, and staff training. In essence, a billing service
functions as a satellite arm of the practice, maintaining the database off-site. Medical Informatics, along with healthcare reform, is bringing a whole new myriad of functions, choices, and considerations into the medical office computing environment. Whether you use an in-house or out-of-house computing service, these are some considerations when evaluating computer systems:
Many billing systems and companies are offering the kind of services that offices are finding increasingly difficult to do on their own. Today’s answer is to keep your computing environment as adaptable as possible. Stick with systems or services that use open-architecture databases. These systems will allow your data to migrate to or integrate with future systems as they evolve and become more standardized. Anthony J. Sarro is president of Medical Practice Innovations (MPI), a company dedicated to making a difference in healthcare through technology. He spent 9 years as a computer designer and 3 years managing a medical center. His company, MPI, provides doctors’ practices with consultations, systems, and service. He can be reached at (718) 266-6747. |
Reprinted from Professional Association of Healthcare Office
Manager’s (PAHCOM)
"Medical Office Management", May/June 1994, Volume 7, Number 3