Electronic Medical Records – A Must Have in Today’s Digital Age

Electronic Medical Records is a computerized medical record of a patient maintained in a clinic or a hospital, including the patient's demographics, medical history, treatment details etc.  Implementing EMR is a complex, expensive investment that has created a demand for Healthcare IT professionals and accounts for a growing segment of the healthcare workforce. As compared to EMR an Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a cumulative health record of an individual which is gathered across different healthcare institutions and maintained by licensed professionals involved in the person's health.

EMR refers to a paperless, digital and computerized system of maintaining patient data, designed to increase the efficiency and reduce documentation errors by streamlining the process. Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Electronic Health Records (EHR) is an integral part of adoption of health information technology (HIT) and health information exchange (HIE). As part of the healthcare reform proposed by the Obama administration, up to 2 billion dollars is allocated to states for meaningful use of health IT and ensure that every person has access to EHRs by 2014.

A typical Electronic Medical Records vendor will focus on all of the business and technology needs of your practice, from choosing the best medical software solution for your needs, and making recommendations to ensure a successful installation. They can become a long-term partner if chosen wisely. For sure electronic medical records is a must have in today’s digital age.

Basics of Claim Form 1500

CMS 1500 forms are the universal claim forms used by medical providers to submit claims for their services to the insurance carriers. They are pre-printed red and white forms designed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. They were formally known as HCFA 1500 forms but they were redesigned to allow for the reporting of the NPI, or National Provider Identifier.

The CMS form is sold by the United States government printer or any of your local printers in many different configurations such as single, multi-part or continuous feed. The original forms are used for making claim. You can get a copy from an online source but unfortunately, this cannot be used in making claims. This is because the form will be processed with the help of a scanner which require that the form be of certain color and quality, failure to which the contents of the form will not be read well.

It is very important that the CMS 1500 forms are completed properly to ensure that correct payment is made. If the form is not completed properly, the claim may be denied by the insurance carrier. Many providers have practice management software that completes the forms for them, but the information must still be loaded into the practice management software program properly in order for it to be printed out in the right format.

Many of the insurance carriers have different requirements for what information goes in each box on the claim form 1500. For example, if you are billing an insurance carrier that requires authorization for the services being billed and they assign an authorization number, they may require that the authorization number be in box 23. Other carriers do not require that anything be in box 23. It is important to know the different requirements for each of the insurance carriers that you bill to.

ONC Certified EMR

An ONC certified EMR is the one that which is certified by an ONC ATCB. ONC stands for (The Office of the National Coordinator). The certification guidelines and criteria are handled by ONC. Currently there are 6 organizations recognized by ONC as ATCB (authorized testing and certification body) namely Drummond Group, InfoGard Laboratories, Inc., SLI Global Solutions, ICSA Labs, and Surescripts LLC.

According to the ONC, aims, among other things, to improve the quality of health care while reducing costs; improve the coordination of care and information among hospitals, labs, physicians and other health care organizations; ensure that personal health records (PHR) remain secure, and promote the early detection, prevention and management of chronic illness. An ONC certified EMR could play a significant role in achieving above goals.

For the ONC to do its work, significant upgrades to health IT systems across the country will be necessary. To that end, and in response to provisions of the HITECH Act, the ONC drafted an interim final rule for an initial set of standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria for electronic health record (EHR) systems. 

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, a part of ARRA passed in 2009, created "new incentive payment programs to help health providers as they transition from paper-based medical records to EHRs.  Incentive payments totaling as much as $27 billion may be made under the program.  Individual physicians and other eligible professionals can receive up to $44,000 through Medicare and almost $64,000 through Medicaid.  Hospitals can receive millions." (Aug. 30, 2010)

The HHS further explains that "to qualify for the incentive payments, providers must not only adopt, but also demonstrate meaningful use of ONC certified EMR systems. Certifying bodies such as the ONC-ATCB ensure EHR users that their software will support the specific tasks of M

What Do You Understand By Certified EMR

A certified EMR is the one that which is certified by a certifying body. The certification guidelines and criteria are handled by ONC (The Office of the National Coordinator). Currently there are 6 organizations recognized by ONC as ATCB (authorized testing and certification body) namely Drummond Group, InfoGard Laboratories, Inc., SLI Global Solutions, ICSA Labs, and Surescripts LLC.

The ONC’s mission involves many aspects of health information technology (HIT), including policy coordination, strategic planning for the adoption of health IT and health information exchanges (HIE), establishing governance for the Nationwide Health Information Network and, above all, promoting a national health IT infrastructure.

This last mission, according to the ONC, aims, among other things, to improve the quality of health care while reducing costs; improve the coordination of care and information among hospitals, labs, physicians and other health care organizations; ensure that personal health records (PHR) remain secure, and promote the early detection, prevention and management of chronic illness.

For the ONC to do its work, significant upgrades to health IT systems across the country will be necessary. To that end, and in response to provisions of the HITECH Act, the ONC drafted an interim final rule for an initial set of standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria for electronic health record (EHR) systems.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, a part of ARRA passed in 2009, created "new incentive payment programs to help health providers as they transition from paper-based medical records to EMRs.  Incentive payments totaling as much as $27 billion may be made under the program.  Individual physicians and other eligible professionals can receive up to $44,000 through Medicare and almost $64,000 through Medicaid.  Hospitals can receive millions." (Aug. 30, 2010)

The HHS further explains that "to qualify for the incentive payments, providers must not only adopt, but also demonstrate meaningful use of certified EMR systems. Certifying bodies such as the ONC-ATCB ensure EMR users that their (EMR certified) software will support the specific tasks of Meaningful Use.

Tips for Choosing Best Online EMR

Making the right EMR purchase the first time can be a positive experience! Keep in mind successful electronic medical record implementation will enhance your practice and improve patient care. Even if you have shortlisted the list between desktop and online EMR, selecting a best online EMR for the practice or hospital is not an easy task.

Software selection tips that can help to choose a best online EMR for the practice (or hospital):

1. Have your current and near future practice needs been defined?

    * Does the EMR interface with your billing or practice management systems?

    * Is your practice's record management methodology supported?

2. Before you purchase your EMR...

    * Compare a number of EMR systems

    * Focus on EMR systems that best fit your needs

3. Which EMR technology do you need?

    * A client-server EMR software or a web based EMR software solution

    * Does the EMR allow and support for practice growth

4. Can you get an EMR software demo?

    * Is it specialty specific

    * Is it as easy to use on complex patient cases

5. How complicated is the EMR to use?

    * Are the EMR document templates customizable?

    * Will the electronic medical record solution save your office staff time?

6. How easy is office implementation?

    * Easy and shared access among providers and staff

    * How disruptive implementation will be to your practice

7. What electronic medical record features are supported?

    * Charge capture for billing?

    * Voice recognition

    * etc, etc, etc.

8. Is the EMR solution technologically stable, compatible and flexible?

    * Is the electronic medical record solution 'certification focused'?

    * Is it stay within HIPAA compliance for privacy standards and confidentiality?

9. What is the actual cost of electronic medical record ownership?

    * Cost for EMR hardware/software license, installation, training, upgrades and maintenance

    * Is there an EMR software efficiency cost savings from successful office implementation?

10. After you purchase your software system, what then?

    * Is there reliable continuing EMR software vendor support and training?

    * Are EMR customizations easily available?

Taking into consideration the above mentioned selection tips would help to make a right decision as regards best EMR / best online EMR for the practice.