The holidays present a prime opportunity to reach out and support those in need. As a company, Nextech is dedicated to helping their neighbors throughout the Tampa Bay area—and this commitment extends beyond just the holiday season. The Nextech employee wellness committee has overwhelmingly found that company staff place a high value on service work and are interested in programs that enable these activities.

Your electronic medical record (EMR) and practice management (PM) systems capture a lot of information with every patient encounter. Having technology capable of creating reports and presenting them in a useful way allows you to quickly make key business decisions to improve or maintain peak practice performance in areas from clinical efficiency to financial measures. However, practices that do not take advantage of such solutions may miss out on opportunities or be delayed in making important decisions.

There are a number of old maxims that one might want to ponder before considering a free EMR/EHR solution: For example, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Or, “If something sounds too good to be true, that’s probably because it is.” And, of course, “You get what you pay for.”

Although the health care reform bill—the American Health Care Act (AHCA)—was withdrawn from consideration in March, President Trump and Congress have continued to make several indications that they will continue to pursue health care reform efforts.

The American Health Care Act has been pulled from consideration, which may cheer up some practices that were concerned about possible changes and ramifications of the bill. However, there are still several other trends in 2017 that will affect practices more immediately than any other health care reform legislation that may happen this year. For practices to truly thrive in 2017 and beyond, providers and practice managers must consider additional trends and address these topics sooner rather than later.

While we are already well into 2017, the health care industry is still being affected by trends and events from last year. These trends from 2016 could pose new challenges for practices, but could also create revenue and patient-volume growth opportunities in 2017 and in the future.

Plastic Surgery practices, especially those focused on cosmetic procedures, understand the effect patient engagement can have on practice growth. Due to the shift in demand from reconstructive to elective treatments, which results in increased patient out-of-pocket spending, cosmetic surgery practices must ensure a positive patient experience in order to increase retention and referrals. According to a British study, a better patient experience is associated with increased engagement and clinical efficacy.

Thanksgiving is a time when we celebrate our families, friends and the many things we are grateful for in our lives. Although it may not occur to them while they enjoy their turkey, pumpkin pie and time with their loved ones, your patients are likely thankful for the many ways that your practice management and engagement tools make their lives easier. In the spirit of the holiday season, here are a few examples of some practice management features that your patients are thankful for!