Electronic health records are revolutionizing the healthcare industry with more than 87 percent of physicians either in the process of implementing or already using an EHR throughout their day-to-day routines. More and more, EHRs are the glue that holds medical offices together. Efficient EHRs can significantly impact the quality of patient care, from wait times to quality of doctor consultations. Depending on if the EHR is integrated with a PM, it’s also the foundation for scheduling appointments, billing and other important administrative tasks. Unfortunately, EHRs are not all created equal and healthcare providers are unhappy with their present EHR software.

When you're running any sort of medical practice, regardless of specialty, it's important to focus on the human element of the business. When you spend time thinking about effective patient scheduling techniques, maintaining accurate electronic medical records and optimizing billing processes, it can be far too easy to view your practice as a business first. The truth, though, is that being professionally successful in the medical field is contingent, at least partially, upon maintaining excellent communication in all aspects of your practice. Even if you feel that you've cracked the code, you may want to take a look at these tips for improving communication within your practice:

Here we go again. With nearly five months until the mandated ICD-10 implementation deadline, it appears some lawmakers are championing for yet another delay of the international coding system. Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), a longtime detractor of ICD-10, has once again proposed a bill that would halt the upcoming compliance deadline. In what amounts to a duplicate of Poe's failed bid to stop ICD-10 back in 2013, the Cutting Costly Codes Act of 2015 aims to “prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services form replacing ICD-9 with ICD-10 in implementing the HIPAA code set standards.” Poe is hoping the 2015 version of this bill will receive more consideration from the House than it did two years ago, but as of now it's considered a long shot.

Security breaches are likely to be at the forefront of your concerns when it comes to managing your practice. Still, you may not be doing everything in your power to avoid them. Take a look at these helpful tips for managing your practice's security.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services developed the Physician Quality Reporting System to encourage providers to report quality of care data to Medicare. The ultimate intention is to develop a national health information infrastructure that will give the regulatory body data necessary to improve care quality across a wide variety of measures, such as patient engagement and treatment outcomes.

Whether you've just started your own medical practice or have been a leader in your respective field for years, it's important to recognize that revenue cycle management is one of your foremost concerns. Keeping a close eye on your incoming revenue streams and outgoing budget will allow you to understand where your practice's money is moving, but viewing this data more analytically can do even more for you. Ideally, you should regularly be taking time to observe your practice from a high-level viewpoint with the intention of identifying new sources of profit. The process of identifying new revenue streams can be made a great deal easier with these helpful tips:

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was developed in 1996 not only to make it simpler for people to maintain health insurance, but also to enhance the confidentiality and security of health care information. While it has been around for nearly two decades, full implementation of HIPAA is still very much under way, and providers have continued to make changes, from implementing new defenses to upgrading practice management software, in order to comply.

More than ever, it's incredibly important for medical professionals to do everything they can to maintain patient satisfaction. Studies show that physicians who engage in direct eye contact with patients are perceived as more empathetic and well-liked. This can be facilitated with mobile tools. Nextech's EHR solution works on both a PC and an iPad, allowing you to choose the best device for patient interaction. With the iPad app, you can keep direct eye contact in the exam room and even stay connected to your patients and your practice wherever you go.