What Ophthalmologists Would do with More Time (Hint: It's not paperwork) Written by Todd Wahlberg & Jesse J. Jung, MD You'll find that there are many options of how to spend your newfound time when you document faster than you ever have before. Here, we'll explore some suggestions from East Bay Retina Consultants' Dr. Jesse Jung, an Vitreoretinal specialist who has already streamlined his clinical documentation processes with IntelleChartPRO.

EMR Slowing You Down? Ophthalmology practices everywhere are looking for ways to increase patient visits and ensure patient satisfaction. Some physicians look first to their staff to find the source of any delays, while many others—without investigation—assume they simply have no capacity to add new patients.

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.”

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.

What is Direct Messaging? Direct Messaging is an integrated feature of Nextech, offered by our third-party partner Secure Exchange Solutions (SES). Secure Exchange Solutions is part of the Direct Trust Bundle, which is wrapped up in the MACRA requirements for interoperability. In Stage 2 of Meaningful Use, we saw the introduction of the Health Information Exchange requirement. Modified Stage 2 brought further implementation of the measure, requiring that a patient’s summary of care be sent electronically 10% of the time for all transitions of care, however eligible providers (EP’s) could be excluded if they transitioned less than 100 patients out of their care in the given reporting period. Moving forward under MACRA, the emphasis is no longer on meeting a specific threshold, but rather, encourages eligible clinicians (EC’s) to utilize the functionality for Health Information Exchange as much as possible.

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!

When specialty providers observe that “My patients often don’t do what I tell them,” they are usually describing an issue of engagement. Patients obviously want to be healthy, or they wouldn’t make appointments in the first place. But when appointments are difficult to secure or aren’t kept—and when a kept appointment is the only time the patient connects with the specialty practice—there is an opportunity to increase patient engagement by leveraging technologies for patient access.