Trying to organize your schedule of patient appointments can be a lot like driving with a cup of hot coffee between your thighs—it can be a refreshing pick-me-up when the cup is filled to a proper level. If the cup is too full, however, you’ll more than likely just get burned (not to mention you’ll have to spend the day with coffee stained pants). Okay, on second thought, that might not have been the best simile for this particular situation.

Healthcare spending in the United States is estimated to have hit as much as $3.1 trillion in 2014. That roughly calculates to about $9,700 spent on healthcare for every person in the country. Compared to 2013, healthcare spending among Americans experienced a growth of 5.5 percent last year. This is the first time since 2007 that growth in healthcare spending has gone above five percent.

Technology continues to grow and expand its reach throughout the industries of society. Perhaps technology’s greatest impact is being felt in today’s healthcare world as the increased implementation and use of electronic medical records has revolutionized how physicians and patients are involved in their healthcare.

As Meaningful Use continues to impact medical practitioners, a greater emphasis has been placed on implementing patient portals in order to help practices better achieve certain Meaningful Use requirements. Implementing a patient portal is key, but effectively using the portal can be challenging if not set up correctly. Here are some ways to help your practice ensure its patient portal is set up for successful patient engagement.

According to Health IT, 79 percent of all providers report that their practice functions more efficiently after the implementation of an EHR. Still, it's important to consider the ways in which we can continue to use these technologies to optimize documentation practices.

Selecting an EMR vendor is more than just implementing the software, it’s a relationship, too.

With Meaningful Use, the ICD-10 transition and other changes to the health care industry as of late, many providers are considering big changes to the way they utilize technology. Major concerns range from adapting to exponentially growing amounts of data as well as the shift toward value-based payment models. Perhaps the greatest driver for change, however, is the need to align revenue cycle management and clinical data, thereby improving the operations of the business.

The benefits of implementing an electronic health record (EHR) are obvious for medical practices, enabling a streamlined information throughout the office. It's now possible for healthcare organizations to effectively send information through EHRs when and where they want. And there is no more perfect example of this than the use of mobile technology to get data to medical practitioners on the go. Mobile sharing is gaining popularity in medicine as a way to improve patient care without sacrificing efficiency.