By Eric Nilsson, Chief Technology Officer, Nextech According to the most recent Medscape EHR report, fewer than half of all physicians – 42 percent – are satisfied with their current electronic health record (EHR) system. If you’re among the satisfied users, particularly if you’re a specialist, it’s probably because your practice asked the right questions before making a selection. If you’re not among those who are satisfied and are thinking of switching EHRs, asking the following five questions of each vendor you consider can ensure that your next EHR is a better choice for you in particular. What functionality does the EHR offer to my specialty? Data consistently shows a correlation between EHR satisfaction and the degree to which the system is designed for the type of practice using it. A system that works just fine for a primary care provider may be missing features and functions that are necessary for specialists – one-size-fits-all solutions don’t typically “fit all” when it comes to user productivity and user workflows. Before solidifying a relationship with a potential vendor, you should ask yourself: What templates will you get that are designed for your specialty? How many users of your type does the vendor have, and can you talk to reference accounts? If the vendor has deep knowledge of the needs of your specialty, and can connect you with users like you, who speak highly of the solution, you’re on the road to the right choice.

Compared to general practices and hospitals, specialty practices have a seemingly simpler task in transitioning to ICD-10, due to the luxury of dealing with a smaller set of codes. Despite this advantage, it is just as critical that specialty practices understand which codes apply to them to ensure a successful transition.

Specialty providers who have pursued meaningful use incentives can confirm that the program certainly was not designed for them. That’s not to say that the incentives aren’t worth the effort, however. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has paid out more than $25.7 billion in incentive payments as of Dec. 1, 2014. Any provider who has implemented an EMR and realizes significant revenue from Medicare or Medicaid billings, but didn’t take the time to seriously look into meaningful use, may have left money on the table — and may be subject to penalties that begin in 2015.

Federal healthcare initiatives tied to reimbursement, which invariably apply to all healthcare providers, tend to mean equal pain for unequal gain to specialty practices.

David brings over a decade of executive management experience in healthcare information technology to his role as president and CEO of Nextech. In this special guest appearance on the Healthcare Insider radio show,c under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) EHR Incentive Program.

Nextech is among the top 10 favorite EHRs, according to a recent Medscape Medical News survey. Asking them to rank their EHR system based on criteria such as ease of use, vendor support and interoperability, more than 18,500 physicians across 25 specialties responded to the survey. The information was gathered and scored based on a five-point scale.

Among EHR adopters, the notion of one-size-doesn’t-fit-all has reached its tipping point with many specialty physicians opting for EHR technology that is unique to their area of expertise rather than making an EHR system do something it was never intended to do. Nextech CEO and President David Henriksen explains how physicians can leverage the benefits of a specialty solution to better equip them to meet Stage 2 Meaningful Use criteria. Read More at EHR Intelligence

Leveraging both MediGain’s reimbursement and billing support and Nextech’s practice management system, the large amount of data collected by Nextech’s platform allows MediGain to provide comprehensive analytics to practices through the use of its proprietary business intelligence technology. Read more at eWeek Leveraging both MediGain’s reimbursement and billing support and Nextech’s practice management system, the large amount of data collected by Nextech’s platform allows MediGain to provide comprehensive analytics to practices through the use of its proprietary business intelligence technology. - See more at: http://www.eweek.com/it-management/medigain-nextech-partner-on-billing-reimbursement-services.html#sthash.8E2kZOSB.dpuf