Disconnects in daily processes are costly. Archaic data collection, jammed-up bill processing, and poor patient management can quickly amount to lost time and revenue for any anesthesia practice. When is anesthesia record software is need and not a want?
Electronic medical record (EMR) software makes an anesthesia provider’s life easier, helping to meet the daily demands of patient care as well as data capture and reporting.
From tracking patient treatment and progress to submitting accurate reimbursement invoices to insurers, anesthesia record software is an invaluable investment for any practice.
It’s understandable, though, why many decision-makers are skeptical about making a big technology investment — they like the (perceived) low cost of paper records, or perhaps the last software they tried was, well, terrible. However, if your practice falls under any of the five cases below, digital record software is probably more of a need than you realize.
Five Scenarios When Anesthesia Record Software Delivers
EMR software can be an anesthesiologist’s best friend, particularly for those who:
- Practice at multiple facilities
- Treat multiple patients daily
- Handle billing internally
- Manage a staff
- Need to maintain MACRA compliance
1. You Practice at Multiple Facilities
With an anesthesia information management system (AIMS) installed on a mobile device, a patient’s medical records are accessible anytime, anywhere. And they’re secure from a HIPAA standpoint.
No matter where you are — be it a hospital or another one of your practice’s locations — you’ll never be without critical patient information. Additionally, when you need another signature from a coworker, they can access the same form on the spot, too.
2. You Treat Several Patients Each Day
Anesthesiologists are busy with many patients each day. Shifting gears between each case can be a challenge. With anesthesia record software, it doesn’t have to be.
Digital patient records are immediately accessible, and electronic record keeping fits seamlessly into your existing workflow. That means there are no more stops to your records department in between patient visits or wasting valuable time to handwrite notes. What’s more, information captured during a patient interaction is automatically logged and categorized. There’s no need to double back later and transcribe messy notes.
3. You Handle Your Billing Internally
Insurance companies aren’t the easiest to work with – they expect accuracy and consistency in any paperwork sent their way. When submitting claims for reimbursement, the smallest mistake can stall or stop the process.
The right anesthesia record software eliminates the chance for common errors that stop your practice from getting payment for services rendered. As patients receive your services, the record software automatically applies that information to a billing slip — correctly formatted and coded. When it comes time to submit the billing slip, the software double-checks forms to make sure they’re filled out completely. Revenue streams are no longer impacted by a blank form field.
4. You Manage a Staff
Just like treating several patients each day, managing a staff of any size is not without its difficulties. EMR software takes much of the guesswork out of daily operations. As a standardization tool of sorts, an anesthesia information management system ensures everyone is operating from the same playbook and on the same page. There’s no confusion with aligning the right forms and templates with the appropriate patients and procedures.
Certain anesthesia record software programs even track the metrics you’ll need to effectively evaluate staff performance, practice efficiencies, and patient outcomes. This data pays off in a big way to improve your daily operations.
5. You’re Maintaining MACRA Compliance
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act — or MACRA — weighs a medical practice’s Medicare reimbursement levels against the quality of care it delivers. MACRA rules change annually. Falling out of compliance with its regulations can mean the difference between being compensated for your work or not.
Using anesthesia record software simplifies updating your data recording procedures. Changes in patient data collection methods only need to be made once to the anesthesia information management system and they immediately integrate into your existing workflow. As an added benefit, anesthesia EMR software generates the reports required by regulators, such as patient outcomes, in the correct format.
Anesthesia Record Software: An Investment in Efficiency and Patient Outcomes
Integrating anesthesia record software into your practice means you’ll have a record management system that blends easily with your existing operations. It’s a tool you’ll wonder how you ever lived without. It’s important know when anesthesia record software is a need and not a want.
