Saturday, July 31, 2021

How mobile apps are transforming the patient-doctor experience

Shifting to virtual medical practice has long been in the works, but we have seen slow adoption rates by both healthcare providers and patients. Recently, that has all changed.

The use of telehealth services has dramatically increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, 95% of medical centers reported having telemedicine capabilities, compared to only 43% in 2019, according to CDC data. Additionally, Deloitte’s 2020 Survey of US Physicians revealed that, since 2018, there has been a 25% increase in the number of physicians communicating with patients through electronic health records.

Patients seem to have easily adapted to new virtual methods and will likely continue to expect telemedicine services in a post-pandemic world. In a report by Doctor.com, 83% of patients said they expect to continue using telemedicine even after the pandemic, with nearly 70% listing “easy-to-use technology” as the top factor encouraging them to use telemedicine.

As the medical field continues to move toward an increasingly virtual environment, what implications does this hold for the patient-doctor relationship? Here are some of the ways that mobile apps are transforming the healthcare experience.
Greater access to patient data

Widely used wearables in combination with the vast number of data collection tools that are now available have given doctors greater access to patient analytics than ever before. HIPAA-compliant mobile apps allow physicians to communicate with patients and staff, as well as collect and share sensitive health information from virtually anywhere in the world.

While these real-time insights offer more precise monitoring of health conditions, better predictions about patient outcomes, and practice management insights (i.e., customer satisfaction levels, medical form completion rates, pending payments, etc.), digital tools are also susceptible to security breaches that can result in expensive fines for physicians.

In 2020, medical providers paid more than $13.5 million in HIPAA settlements and civil monetary penalties to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights. Depending on the severity of a HIPAA violation, fines range from $100 to $50,000. For this reason, it’s imperative that doctors ensure all of their digital tools are HIPAA compliant, from patient intake forms to videoconferencing tools. Any third-party providers they work with must also ensure HIPAA compliance by signing a business associate agreement.


Webside manner


Nowadays, building a positive relationship goes beyond proper bedside manner. In fact, physicians are more concerned about their “webside manner.”

“Webside manner” requires a slightly different set of skills, such as understanding how to operate videoconferencing software and ensuring there are no unauthorized people present during a patient’s virtual visit.

In NRC’s 2021 Healthcare Consumer Trends Report, which surveyed 150,000 telehealth users, 92% of respondents reported having a positive experience with their virtual provider and indicated that easy scheduling tools, attentive providers, respectful interactions, and a reasonable amount of time spent with their physician all contributed to a positive patient experience.

For optimal virtual visits, clinicians should choose a quiet, well-lit location to set up shop; make sure their tech capabilities offer a seamless experience (e.g., no glitches or security breaches); ensure HIPAA compliance during video calls; and make eye-contact with their patients to show they are listening.



More face time with patients


Improved operational efficiencies have translated to less time spent on administrative tasks and increased face time between doctors and patients.

Paper trails and manual data entry have largely been replaced by tablets and digital forms programmed with conditional logic for higher completion rates. Patients can now safely check in for appointments and submit their co-payments digitally. Front desk staff are immediately notified whenever a patient submits an online consent form prior to an appointment. And both doctors and patients are able to simply hop on a videoconference as opposed to commuting to an office.

These small actions add up to significant time savings, which result in more time spent actually providing care.

Mobile apps have completely changed the medical field by providing healthcare professionals a safe, streamlined way to connect with patients and colleagues from anywhere. While virtual visits won’t completely replace seeing patients in person, doctors will need to equip their practices with up-to-date tech to keep up with the competition and patient demands.

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Thursday, July 29, 2021

To bring, or not to bring on a physician partner

Are you a solo physician practice contemplating bringing on a physician partner? Or perhaps you already have an employed physician and are looking into making that physician a partner? Maybe you have had a partner in the past and things didn’t work out, but you are thinking about giving it another shot with someone else. You may even be looking at acquiring another practice and as part of that transaction making the other practice’s physician a partner in your new entity.



If any of these scenarios fit your circumstance, then keep reading on.


Evaluating a physician partnership


Bringing in a physician partner has many advantages. A partner may help your practice grow and become more successful; allow you to share the workload and combine skills with another provider; and enrich your practice with a solid teammate. However, business partners can become your greatest asset or worst liability. Deciding whether or not to share your practice with someone else may be one of the most important business decisions you ever make. Deciding who you go into business with can be just as important.

There is no way to guarantee a potential partnership will work. Consequently, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of having a physician partner, and carefully analyzing the reasons for choosing a partner, can help ensure that you find the right person to entrust with your practice. Identify what you really need from a physician partner before you start looking for one. Once you have completed this essential first step, you can begin the process of choosing a partner.

For starters, a physician partner should bring something different to the table than you do. If you're creative, maybe you need a more detail-oriented partner; if you're introverted, you might need an extrovert to balance the social equation. If they're similar to you, it might be more comfortable, but it may not be what you need—you need someone who complements your skills and personality, not duplicates them.


Do your due diligence


Discuss your vision with your potential partner. Evaluating a potential partner can be like trading life stories to understand if your business principles, company goals, and personalities are compatible. Take as much time as you need to make a well-informed assessment of whether your business partner is actually a suitable one. You should share a sense of vision and values, but not have overlapping skills.

Assess the potential partner's expectations on the time involved. Partners don't have to spend the same amount of time, but it is important that they are on the same page as to each other's expected time commitments. How many hours a day does your partner expect to put into the practice, and do his expectations meet yours? Your partner's commitment has to equal yours. A partnership—especially one between friends—can start off with fun and excitement, but within a short time, the slog of the everyday routine catches up with you. If they're not as committed to the business as you, they may lose their enthusiasm and may actually be damaging the brand every time you open your doors.

Try to evaluate potential partners without regard to emotional ties or friendship. Draw up a set of criteria that you're looking for and simply judge how well a potential partner lives up to it. Your potential partner should also have questions for you and should want to know about your character, reliability, and expectations.

Of course you will want to weigh their standing in the referring physician community. A business partner who is adept at cultivating relationships with your referring physicians adds value to the practice. Also consider how they interact with employees and patients.


Seven Reasons to Create Physician Partnerships


Physician partnerships are often a great idea providing you give thought to how you will structure one and why you wish to create a partnership. Sometimes physician partnerships aren't so successful, so it is crucial to choose your partner well. This will somebody who you're going to spend a lot of time with and who, like your spouse and your family, will probably see all sides of you, in full Technicolor glory! This person is going to get into your head and there will be arguments and misunderstandings.

Here are seven reasons for creating a partnership:

1. Your partner has strengths that you lack, and vice versa. Great partners band together to compensate for each other's weaknesses, so that individually they can focus on using their strengths. Not only are you able to get more done, but tasks are done more efficiently because people have different skills and areas of expertise.



2. Partnerships promote greater creativity and can spur innovation. It's hard to brainstorm alone. Most people's creative juices flow more freely if they can bounce ideas off others. And things get really interesting when you have partners who bring their own ideas and perspectives to the party—that's often when the biggest leaps of innovation occur. A physician partner means more ideas coming from a different background.



3. A partner's perspective can help you break free of your old way of doing things. Sometimes it takes another physician's perspective to shake a successful practice out of complacency and see an old practice in a new way. A physician partner can help you narrow down the list by offering unique perspectives and opinions that you yourself may not have been able to think of. This is a good thing and can save you time and money later on.



4. Partners can help you take greater risks. A good partner can challenge you to take the kinds of risks that will help your practice grow. Partners also can encourage each other to be more daring simply because each partner figures the other will be there to pick up the pieces if the risk doesn't pan out. Great partners help you attempt big things and pull you out when things go wrong.



5. Partners also can serve as a restraint in keeping you from risking too much. A good partner will tell you when an idea is misguided and keep you from taking on too much risk.



6. Working together for a common goal is a lot more fun than working alone. The business side of practicing medicine is a lot more fun when you can share it with someone else. There's something exciting and exhilarating in facing challenges together, and if you're blessed with a partner with a sense of humor that meshes with yours, work becomes like play.



7. Try playing good cop/bad cop when it's just you. Managing employees and a practice is exhausting. On the days when you just need a break, your partner is there to pick up the slack. A physician partner provides motivation and support. Not only can you ask each other questions and bounce ideas, but you can encourage one another and pick each other up in difficult times. Also, by having a partner, you will most likely work harder because there is pressure to perform and to not let the other person down.


Ask for help


Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Speak with your physician colleagues or a transactional consultant with requisite experience in this area. And remember, even if you're not looking for leverage now, think about what a physician partner might do for you. A partner may shore up areas where you have a weakness, and a partner may open up a whole host of opportunities for your practice. Rugged individualism has its limits.


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Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Two things every standout healthcare manager does

With the Healthy People 2030 goal “to increase access to comprehensive, high-quality health care services” and recent explosion of teleheath visits, efficient management of ambulatory care practices is more important now than ever before.


The managerial role, which historically emphasized operational knowledge and experience is now demanding the familiarity of clinical operations as well. For many managers, this clinical aspect is limited to formal education and learning opportunities. However, in order to gain a broader understanding of the ambulatory healthcare system and therefore, increased credibility as a manager, there are two specific actions every exceptional healthcare manager should undertake regularly.



Shadowing clinicians


Each team member who provides direct patient care plays an important role in the typical ambulatory care practice and should be shadowed. Medical Assistants, Registered Nurses, and providers each have a different perspective on their patient and the health system as a result of their unique responsibilities. Observing the duties of the Medical Assistant and Registered Nurse in real time will reveal how their roles impact the efficiency of the patient’s time spent with the provider. Observing the providers will remind the manager of the many challenges related to time which the provider faces: patients who present for a brief appointment but intend to discuss many concerns, time required to order tests, review results, consult other providers, and document.



Assessing the patient experience


This assessment is extremely helpful to learn of system breakdowns. By requesting permission to “follow” the experience of a few patients per quarter, beginning with their experience of scheduling their appointment, the manager can learn much more than by simply hoping to receive a patient survey and then reviewing the results. This shadowing experience follows the patient throughout the visit and includes the experience of physically entering the office building, the communication between all staff members, physically leaving the building, and any follow-up communication which may be necessary for the patient.

By shadowing each group of clinicians and thoroughly assessing the patient experience at least quarterly, the manager gains a clearer understanding of clinical operations, system breakdowns and areas of success. Having this deeper insight of the clinical and patient experience allows the manager to have a better understanding of what is truly driving patient outcomes, revenue, and employee satisfaction. With that knowledge, discussion and development of relevant projects for improvement can occur. Accurate assessment and improvement of system breakdowns is what sets the exceptional healthcare manager apart from others


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