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The Pros and Cons of Using an EHR Scribe

While there are benefits to EHR systems, there can also be drawbacks. Some medical professionals find them difficult or time-consuming to use. Others feel that they create distance between the patient and the physician. But an EHR scribe may be able to solve those problems for medical professionals.

More and more physicians are using an EHR scribe to help by entering information into the EHR system. This can save medical professionals a lot of time and let them focus on what matters most: the patients. So what are the pros and cons of using an EHR scribe?

Pros

Save time
Increase productivity
Improve patient satisfaction

Cons

Uses resources
May require adjustments

Pros of Using an EHR Scribe

For medical professionals who find EHR systems difficult or time-consuming to use, an EHR scribe can help to solve those problems. With an EHR scribe taking on the tasks of entering information into the EHR, doctors can focus their attention more on treating their patients.

An EHR Scribe Can Save Time

The task of entering information into the EHR system is an important one so that patient medical records are digital. However, it can take up precious time that physicians could be devoting to their patients instead. An EHR scribe can handle the EHR-related tasks instead, freeing up time for the doctor.

An EHR Scribe Can Increase Doctor Productivity

With more time available, medical professionals will be more productive. Many find they’re able to see more patients because they’re spending less time with the EHR. This is good news for any practice, as the more patients a doctor can see, the more successful that practice will be.

An EHR Scribe Can Improve Patient Satisfaction

Doctors aren’t the only ones who can benefit from the use of an EHR scribe. If a doctor can see more patients in a day, patients can get in for appointments more quickly. This can help to improve their health outcomes as well as their satisfaction with their physician. Plus, the doctor can be more focused on the patient during the exam.

Cons of Using an EHR Scribe

While there are benefits to using an EHR scribe, there are also some drawbacks. Hiring an EHR scribe is a change, which may require some adjustment.

An EHR Scribe May Take Resources

Adding any new staff member requires some adjustments. There’s the time and resources it takes to train the new hire. Plus, there’s the cost of paying the EHR scribe on top of the other staff.

An EHR Scribe May Require Adjustments

Unlike other new staff members, hiring an EHR scribe can require changes to your workflow. For many doctors, it’s a new position that their practice hadn’t had before. This means more adjustments than simply hiring a new employee for a pre-existing role. It may take some time and adjustments to figure out what works.

Best Practices for Collecting Patient Past-Due Balances

Unpaid balances are an unavoidable challenge in the medical industry. Every practice, hospital, and clinic encounters patients with outstanding medical bills—whether due to financial hardship or reluctance to pay. Unfortunately, the collection process can often be difficult and uncomfortable.

However, by implementing best practices, you can streamline the collection process, making it more efficient and less stressful for both your team and your patients.

Implement Clear Financial Policies

Clear financial policies set expectations and help reduce misunderstandings about payment responsibilities. Establish a written policy outlining payment expectations, due dates, accepted payment methods, and consequences for late or missed payments. Provide this information to patients at the time of scheduling, during check-in, and on billing statements to ensure transparency.

Make Sure Your Front-Desk Staff Is Thoroughly Trained

Make sure your front-desk staff is well-trained in discussing these policies with patients in a professional and empathetic manner. Encourage them to proactively inform patients about their financial obligations and available payment options. Additionally, consider requiring patients to sign an acknowledgment form stating they understand and agree to the policy.

By implementing and consistently enforcing clear financial policies, your practice can minimize overdue balances, improve cash flow, and foster positive patient relationships.

Emphasize Upfront Collections

Your front-desk staff are the first and last points of contact for patients visiting your practice, making them essential to the patient experience and financial operations. When a patient checks in, your front-desk team is already accessing their records to verify personal and insurance details. This is also an ideal time to check for any outstanding balances.

Medical receptionist speaking to patient

Ask How They Want To Pay, Not If

If a patient has a past-due balance, your front-desk staff should proactively ask how they would like to settle their bill, rather than if they want to pay. Phrasing the question this way encourages payment by assuming the patient intends to take care of their balance, reducing the likelihood of an immediate refusal.

Assign One Person To Bill Collection Duty

Requesting payment at check-in isn’t always sufficient to recover past-due balances. In some cases, follow-up phone calls are necessary. Designating a front-desk team member with strong phone etiquette and the confidence to communicate firmly yet professionally can significantly improve collection rates. This focused approach ensures consistency and increases the likelihood of successful payments.

Utilize Technology for Payment Reminders

Leveraging technology for payment reminders can streamline the collections process and improve patient compliance with overdue balances. Automated systems, such as text messages, emails, and patient portal notifications, offer a convenient way to keep patients informed about outstanding payments without placing an additional burden on your front-desk staff.

When implementing automated reminders, consider:

Multiple Communication Channels:Use a combination of text, email, and phone calls to increase the chances of reaching patients.
Customizable Messaging:Personalize reminders to include the patient’s name, outstanding balance, and a direct link to make a payment.
Timing and Frequency:Schedule reminders strategically, such as sending a gentle notice a few days before the due date and a firmer follow-up after the due date has passed.
Secure Payment Options:Provide a seamless payment experience by including links to secure online payment portals, allowing patients to pay easily from their mobile devices or computers.

By automating payment reminders, your practice can enhance efficiency, reduce the time spent on collections, and improve cash flow while maintaining positive patient relationships.

Make the Consequences Clear to Patients

When patients have outstanding balances, it’s essential to communicate the consequences of non-payment clearly and consistently. In your outreach, specify how many reminders they will receive before their account is sent to collections. Additionally, inform them if non-payment will result in dismissal from your practice. To maintain credibility, it’s crucial to follow through on these stated policies—warnings about collections or dismissal will lose their effectiveness if they are not enforced. Clear, firm, and professional communication ensures that patients understand the importance of timely payments while preserving the integrity of your practice’s financial policies.

Look for Alternative Payment Options

Not all patients with past-due balances are simply unwilling to pay—many face genuine financial hardships. In some cases, a family may have credits linked to one member that could be applied toward another member’s balance, providing a practical solution. Offering flexible payment options can make it easier for patients to settle their accounts while also benefiting the practice by improving collection rates.

Consider providing these alternative payment solutions for patients with overdue balances:

Payment Plans

Offer patients structured payment plans that allow them to pay off their balances over time in manageable installments. These plans can be customized based on the patient’s financial situation, ensuring affordability while maintaining consistent cash flow for your practice. Clearly outline the terms, including payment amounts, due dates, and any applicable interest or fees.

Incentives for Early Payment

Encourage patients to settle their overdue balances faster by offering discounts for prompt payment. Patients who pay their full balance or make a substantial upfront payment may receive a percentage discount, reducing their financial burden while improving your practice’s revenue cycle.

Flexible Payment Options

Increase payment convenience by accepting multiple payment methods, such as credit and debit cards, electronic bank transfers, online payment platforms, and mobile payment apps. Offering a variety of options allows patients to choose the most convenient way to pay, increasing the likelihood of on-time payments.

Financial Assistance Programs

Educate patients about available financial assistance programs, including in-house charity care options or sliding scale discounts based on income level. By proactively discussing these programs, you can help eligible patients receive necessary care without financial hardship while ensuring your practice gets compensated.

Healthcare Financing Solutions

Partner with healthcare financing companies that offer specialized medical credit lines or payment plans. These third-party financing options allow patients to spread out the cost of their medical bills over time with affordable monthly payments, easing their financial strain while ensuring timely reimbursement for your services.

Negotiated Payment Arrangements

For patients struggling to pay their full balance, consider negotiating a settlement or establishing a compromise payment plan. This could involve reducing the total amount owed in exchange for a lump-sum payment or setting up a structured repayment plan that fits the patient’s budget.

Government Assistance Programs

Assist qualifying patients in applying for Medicaid or other government-sponsored healthcare programs. These programs can help cover medical expenses for low-income individuals and families, potentially reducing or eliminating their outstanding balances.

Utilizing HSAs & FSAs

Encourage patients to leverage their Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) or Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) to cover medical expenses, including overdue balances. Since these accounts use pre-tax dollars, they provide a cost-effective way for patients to manage their medical bills while optimizing their healthcare spending.

Send the Bill to Collections When Necessary

Some patients, no matter what efforts you make, simply won’t pay their outstanding balance. In these cases, it may be more cost-effective to stop pursuing the delinquent account rather than continue expending resources on collection efforts. Every phone call, letter, and attempt to recover the balance takes up valuable staff time and adds to your practice’s operational costs.

To manage this efficiently, establish a clear policy in advance outlining the number of follow-up attempts—such as phone calls and letters—you will make before ceasing collection efforts. While it’s important not to give up too quickly, since sending a bill to collections typically results in recovering only a fraction of the amount owed, there comes a point where the cost of continued pursuit outweighs the potential return. Setting predefined limits helps ensure your practice allocates its resources wisely.

When To Consider Dismissing a Patient Over Unpaid Balances

No healthcare provider wants to lose a patient, but medical practices are businesses that rely on payments to sustain operations. If a patient consistently fails to pay despite repeated attempts to collect, it may be time to consider dismissing them from your practice. After all, a patient who isn’t paying is not contributing to your practice’s financial health, and their appointment slot could be made available for new patients who are able to meet their financial responsibilities.

Before making the decision to dismiss a patient over unpaid balances, consider the following factors:

Communication Attempts

Evaluate your history of outreach to the patient regarding their outstanding balance. Have multiple attempts been made via phone calls, emails, or mailed letters? Ensure that all efforts to communicate payment options and settle the balance have been well-documented.

Financial Hardship Assessment

Assess whether the patient has communicated any financial difficulties that may have impacted their ability to pay. Have they provided documentation indicating a hardship, such as job loss or unexpected medical expenses? If so, consider whether alternative payment plans or financial assistance options are available before proceeding with dismissal.

Payment History

Review the patient’s overall payment history. Is this a recurring pattern of non-payment, or is it an isolated incident? Patients with a history of delinquency may be less likely to resolve their balance, whereas a one-time issue might warrant a more flexible approach.

Compliance With Practice Policies

Ensure that your decision aligns with your practice’s policies on patient billing and collections. It is advisable to consult legal counsel to verify compliance with applicable laws and regulations surrounding patient dismissal and debt collection practices.

Ethical Considerations

Consider the ethical implications of dismissing a patient, particularly if they have ongoing healthcare needs. Would their dismissal negatively impact their access to necessary medical care? Balancing financial considerations with your ethical duty to provide care is crucial.

Financial Impact on Your Practice

Evaluate whether continuing collection efforts are financially justified. If the cost of hiring a debt collection agency or pursuing legal action outweighs the amount owed, dismissing the patient may be the more practical option.

Documentation and Record-Keeping

Maintain detailed records of all interactions related to the patient’s unpaid balance. This includes communication attempts, payment agreements, financial hardship claims, and any other relevant details. Proper documentation can serve as legal protection in the event of disputes or legal challenges.

Making the Final Decision

If all reasonable efforts to collect payment have failed, dismissing the patient may be the best course of action for your practice. However, it is essential to follow a formal process, including providing written notice of dismissal and ensuring the patient has adequate time to transition to another provider. By handling the situation professionally and ethically, your practice can maintain its financial stability while upholding its commitment to patient care.

Monitor and Adjust Collection Strategies

To maintain an effective patient billing system, it’s essential to continuously evaluate and refine your collection strategies. Regularly reviewing your collection process allows you to identify what’s working and where improvements are needed.

Analyze Metrics

Start by analyzing key metrics, such as the percentage of overdue accounts, average collection time, and success rates of different follow-up methods. If certain approaches, like phone calls or email reminders, are proving ineffective, consider adjusting your strategy by incorporating automated payment reminders, offering flexible payment plans, or enhancing staff training.

Ask Your Administrative Team for Feedback

Additionally, seek feedback from your administrative team and patients to understand any barriers to payment. Sometimes, unclear billing statements or complicated payment processes can contribute to delays. Simplifying payment options—such as offering online payments or mobile-friendly billing—can lead to improved collection rates.

Keep Yourself Informed

Lastly, stay informed about industry best practices and regulatory changes that may impact your collection policies. By regularly monitoring and adjusting your strategies, you can create a more efficient, patient-friendly, and financially sustainable collection process.

How Healthcare Providers Can Prepare for the No Surprises Act

The No Surprises Act, passed on December 27, 2020, will take effect on January 1, 2022. This act is designed to protect patients from surprise medical bills. But what exactly does the No Surprises Act do and how can medical practices prepare for its implementation?

What Is a Surprise Bill?

Surprise medical bills often occur when a patient receives out-of-network medical care. This can happen when a patient is taken to the hospital emergency room and doesn’t have a choice in who provides their medical care. Surprise out-of-network charges can also occur if a patient goes to a hospital, practice, or clinic that is in their network but receives out-of-network care while there. This could be in the form of an out-of-network anesthesiologist during an in-network surgery, for example.

Charges for out-of-network medical costs are typically higher and the insurance company may be unwilling to pay them. When this happens, the medical provider then sends the bill to the patient, which is called a ‘balance bill’ because the patient is then expected to pay the balance. However, the patient may not have known that they had received out-of-network care and are surprised either by the bill itself or by the higher cost of the bill.

What Is the No Surprises Act?

Balance billing has resulted in high costs for patients in both emergency and non-emergency situations. The No Surprises Act (NSA) is designed to protect patients from surprise medical bills and, in particular, balance bills. If a patient receives out-of-network medical care for an emergency or out-of-network care at an in-network medical facility such as a hospital or practice, they will only have to pay what it would have cost had that care been completely in-network. In these circumstances, medical providers will also be banned from sending patients balance bills for the higher out-of-network medical costs.

What Medical Services Are Covered By the NSA?

The NSA prevents balance billing or surprise billing for emergency medical care. Patients don’t always have the choice in where they receive care if they are taken to the emergency room. This prohibition also includes air ambulance services, but does not include ground ambulances. The NSA also prohibits balance billing in cases where a patient received non-emergency care by an out-of-network provider at an in-network location.

How Can Medical Providers Prepare for the NSA?

Although the NSA will certainly shake up medical billing processes, medical providers have several months to prepare for the change, as the act isn’t set to take effect until 2022. Many of the changes are on the part of the insurance company. Insurance companies can’t use waiting periods or prior authorization for emergency services. When it comes to cost-sharing and co-pays, insurance companies must treat out-of-network services at an in-network location as if they were in-network.

Another key provision of the NSA is that it sets up an ‘informal dispute resolution’ (IDR) process. This is the most important part of the legislation for medical providers. In situations where providers are now prohibited from billing the patient for the balance if an insurance company won’t cover the costs, the IDR process is how the medical provider can seek relief when a claim is underpaid. The biggest task for medical providers in 2021 will be helping to shape the rules of the IDR process as well as learning how to submit claims.

What Are the Rules of the IDR Process?

The rules are still in the process of being laid out throughout the remaining months of 2021. It will be important for medical providers to consult with attorneys who are versed in the IDR rules so that they know and understand all of the rules, once they are set. Medical billing software and the reports that it generates will also be indispensable to medical providers when it comes to the dispute resolution process.

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How Virtual RNs are Saving Doctors Money

Telemedicine has expedited a shift to virtual medical professionals. As technology has improved and the onset of the coronavirus pandemic made changes necessary, more patients than ever before saw medical professionals virtually in 2020 and 2021.

The benefits of working with a virtual RN are becoming more clear, whether doctors shift back to in-person patient care or continue practicing telemedicine. Working with virtual RNs can save you money and free up your time, among other benefits.

Key Takeaways

Virtual RNs can assist practices with live in-room charting, medical transcription, scheduling, and administrative tasks.
Virtual RNs are trained in HIPAA compliance and are trained in the tools practices already use.
Virtual RNs cost between $11 and $12 per hour.

What Virtual RNs Can Provide

Whether you’re looking for scheduling, administrative support, or medical scribe work to be completed, working with virtual RNs gives you access to a skilled professional who can adapt to the needs of your practice.

Live In-Room Charting

You can bring your virtual RN with you into the patient exam room where they will live-chart the visit in real-time in the doctor’s EMR of choice.

Medical Transcription

Virtual RNs can function as virtual scribes for doctors. On a computer or a tablet, a doctor can connect with a virtual RN via videoconferencing software.

Another option is to record dictation and upload it to a cloud server. A virtual RN can then transcribe it, even adding it directly into the patient’s chart.

Scheduling

Another benefit of virtual RNs is that they can be connected to your phone system even though they’re not sitting in your office. This allows them to both receive and place calls as if they were sitting at your front desk. They can interact with patients over the phone to both schedule and confirm appointments. They can even call insurance companies on your behalf.

Referrals, Phone Calls, and Administrative Tasks

It isn’t just the doctors that virtual nurses can assist. They can also make a difference in the front office with a doctor’s administrative staff.

Virtual RNs can assist with the following administrative tasks:

Authorizations: Virtual Registered Nurses (RNs) can help in obtaining prior authorizations from insurance companies for medical procedures, treatments, or medications. This involves navigating the often complex and time-consuming process of securing approval from insurance providers before a patient receives certain healthcare services.
Managing Medical Records: These professionals can organize and maintain patient medical records in digital systems, ensuring accuracy, confidentiality, and compliance with healthcare regulations. They may also assist in retrieving and updating medical histories, test results, and treatment plans as needed, facilitating seamless coordination of care among healthcare providers.
Medical Billing: Skilled personnel can support medical billing processes by accurately coding diagnoses, procedures, and services provided to patients. They may help ensure that billing information is correctly documented and submitted to insurance companies or patients for reimbursement, minimizing errors and maximizing revenue for healthcare facilities or practices.
Refilling Prescriptions: Experts can handle prescription refill requests from patients or pharmacies, verifying medication orders, reviewing patient records for medication history and allergies, and coordinating with healthcare providers to authorize refills as appropriate. This helps streamline medication management and ensures patients receive timely access to their prescribed medications.
Eligibility: Professionals can verify patients’ eligibility for healthcare services or insurance coverage by confirming demographic information, insurance status, and coverage benefits. This helps prevent billing discrepancies and ensures that patients receive the appropriate level of care based on their insurance coverage or financial circumstances.
Insurance Verification: Trained personnel can verify patients’ insurance coverage, including confirming policy details, coverage limitations, and copayments or deductibles. This information is crucial for healthcare providers to accurately bill insurance companies and patients for services rendered, avoiding claim denials or patient financial burdens.
Referrals: Knowledgeable staff can assist in coordinating referrals to specialists or other healthcare providers by liaising with referring physicians, obtaining necessary medical records or test results, and scheduling appointments for patients. This helps ensure timely access to specialized care and promotes continuity of treatment for patients with complex healthcare needs.

Virtual RNs can also handle both verifying insurance eligibility and prior authorizations for a patient in order to make medical billing a lot easier. Any administrative staff you have will be busy working with patients. A virtual nurse can take care of these tasks to free up your time and your administrative staff’s time.

A virtual RN can chart a patient in real-time during an appointment, but that’s not the only paperwork they can handle. From transcribing dictations to filling out forms, virtual RNs can ensure that your documentation is filled out and uploaded to a cloud server for easy access.

Checking Patients In and Out

Even though a virtual RN isn’t in the office in person, they can take care of checking patients in and out. A tablet set up at a check-in station will offer patients access to the virtual nurse who can check them in and ensure all paperwork is filled out and up-to-date. Patients can check out the same way. A virtual RN can ensure that any follow-up appointments are scheduled and that patients have paid any fees for their appointment.

Custom Office Needs

Chances are, if your office has a specific need then a virtual RN is the solution. Working with a company that specializes in virtual RNs can help you develop your team in whatever way you need. VirtualRNs, for example, will train the VRN personalized to your requests.

The Benefits of Working With VRNs

Working with VRNs allows you to easily manage and scale your practice at an affordable rate, saving you time, money, and headaches. Hiring a VRN through a virtual RN hiring company will allow you to easily fill in gaps in your workflow, making your team’s processes easier and quicker.

How the Hiring Process Works

You’re probably familiar with the hiring process for a nurse who will work with you in person in your practice. But introducing a virtual RN into your workflow may prove to be a more confusing process. Although, it doesn’t have to be.

When you work with a virtual RN company, the company will present you with profiles of hand-picked candidates. You will then select the virtual registered nurse who best fits your needs. This will be the VRN who works with you on a daily basis—no stress from working with a brand new nurse every day.

From there you will connect with your new VRN, setting them up as needed with your software and processes. Set an official start date and begin working with them on a set daily or weekly schedule—just as you would with a nurse working in the office.

Addressing Concerns

Most doctors have worked almost entirely with an in-person team of nurses. Introducing a virtual team member into long-standing workflows can be concerning. Concerns like costs, HIPAA compliance, and training are all reasons you may be second-guessing the switch to virtual.

HIPAA Compliance

Solution: Virtual RNs from VirtualRNs.com are all trained in HIPAA compliance.

HIPAA compliance is incredibly important, especially when working with contractors and employees. Be sure the company you work with supplies virtual RNs who have certificates in HIPAA training, have a background check, and sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).

Cost

Solution: Virtual RNs from VirtualRNs.com are $11 to $12 per hour.

Working with virtual RNs will cost you on average $12 an hour for a part-time nurse clocking 15 to 30 hours weekly. A full-time virtual RN working over 30 hours a week will cost $11 an hour. This is a far cry from the $36.66 per hour national average RNs are paid in the United States. Not including the additional costs of hiring on an employee.

Training

Solution: Virtual RNs from VirtualRNs.com are trained in the tools your practice already uses.

Depending on the virtual RN company you choose, virtual RNs will be trained to use the tools you currently have in your workflow. If you work with a company like VirtualRNs you will be working with registered nurses with no less than two to three years of experience on average. These nurses will be trained to use the systems you currently use in your practice and will be familiar with using tools like BOX.xom, Updox, RingCentral, AdvancedMD, and other programs.

Taking the First Step to Hire Your Virtual RN

You’ll want to start the process of hiring a virtual RN through a reputable company that can not only be flexible to your needs but also provides skilled nurses. Make sure you do your research to find both the highest quality virtual RNs and the best price per hour. Companies like VirtualRNs provide staffing solutions that are focused on quality and cost-consciousness.

Virtualrns.com

Virtualrns.com is a company that offers virtual RN services for doctor’s practices. They offer reliable virtual nurses at a cost that can save doctors money on staffing. Their virtual nurses can help doctors stay organized as well as free up the doctor’s time so they can focus their time and attention where it matters most: on the patients.

Cloud-Based EMR vs. Server-Based EMR: Pros & Cons

When it comes to choosing an electronic medical records (EMR) system, the big question for many is whether to go with cloud-based or server-based. There are advantages and drawbacks to both options. Be sure to thoroughly research your options so that you make the best choice for your company.

What Is the Difference Between Cloud-Based EMR and Server-Based EMR Systems?

Cloud-based EMR systems are hosted in the cloud rather than hosted by an on-site server. This means that all of the data for the system is stored in the cloud and is accessible from anywhere via the internet. This also means that the system is dependent on the vendor’s cloud infrastructure rather than an on-premise environment.

By contrast, a server-based EMR system is hosted on-site by your practice or company. You have more control over its infrastructure, but also bear more of the responsibility for maintaining and managing the system.

But what are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of system?

Cloud-Based EMR

The cloud is a major part of our lives. Many people store files in the cloud for convenient access. It’s also becoming more and more common in the business world as more software vendors are offering cloud-based services. But is cloud-based EMR the right choice for your practice?

Pros of a Cloud-Based EMR

The advantages of a cloud-based EMR system include:

Cost-effective for small and solo practices
Easy to set up
No software installation necessary
No hardware purchasing necessary
No hardware maintenance necessary
Better customer support
Fewer or lower licensing costs
Sophisticated security for data protection
Practices don’t have to meet HIPAA requirements if the vendor does
Easier transition from one system to another
The vendor has more responsibility than the practice does to meet Meaningful Use requirements
Accessible from anywhere
No in-house IT staff required

Cons of a Cloud-Based EMR

However, cloud-based EMR systems also have their drawbacks:

Practices must rely on the vendor for security and backups
There may be lag time accessing remote servers
Over time, cloud-based systems can be more expensive
All patient data is controlled by the host
Higher risk of compromised patient data
Customization may be limited
A steady internet connection is required
If a vendor closes, all data could be lost
The practice’s bandwidth may limit software speed
Your access speed may depend on your location

Server-Based EMR

A server-based EMR hosted on-site can offer some major advantages to practices that have the resources to maintain them. However, smaller practices or solo practices may not find them feasible because of the resources required to install and maintain them.

Pros of a Server-Based EMR

Some advantages of a server-based EMR include:

Speed is based only on internal infrastructure
Connection is not reliant on external factors
High-quality images can be downloaded quickly
Full control over all data
Data is protected from unforeseen external threats

Cons of a Server-Based EMR

On the other hand, there are some disadvantages to server-based EMR systems:

Up-front costs can be higher
Licensing fees can be expensive
Server hardware must be installed
IT staff required to install and maintain the system
Updates and maintenance are the practice’s responsibility
Compliance with regulations is the responsibility of the practice
HIPAA compliance is the practice’s responsibility

Is a Cloud-Based or Server-Based EMR Better for My Practice?

There are benefits and drawbacks to both types of EMR systems. What it comes down to for many practices is size and cost. A cloud-based system often has fewer up-front costs, even though it may cost more in the long run due to monthly or yearly subscription fees. A cloud-based system also doesn’t require IT staff to manage and maintain an on-site server. Larger practices may have the resources to invest in both on-site hardware and the IT staff necessary to maintain a server-based EMR system.

All practices looking for EMR software should research their options in advance and look at what type of system will best meet their needs without impacting how their practice runs.

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New CPT Code for Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine

The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is still undergoing stage three clinical trials, including clinical trials for its use on children. Therefore, it hasn’t yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for distribution. The Novavax vaccine has thus far shown to be 96% effective against the original strain of COVID-19, 86% effective against the B.1.1.7/501Y.V1 variant of the virus, and 100% effective against severe symptoms of the disease.

What Is the CPT Code for the Novavax Vaccine?

The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is administered in two doses. The American Medical Association (AMA) has released CPT codes for the vaccine itself as well as codes for the administration of each dose:

Novavax vaccine CPT code: 91304
First dose administration CPT code: 0041A
Second dose administration CPT code: 0042A

The above CPT codes will help physicians to bill for the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine once it has been approved for administration by the FDA after it completes its clinical trials.

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The Importance of an Online Reputation for Doctors

For better or worse, the internet plays a huge role in every part of our lives. The world of healthcare isn’t an exception. Patients research everything to do with their health online, from symptoms and medications to their doctors. Before visiting a new doctor, potential patients will research their options ahead of time.

Why Is an Online Reputation So Important for Doctors?

a doctor wearing a white lab coat in discussion with a patient

Having an online presence is vital to a doctor’s practice because it’s often how patients find you in the first place. However, just being online isn’t enough. Managing your reputation online is essential to promoting your practice. Patients don’t just look online to see if a doctor has a website. They use the internet to read reviews of prospective doctors and see what other patients thought ahead of time. Up to 84% of patients research medical professionals before they ever set foot in the doctor’s office.

Patients are much more likely to visit a doctor with a good online reputation. On top of that, they’re more likely to spend more money to do so. Doctors with good online reputations may have patients seeking care with them even if they’re out-of-network.

How To Improve Your Reputation Online

The first step in improving your online reputation is to check its current status. You can start by searching for your practice’s name in search engines like Google and Bing. Look to see what sort of links are popping up in the search results. Do they reflect favorably on your practice?

Then, look more closely at review websites, such as ZocDocs, WebMD, Yelp, or Healthgrades to see what patients have been saying about you. You should also check the reviews on Bing and Google.

Ask patients for reviews

You can ask your patients for reviews via email after their visit. This doesn’t hurt your reputation and can result in a lot of positive reviews. However, you should only seek out real reviews. It can be tempting to post fake reviews, but review sites screen for these and will flag your account for having fraudulent reviews, which would negatively impact your reputation even more than a bad review.

Respond to reviews

It’s a good idea to respond to reviews, both positive and negative. You can thank positive reviewers for their feedback. For negative reviews, you can respond as long as you’re careful not to violate the patient’s confidentiality. You should also be courteous and professional. Responding in the right way to a negative review can help to cancel out any negative effects on your online reputation.

How Should You Address Negative Reviews?

You should first try to put yourself into the shoes of the patient that left the negative review. Taking the opportunity to improve your practice and eliminate the source of the negative feedback can help to prevent such reviews in the first place. You can also respond to the negative review by apologizing for the patient’s experience and asking them to contact your practice to address their concerns. You shouldn’t reveal your side of the story in your response because that could violate confidentiality laws.

Set up Google Alerts

You can set up Google to alert you via email whenever your practice or your name is mentioned by someone online. This will help you stay proactive about any changes, good or bad, to your online reputation.

How to Set Up Google Alerts

To create a Google alert, go to https://www.google.com/alerts and enter the name of your practice. Google may offer you suggestions based on your Google account, such as your name or email address. You can set up as many alerts as you like, so you can select your name and also specify your full practice name. You’ll want to make sure you’re signed in to your Google account because that’s the email address Google will use to send the email alerts to you.

Claim your online business listings

When you search for a business by name, Google provides a profile of the business. If the business owner hasn’t claimed the business, Google will draw information about the business from online directories. Claiming your business will allow you to control the information that Google displays about your practice. If your business doesn’t have an automatically-created Google business listing, it’s a good idea to create one so that patients can more easily find you.

How to Claim Your Online Google Business Listing

To claim your practice with Google, log in to your Google account and go to Google My Business at https://www.google.com/business/. Click the Manage Now button and enter the name of your practice. If it’s not already there, Google will prompt you to add your business profile to its listings. If it is, you can search for your practice and then follow Google’s instructions to verify that you are the owner of the business. This is often done by having a postcard sent to your location with a verification code. Then, you can update your business profile to make it easier for patients to find you.

Directories in Which to Claim Your Business

Google isn’t the only online business listing. In fact, because Google gets its information from online directories, it’s a good idea to claim your business in as many places as possible.

The following are online directories of medical professionals and practices:

Every Patient Can Affect Your Reputation

The people leaving reviews about you and your practice online are patients. It’s important to remember that every patient you treat is also a potential reviewer. This means that you’ll need to make sure you’re leaving each patient with the reputation you would like for your practice. If you’d like to be known for your good bedside manner, you’ll need to make sure you have a good bedside manner with every patient. How you treat them during their visit is what they will report online.

Learn more about proper online reputation management by reviewing our list of medical practice directories.

New CPT Code for Eli Lilly’s Antibody Treatment for COVID-19

Illustration of a COVID-19 virus being attacked by antibodies

In November of 2020, the FDA approved Eli Lilly’s antibody treatment for COVID-19. The antibody treatment was designed to treat mild-to-moderate cases of the coronavirus in patients aged 12 or older who were at risk of developing more severe symptoms of COVID-19 or who may have been at risk of needing hospitalization.

As with the COVID-19 vaccine, the costs of the COVID-19 antibody treatment are covered by Medicare for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have released CPT codes for the billing of this treatment.

What Is the Eli Lilly COVID-19 Antibody Treatment?

The Eli Lilly COVID-19 antibody treatment is a monoclonal antibody therapy that involves bamlanivimab and etesevima. It was given emergency authorization by the FDA on November 9 of 2020 as a treatment for patients who tested positive for COVID-19, were 12 years of age or older, and weighed at least 88 pounds. Bamlanivimab and etesevima were authorized by the FDA as a treatment together and bamlanivimab was authorized for use on its own, but etesevima was only ever authorized to treat COVID-19 in conjunction with bamlanivimab.

Two men sitting outside and wearing a mask while socially distancing

The antibody treatment isn’t a cure for COVID-19, but in clinical trials, it was shown to reduce the number of hospitalizations due to the coronavirus in patients at higher risk for progressing more severe symptoms of the virus.

The FDA revoked the treatment’s authorization in April of 2021 due to the rise of COVID-19 variants.

How Can The Antibody Treatment Be Billed?

Just like with the COVID-19 vaccines, the costs of the bamlanivimab and etesevima monoclonal antibody treatments are covered by Medicare during the COVID-19 pandemic. The treatment can be billed by healthcare providers either as a single claim or as a roster bill. The CMS expects that any healthcare providers billing for this treatment provide documentation to show that all guidelines regarding the treatment were followed, including the name of the healthcare professional who ordered the treatment for the patient.

What Are the CPT Codes for the Eli Lilly Antibody Treatment for COVID-19?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the following CPT codes for billing for the bamlanivimab and etesevima antibody treatment:

Q0245
M0245

Q0245

The CPT code Q0245 has been assigned to the 2100 mg injections of etesevima and bamlanivimab.

M0245

The CPT code M0245 has been assigned to the intravenous infusion and the monitoring of the patient post-administration.

How Virtual Reality Can Help with Medical Training

Doctor in a white lab coat with a stethoscope wearing virtual reality goggles

Virtual reality may play a major role in the future of medicine. In particular, VR may have useful applications in medical training. Some medical schools have already started using virtual reality as part of their training programs.

Training for Developing Medical Skills

Medical student practices surgical skills with virtual reality smart technology

There are many different medical skills that doctors need to have at their disposal. Some of these are, fortunately, rarely needed. However, when they are needed, doctors must be able to perform them quickly and flawlessly.

With virtual reality software, medical students can practice and hone these necessary skills in a much more immersive environment. VR software can better emulate a real-world scenario so they’re better prepared when they do eventually face a situation where those skills are needed. Established doctors can also use VR software to brush up on skills that aren’t used very often.

Surgical Practice and Training

Many medical students don’t get a lot of practice with surgical training until they’re doing a surgical residency. VR software changes that by allowing students to practice surgical skills long before they reach the residency stage. Medical students interested in becoming surgeons can get ahead in surgical practice by using VR software. That also means that they’ll be better prepared for surgical residency and will be much more experienced when it comes time to perform surgery on a patient.

Simulations of Emergency Room Situations

There’s nothing that can prepare a medical student for treating patients in the emergency room except for actually being in the situation. It’s a high-pressure, high-stakes place where medical decisions need to be made quickly. Virtual reality can simulate not only the environment of the emergency room but also the procedures that doctors would need to perform on patients there. Medical students can prepare for work in the emergency room via simulation.

Anatomy Training

In the Middle Ages, medical students learned anatomy primarily from Ancient Greek books and from dissecting animals. In many cases, they didn’t have access to or weren’t allowed to dissect human corpses. Fortunately, human anatomical studies have come a long way since then. Virtual reality can take anatomy training even further by allowing medical students to explore every system in the human body via immersion.

8 Directories to List Your Medical Practice on

doctor wearing a white lab coat using a medical computer touchscreen interface

People are increasingly turning to the Internet to shop around to find the best price and read reviews on everything from restaurants to movies to haircuts. Health care isn’t exempt from this. Before visiting a doctor, people want to know what to expect and online reviews help them do that. People also find doctors in the first place by looking in online directories.

Here are 8 directories that you should list your practice on in order to be more easily found by prospective patients.

1. BetterDoctor

BetterDoctor isn’t an online database where patients search themselves. Instead, BetterDoctor allows doctors to manage their information in one location. That information is then shared with multiple insurance providers. This helps to reduce accidental out-of-network appointments.

2. Cured

Cured stands for Campaign Urging Research for Eosinophilic Disease, but their directory of medical practitioners includes a variety of different areas of specialty, from pediatrics to gastroenterology and immunology. The site also offers fitness, health, and nutrition information to patients.

3. DocSpot

DocSpot is an online directory that takes its doctor profiles from over 600 different sources on the Internet. It’s frequently updated so that patients are accessing the most recent data.

4. Doximity

Doximity is an online network that is driven by doctors. In fact, one in every four doctors has a presence on the site. The website is for doctors to manage their profiles, but there’s a mobile app with search features for patients that allows them to find doctors in their location with the specialty that they need.

5. EZDoctor

EZDoctor is a directory that allows patients to search for doctors by:

Location

City
State
Zip code

Medical specialty
Last name
Appointment availability

EZDoctor also includes reviews from real patients and also compiles reviews from other medical review sites so that patients can read up on prospective doctors before they book an appointment.

6. Google My Business

Google My Business isn’t a medical directory, but it’s incredibly important for getting found on the Internet. When someone searches for your practice’s name, the information Google provides is pulled from Google My Business. Other medical databases may use that data as well. If you create a Google My Business profile, you can claim any information Google already has on your practice and manage your profile.

7. Healthgrades

Healthgrades is an online database of doctors that is very popular with patients. The site has around 30 million visitors every month. Healthgrades pulls its information about the doctors in its database from public registries and then offers a search feature to patients so that they can find a doctor near them that meets their criteria, including location, availability, and insurance.

8. Wellness

Wellness is a popular health website that also includes a directory of medical practitioners. The site takes its information about individual providers from public online sources and then uses its search functionality to connect patients with the right physician.

A doctor wearing a white lab coat using a mobile phone

The benefits of adding your medical practice to online directories

Adding your medical practice to various online directories can offer several benefits, including:

Increased Visibility: Online directories serve as platforms where potential patients search for healthcare providers in their area. By listing your medical practice on these directories, you increase your visibility to patients who are actively seeking healthcare services, potentially leading to more appointments and patient inquiries.
Improved Search Engine Ranking: Many online directories have high domain authority and are frequently indexed by search engines like Google. When your medical practice is listed on these directories, it can improve your pr
Enhanced Online Presence: Having your medical practice listed on multiple online directories helps establish a robust online presence for your practice. This presence reinforces your credibility and legitimacy as a healthcare provider in the eyes of potential patients.
Access to Targeted Audiences: Online directories often categorize healthcare providers based on specialty, location, and other relevant criteria. This allows patients to find providers that meet their specific needs and preferences. By listing your practice on relevant directories, you can target specific patient demographics and attract patients who are most likely to benefit from your services.
Customer Reviews and Ratings: Many online directories allow patients to leave reviews and ratings for healthcare providers. Positive reviews and high ratings can significantly influence prospective patients’ decisions when choosing a healthcare provider. By actively managing your practice’s online reputation on these directories, you can cultivate a positive image and attract more patients.
Cost-Effective Marketing: Listing your medical practice on online directories is often a cost-effective marketing strategy compared to traditional advertising methods. Many directories offer free or low-cost listing options, making it an affordable way to reach a large audience of potential patients.
Local SEO Benefits: Online directories are essential for local search engine optimization (SEO). When patients search for healthcare providers in their area, search engines often prioritize listings from reputable online directories. By optimizing your practice’s listing on these directories with accurate and consistent information, you can improve your local SEO ranking and attract more local patients.

Overall, adding your medical practice to various online directories can help increase visibility, improve search engine ranking, enhance online presence, target specific patient demographics, manage online reputation, and drive patient inquiries—all of which contribute to the growth and success of your practice.