Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Cloud-based EHRs make it easier for small practices to keep up. 

Health IT can be a major headache for small providers in an industry already rife with regulatory issues. If you’re struggling from EHR overload, a cloud-based system might be the remedy you’re looking for.

Client-Server EHRs Can Be Hard for Small Providers to Use

EHR technologies that follow traditional, client-server styles might still be popular with large-scale organizations like hospitals that have unlimited financial resources, but small practices often have trouble maintaining the expensive hardware set-ups — which can run upwards of $40,000. If you add in annual upgrades and training, the cost and training are too much for most to bear. That is why cloud-based EHRs continue to rise in the health IT ratings game.

“Our advice is to go with a cloud-based EHR system,” says Richard Loomis, MD, chief medical officer and vice president of Practice Fusion. “Higher overall satisfaction, better usability, easier implementation, and lower costs are all driving practices to adopt cloud-based EHR systems, making it one of the biggest trends in health IT.” 

MACRA context. With new value-based initiatives dominating healthcare, the importance of a reliable, user-friendly EHR is not only essential to running your practice, it is a matter of critical, fiscal importance. As the need to be more focused on patient care rises, you’ll need an EHR that is less cumbersome in order to devote more time to providing quality care. 

Cloud-Based EHRs Make It Easier to Keep Ahead of the Curve

If you plan on practicing value-based medicine in the years ahead, you’ll have to become savvy in regard to health IT. Don’t take for granted that the EHR plan you are using now will be the best one for you in the future.

Top priority. Cloud-based EHRs have a reputation for efficiency with user-friendly tools and an interface that mobile-friendly providers understand. “A core component of provider satisfaction is EHR usability, which is becoming a critical success factor as the burden of quality reporting continues to grow in an increasingly fee-for-value world,” Loomis says. “Practices already spend $40,000 per doctor per year — $15.4 billion nationwide — on collecting and reporting information about the quality of their care to Medicare, Medicaid, private payers and others.”

He adds, “These costs will increase in 2017 and have a disproportionate effect on small practices. This year we may even start to see that it’s becoming financially unfeasible to practice medicine without a user-friendly EHR.”

Reference guide. If you are looking into an upgrade or feel dissatisfied with what you’re running now, check out these four advantages to moving to a cloud-based system: 

• Easy access. The cloud can be accessed by providers and staff anywhere, anytime and makes short work of data input. 
• Safe, secure, and private. The cloud protects and stores patient and practice data securely and safely. The human and physical accidents that cause client-server EHRs to shut down are non-existent with cloud technology.
• Cost-efficient. The cloud-based system eliminates the need for private servers and backup systems, cutting down on health IT costs.
• Growth options. Staff come and go and mandates change, but a cloud-based EHR easily adapts to expansions and additions. 

Tip: If the technologies you introduce to your practice are too complicated for your staff to use, then you’ve probably invested in the wrong software programs. Put on your consumer hat, do your research, and find an EHR system that is user-friendly, affordable, and focused on what you practice. 

The ONC also offers a handy tool and grading system to compare certified EHRs. You can visit the ONC CEHRT search engine here: https://chpl.healthit.gov/#/search.

Resource: To find out more about Practice Fusion, visit http://www.practicefusion.com.