Walker Family Medicine adopts OmniMD EMR/ PMS solution

Tarrytown, NY- OmniMD, one of the leading healthcare information technology companies, which provides Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Practice Management (PMS) and other Healthcare IT products and services to the providers and clinics across the nation, has announced today that Walker Family Medicine (WFM) located in Willcox, Arizona has adopted the companys EMR and PMS solution in order to improve the quality at point of care.

WFM decided to implement an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system from day one to access patient medical records, to improve the quality at point of care, to increase productivity and reduce medical errors. Besides the financial benefits, the major objective was to enhance the quality of care as well as the satisfaction of its patients.

"After comparing many EMRs, I determined that OmniMD was the best software for my new clinic. I run a high volume family practice clinic with two mid-level providers. OmniMD is used for scheduling, reminder calls, medical records, insurance and patient billing. OmniMD is a critical tool for my practice. It is a very good software, but I am also very pleased with the level of service OmniMD provides with their technical support team, Dr. Walker (Board Certified in Family Practice) says.

Dr. Walker is pleased with the performance of the OmniMD solution, which allows her to access and maintain entire patient medical records promptly. The system allows the clinic to customize templates as per their specialty, at the same time multiple providers can access a single chart at once. In case of a Specialty Provider, the system allows the sharing of charts among providers and staff across multiple locations. OmniMD Medical Billing System can electronically track claim status, payments and work flow of the billing team. OmniMD Patient Portal allows patients to register on-line, update and view their information, request an appointment, order an Rx refill and view lab reports.

About Walker Family Medicine
The Walker Family Medicine (WFM) team has worked together for over five years while serving the Willcox community. They are committed to providing patient-centered care in order to maintain their community's health. WFM provides routine healthcare for children, including immunizations. WFM also has associations with pediatric specialists. WFM provides routine women's healthcare. This care includes annual gynecological exams, family planning, pre -and post- menopausal counseling and treatment.

WFM has Urgent Care services. The clinic is available to care for patients basic urgent healthcare needs, such as simple lacerations, sprains, fracture diagnosis and care. They are associated with Charles Leighton Hospice and they provide referrals when appropriate. For more information, please visit www.walkerfamilymedicine.com

About OmniMD
OmniMD is a division of Integrated Systems Management, Inc. (ISM), a leader in software development, system integration, business and technology consulting for fortune 500 companies since 1989.

OmniMD integrated Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Practice Management (PMS) product and services, offers unparalleled reliability, ease-of-use, efficiency, and customizability. The solution is a HIPPA compliant, web-enabled and support device, which can range from tablet PCs, handhelds to desktop computers. The solution is SureScripts Certified, which also provides real-time alerts for drug-drug, drug allergy and other interactions based on a patients EMR. The solution captures complete documentation such as HPI, ROS and Physical Exams, Assessment & Plan to complete patient visits. The system follows HL7 standards for information sharing and integration across practices and hospitals. The solution is secured by Thawte, which uses 128bit encryption and digital certificates to ensure complete data security. OmniMD received a 5-star rating in the AC Group survey in 2006. For more information, please visit Medical Billing Services.

EHRs can be used to test efficacy of treatments

PHILADELPHIA, PA � For years controversy has surrounded whether electronic medical records (EMR) would lead to increased patient safety, cut medical errors, and reduce healthcare costs. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered a way to get another bonus from the implementation of electronic medical records: testing the efficacy of treatments for disease.

In the first study of its kind, Richard Tannen, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, led a team of researchers to find out if patient data, as captured by EMR databases, could be used to obtain vital information as effectively as randomized clinical trials, when evaluating drug therapies. The study appeared online last week in the British Medical Journal.

�Our findings show that if you do studies using EMR databases and you conduct analyses using new biostatistical methods we developed, we get results that are valid,� Tannen says. �That�s the real message of our paper � this can work.�

In January 2009, President Barack Obama unveiled plans to implement electronic medical records nationwide within five years, arguing that such a plan was crucial in the fight against rising health care costs. Of the nearly $900 billion in Obama�s planned stimulus package currently before the United States Senate, $20 billion is proposed for electronic health records.

Tannen says he and his group recognized that the large EMR databases containing compiled medical information could potentially give researchers the ability to study groups reflective of the total population, not just those who participate in clinical trials, and circumvent studies too costly or unethical for clinical trials. However, such databases contain observational information, which critics argue do not offer the same level of control as randomized trials.

�Our study cautiously, yet strongly, suggests that enormous amounts of information within electronic medical records can be used to expand evidence of how we should or shouldn�t manage

healthcare,� Tannen says.

To address criticisms of observational studies, Tannen�s group had to first determine a way to use EMR databases for insights on therapy efficacy and then prove the results they found were valid.

Beginning six years ago, Tannen�s team selected six previously performed randomized trials with 17 measured outcomes and compared them to study data from an electronic database � the UK general practice research database (GPRD), which included the medical records of roughly 8 million patients. Treatment efficacy was determined by the prevalence of cardiovascular outcomes, such as stroke, heart attack and death.

After using standard biostatistical methods to adjust for differences in the treated and untreated groups in the analysis of the database information, Tannen found that there were no differences in the database outcomes compared to randomized clinical trials in nine out of 17 outcomes.

In the other eight outcomes, Tannen�s group used an additional new biostatistical approach they discovered that controlled for differences between the treated and untreated groups prior to the time the study began. By using the new biostatistical method instead of the standard approach, the researchers showed there were no differences between the outcomes in the EMR database study compared to the randomized clinical trials.

Though Tannen warns the ability to use EMR databases from the United States to measure the efficacy of therapies will take more than 10 years of national data, he says the results of his study should serve as a catalyst for more researchers to explore the accuracy of the information that can be obtained using EMR database studies.

�An appropriately configured EMR database could offer an invaluable tool, but we need to get to work now on how to configure it properly,� Tannen says. �If we don�t worry about this issue right now and promote a higher investment in the area of EMR research, we�ll lose an opportunity, an enormous health opportunity.�

Medical Billing | Medical Transcription | Medical Billing and Coding | Transcription Services

OmniMD EMR Receives SureScripts®’s Certification for Electronic Prescribing

CCHIT Certified OmniMD ™ , a developer of HIPAA compliant Internet-based enterprise healthcare , Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Practice Management solutions, is pleased to announce its certification by SureScripts®, operator of the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange™. SureScripts ® 's certification allows for interoperability with the nation's community pharmacies , which improves the safety and efficiency of the prescribing process and the quality of patient care. Physicians using Omni MD 's EMR application can now connect directly with local pharmacies connected to the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange, operated by SureScripts ® .

Starting 2009, providers will be able to earn additional money from Medicare if they use electronic prescribing systems, U.S. health officials said Monday.

The bonus program, which will continue for four years, is designed to streamline the prescription process and cut down on errors. In 2009 and 2010, Medicare will give doctors an additional 2 percent bonus on top of their fee for "e-prescribing." In 2011 and 2012, the bonus will drop to 1 percent, and in 2013, the bonus will drop again to 0.5 percent, officials said.

"There are terrific human and financial costs to illegible prescriptions," Mike Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said during a Monday afternoon teleconference.

According to the Institute of Medicine , 1.5 million Americans are injured every year by drug errors, Leavitt said. Another study found that each year pharmacists make more than 150 million phone calls to doctors to clarify what was written on the prescription, he added.

"We are dedicated to providing solutions that improve the efficiency of medical practices and the quality of patient care. Omni MD 's Prescription Writer already has a functionality to check for drug interactions, print patient medication sheets, create favorite prescriptions and check prescription coverage at the point of care. Surescripts ® electronic prescribing will certainly improve the efficiency, safety and overall quality of the prescribing process for our customers. “ said Divan Dave, CEO , Omni MD ™ .

This certification will allow providers to establish a two-way computer-to-computer connection with the majority of pharmacies in their area. Using this connection, providers can send prescriptions electronically to the patient's pharmacy of choice before the patient leaves the provider's office. Patients will no longer need to worry about losing paper prescriptions or pharmacies having to call offices to verify illegible prescriptions. When a patient needs a prescription refilled, a pharmacy will be able to send the request to the provider's office electronically, eliminating the need for time consuming phone calls and faxes. This will also reduce potential errors with prescriptions due to misread handwriting.

About SureScripts®

Founded by the pharmacy industry in 2001, SureScripts® operates the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange™, which facilitates the secure electronic transmission of prescription information between physicians and pharmacists . This also provides access to lifesaving information about patients during emergencies or routine care. Working collaboratively with health plans, health systems, technology vendors and health policy leaders, SureScripts ® is committed to improving the safety, efficiency, and quality of the prescribing process.

More information about SureScripts ® is available at www.surescripts.com .

About Omni MD ™

CCHIT Certified Omni MD ™ is a developer of HIPAA compliant Internet-based enterprise healthcare practice solutions, designed to fully automate the work-flow of contemporary healthcare organizations. The company is a division of Integrated Systems Management, Inc. – ISM- ( www.ismnet.com ) a leader in Internet consulting and e-business development since 1989 .

Omni MD ™ 's suite of products and services empowers hundreds of clinics with the ability to efficiently automate and manage clinical processes and patient information electronically. With its comprehensive and flexible product modules, the suite allows you to choose a customized solution that grows with your practice needs and electronic readiness over a period of time. For additional information, please visit www.omnimd.com

Media Contact ( Omni MD ™ )


pr@omnimd.com



Omni MD ™

303 South Broadway, Suite 101

Tarrytown , NY 10591

Ph: 914-332-5590


Fax: 914-332-5766

Electronic Medical Records

Copyright © 2008. Omni MD ™ . All Rights Reserved.

Omni MD ™ is a trademark of Integrated Systems Management

EMR - Features & Benefits

The OmniMD^™ Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Software automates and simplifies the patient record documentation, storage and retrieval process.

For more details on OmniMD EMR Features & benefites, Kindly visit:

http://www.omnimd.com/overview/Index.htm

Medical Billing System

The OmniMD Medical Billing system allows the practice to manage all patient billing and accounting seamlessly and efficiently. It is fully integrated with the EMR, appointment system and charge capture. Taking advantage of the information flow, it allows quick and easy billing while ensuring a high degree of accuracy and traceability.

Integrating Medical Billing with EMR

Doctors work in a competitive and changing environment. Consumers are more demanding, regulations are more stringent, costs are rising and government reimbursement is constrained. On the other hand, increased use of IT tools has revolutionized the profession by enabling efficiency in the practice workflow. There remains the problem, however, of gaps between the medical practice, its back-end systems and the physicians.

The primary concerns for a medical practice are:

• Documentation

• Revenue

• Increasing Overhead

A medical billing service is a doctor's key to getting paid. Although the medical profession is adopting various systems to streamline workflow, most doctors are still finding it difficult to get paid fairly and quickly.

In addition, insurance companies regularly change their medical review policies with respect to claim payments. Rejected claims due to non-compliance or submission errors result in a decrease in reimbursement and, hence, revenue.

It is essential that the practice be well organized and control its practice management processes efficiently to ensure profitability. It is important for the practice to recognize and address the various bottlenecks present in its workflow and information management. The need is to streamline workflow and documentation, improving communication and reducing wasted time and resources associated with patient visits.

Integrating Medical Billing with EMR

With the increasing acceptance of EMR by physicians, it is essential that they adopt a system that automates the entire billing process – starting from point-of-care through reimbursement by the payer. Information technology has provided the tools required to efficiently manage a practice.

To date, there is a tendency to have multiple systems carry out the different operations of a practice – EMR for clinical documentation, practice management for billing and financial administration, document management for patient reports, appointment scheduler for appointments and so on. Therefore, integration of such islands of data is essential to get the maximum benefit of technology. This will ultimately increase the efficiency of the billing process, leading to an increase in cash flow by creating an end-to-end solution that ties together the entire physician office from scheduling to treatment and finally, to billing.

Advantages of Integration

· Easy to Use and Easy to Manage

Once a patient record is entered in the EMR, the information is automatically shared with the billing system. Redundant entries are automatically eliminated because access to all patients' demographic and insurance information is quickly distributed from one central point to other modules. Procedure codes, diagnosis codes and other information added just once during treatment are made available for billing. Super bills with procedure and diagnostic codes are transferred to the billing system and can be used to generate and send claims.

· Improve Cash Flow and Collections

Physicians can quickly and easily select the proper procedures and diagnoses and create electronic super bills right at the point-of-care. While capturing the charge, the software checks the accuracy of the CPT and ICD codes to ensure wrong charges are not sent to the insurance company. Some systems come with an E&M wizard for capturing appropriate level of coding. This creates complete ‘super bills' with the right coding. As a result of direct integration, with all the required fields filled out correctly, the practice is able to get claims out in just a few minutes, instead of the usual day or two.

· Practice and Patient Reporting

Integration of the billing system with EMR helps in generating customized reports. Easy access to all supporting documents/reports required for claim processing helps in managing the entire process in a far more effective way - compared to a stand-alone billing system. Also in case of audits, complete patient charts and documentation is available for verification.

· Online Insurance Eligibility Check

Some EMR providers also offer the facility of instant online check for insurance eligibility to verify a patient's medical benefits. This information provides assurance that the insurance record on file is current before services are delivered. The feature streamlines the patient registration process - claims are sent to the right insurance carrier, thereby decreasing the number of rejected claims, fewer days in AR (accounts receivable) and ultimately resulting in increased revenue.

All these advantages lead to an increase in revenue generation in much less time compared to any other conventional method used for medical billing. Integrating billing with EMR reduces the large amount of associated paperwork, the problem of collecting from non-paying patients and the overall collection costs. Streamlining practice workflow in this way will enhance productivity, efficiency and quality of care.

Integrating Medical Billing with EMR

Author: Divan Da've

Doctors work in a competitive and changing environment. Consumers are more demanding, regulations are more stringent, costs are rising and government reimbursement is constrained. On the other hand, increased use of IT tools has revolutionized the profession by enabling efficiency in the practice workflow. There remains the problem, however, of gaps between the medical practice, its back-end systems and the physicians.

The primary concerns for a medical practice are:

• Documentation

• Revenue

• Increasing Overhead

A medical billing service is a doctor's key to getting paid.  Although the medical profession is adopting various systems to streamline workflow, most doctors are still finding it difficult to get paid fairly and quickly.

In addition, insurance companies regularly change their medical review policies with respect to claim payments. Rejected claims due to non-compliance or submission errors result in a decrease in reimbursement and, hence, revenue.

It is essential that the practice be well organized and control its practice management processes efficiently to ensure profitability. It is important for the practice to recognize and address the various bottlenecks present in its workflow and information management. The need is to streamline workflow and documentation, improving communication and reducing wasted time and resources associated with patient visits.

Integrating Medical Billing with EMR

With the increasing acceptance of EMR by physicians, it is essential that they adopt a system that automates the entire billing process – starting from point-of-care through reimbursement by the payer. Information technology has provided the tools required to efficiently manage a practice.

To date, there is a tendency to have multiple systems carry out the different operations of a practice – EMR for clinical documentation, practice management for billing and financial administration, document management for patient reports, appointment scheduler for appointments and so on. Therefore, integration of such islands of data is essential to get the maximum benefit of technology. This will ultimately increase the efficiency of the billing process, leading to an increase in cash flow by creating an end-to-end solution that ties together the entire physician office from scheduling to treatment and finally, to billing.

Advantages of Integration

·  Easy to Use and Easy to Manage

Once a patient record is entered in the EMR, the information is automatically shared with the billing system. Redundant entries are automatically eliminated because access to all patients' demographic and insurance information is quickly distributed from one central point to other modules. Procedure codes, diagnosis codes and other information added just once during treatment are made available for billing. Super bills with procedure and diagnostic codes are transferred to the billing system and can be used to generate and send claims.

·  Improve Cash Flow and Collections

Physicians can quickly and easily select the proper procedures and diagnoses and create electronic super bills right at the point-of-care. While capturing the charge, the software checks the accuracy of the CPT and ICD codes to ensure wrong charges are not sent to the insurance company. Some systems come with an E&M wizard for capturing appropriate level of coding. This creates complete ‘super bills' with the right coding. As a result of direct integration, with all the required fields filled out correctly, the practice is able to get claims out in just a few minutes, instead of the usual day or two.

·  Practice and Patient Reporting

Integration of the billing system with EMR helps in generating customized reports. Easy access to all supporting documents/reports required for claim processing helps in managing the entire process in a far more effective way - compared to a stand-alone billing system. Also in case of audits, complete patient charts and documentation is available for verification. 

·  Online Insurance Eligibility Check

Some EMR providers also offer the facility of instant online check for insurance eligibility to verify a patient's medical benefits. This information provides assurance that the insurance record on file is current before services are delivered. The feature streamlines the patient registration process - claims are sent to the right insurance carrier, thereby decreasing the number of rejected claims, fewer days in AR (accounts receivable) and ultimately resulting in increased revenue.

All these advantages lead to an increase in revenue generation in much less time compared to any other conventional method used for medical billing. Integrating billing with EMR reduces the large amount of associated paperwork, the problem of collecting from non-paying patients and the overall collection costs.  Streamlining practice workflow in this way will enhance productivity, efficiency and quality of care.

NJHIMA 2008 Annual Meeting

Omni MD ™ showcases its Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Medical Transcription, Practice Management, Patient Portal and Document Management Solutions at New Jersey Health Information Association (NJHIMA) 2008 Annual Meeting. Omni MD ™ ( www.omnimd.com ), a leading developer of CCHIT Certified and HIPAA compliant healthcare practice solutions, presented its new version of its Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Medical Transcription, Practice Management, Patient Portal and Document Management Solutions at New Jersey Health Information Association (NJHIMA) 2008 Annual Meeting held on June 19and 20, 2008 at the Bally's Atlantic City in Atlantic City, NJ. Electronic Medical Records, Practice Management, Medical Transcription, Document Management and Conversion, Patient Reminder and Patient Portal was highlighted at the event. New Jersey Health Information Association (NJHIMA) 2008 Annual Meeting ( http://njhima.org/AnnualMeetingHome.htm ) is New Jersey's largest meeting of Hospitals and Practices. With over 55 exhibitors showcasing their products or services, the event was an ideal platform for Hospitals and Physicians to network with peers, experts and vendors while exploring the benefits of the most innovative health information technologies. Divan Da've, CEO, Omni MD ™ says "The aim at NJHIMA 2008 Annual Meeting was to showcase Omni MD ™ Integrated EMR and Practice Management, and highlight its strong customization and point and click features. We also used this opportunity to present an overview of our integrated services such as medical transcriptions, patient portal, patient reminder and document management to private practices and hospitals." The CCHIT certified Omni MD ™ Electronic Medical Records Software (EMR) addresses the vast information needs of practices and hospitals. The EMR system also includes specific ICD codes and CPT Codes that are used to capture accurate charges and quickly generate electronic superbill at the point of care. Omni MD ™ solution is HIPAA complaint and it can be fully integrated with billing, practice management and other HL7 compliant software. To meet specific practice needs, Omni MD ™ offers customizable point­ and ­click templates and it can also accommodate specialty forms and templates that are currently being used by the physicians. Attendees were able to experience the product first hand and learn more about how EMR can improve their practice workflow and patient care by migrating from paper ­based health records to EHR systems. Omni MD ™ offers specialty EMR software for Cardiology, Dermatology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Neurology, OB/GYN, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Urology, Pain Management, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Pulmonology. Omni MD ™ 's Electronic Medical Records (EMR) suite comprises of Appointment Scheduler, Patient Reminder, Online Eligibility Check, Charge Capture, Prescription Writer, Specialty EMR, Point and click, Referral Management, Document Management, Lab Interface, Patient Education, Medical Transcription, Integrated Medical Billing Services and Practice Web Site. Omni MD ™ EMR Suite is a fully integrated solution for a physician who is looking to automate practice workflow without worrying about operating on different systems and platforms or implementing technology in patches.

EMR, Transcription, Special EMR, EHR, Electronic Health Record

Medical Transcription in the Era of Electronic Medical Records.

EMR has revolutionized the healthcare industry in recent times. Many experts felt that EMR & Voice Recognition would totally replace Medical Transcription - however; the industry soon realized that transcription has certain advantages over point & click charting and many physicians preferred to dictate notes rather than document the data at the point of care themselves.

The most critical part of any Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is the method of data entry. EMR is about aggregation of patient encounter data at the point of care in order to provide a complete, accurate, and timely view of patient information. An electronic medical record is not just a typed record of the patient encounter, but an extremely useful decision support tool. The data can be entered into the EMR via any of the two general mechanisms: direct entry by the physician using point and click templates or transcription of dictated notes. Point and click template indicates that each data element, which is to be inserted, requires selection, navigation, point and click process for capturing patient information.

Transcriptions have been around for years for documenting patient encounters. A medical provider dictates the medical note into a phone or a recording device. The transcriptionist receives the dictation and transcribes it. It may be reviewed by the supervisor for checking errors. The final computerized file is then either emailed directly to the healthcare provider or the file is transferred to a web site and is later downloaded by the provider.

Each method has its pros and cons.
Point and Click Templates

Most EMR systems allow providers to generate clinical documentation, by selecting variable terms from pre-structured point-and-click templates. Users simply point and click to select appropriate choices from lists of choices to record a patient encounter. The end result would be a document that closely resembles a transcribed procedure note.

Advantages

• Completely customizable templates. The doctor can specify the layout of the template, which helps him to adjust the template as per his practice & procedure.
• Provide consistent, complete and accurate data. The chances of medical errors are reduced since the data is documented in customised forms.
• Provide consistent, complete and accurate data. The chances of medical errors are reduced since the data is documented in customised forms.
• Store / organize data for subsequent retrieval.
• Each click adds data elements to the database. Point-and-click systems create data that can be used to generate clinically useful reports, such as health maintenance reminders, disease management etc.
• One of the major advantages of template based charting is the time needed to make the document available as a medical record. Since notes are created within the EMR, they are available immediately upon completion.

Disadvantages

• It takes more time, and definitely more concentration for a physician to navigate through large data set and create progress notes using point and click templates.
• Templates must be customized as per the physician's requirement. Customization can be inflexible and costly.
• Well accepted by only tech-savvy doctors.
• The approach of direct data entry by the physician has generally failed because busy providers reject it altogether.
• Output from these templates is too canned and identical. It loses individuality for each patient.
• It is difficult for a provider to capture complete patient encounter on computer in front of a patient.

Medical Transcription

Transcription has long been the standard for documenting patient encounters. It is more convenient for a provider as compared to handwritten notes or electronic data entry. There are many advantages of transcription in comparison to point and click charting. There are a few disadvantages as well.

Advantages

• Corresponds intuitively to the physician's usual method of working. Dictation remains the most intuitive and least time-consuming means of data entry.
• Physicians can dictate anytime, anywhere using PDA, Dictaphone or telephone at their convenience.
• Providers need not change the way they practice just to accommodate an EMR. EMR can interact with transcription service so that transcriptions can be attached directly into the patient's electronic medical record, if such a facility is provided by the EMR vendor.
• Provides expressive power to describe patient's condition and other health related events.

Disadvantages

• Details of the exam can easily be forgotten and omitted while dictating, if dictation is not captured immediately at the point of care
• It cannot be queried for generating reports unless transcribed in pre-formatted templates
• Transcribed reports are not immediately accessible. Physicians would normally have to wait for 12 to 24 hours for charts to be delivered, unless few vendors supporting 2-4 hours short turn around time.
• Transcription provides for more efficient use of doctor's time.
• Although average transcribed report costs $2 to $4, it can reduce the doctor's time spent on data entry. Considering the value of doctor's time, transcription is not a costly proposition.
EMR should give the freedom to the physician to decide to use either Point & Click or Medical Transcription. For a physician, the EMR that fits into his practice workflow would be invaluable. A competent EMR must have a template driven charting feature and the ability to interact with a transcription service at the same time. Both are indispensable features of Electronic Medical Record Software, as doctors are not unanimous on point and click charting or transcription. Such an EMR will be both efficient and cost effective.
The trends in transcription itself are changing with Medical Transcription service providers aiming to adopt new technologies. These technologies will evolve to increase efficiency & accuracy, decrease turnaround time and support data capture. While many of these technologies like such as digital dictation and electronic signature exist today, several technologies are still on the horizon.