“Physician, health thyself.” Many doctors, dentists and other medical providers across the U.S. are guilty of neglecting a very sick patient on their own premises — their own clinic’s record-keeping and billing systems. This is a serious problem that needs correcting, and soon. Going without proper electronic medical billing and electronic medical records (EMRs) will not only end up costing you money sooner than you may realize, but it also leaves you vulnerable to security breaches that may threaten patient confidentiality.
It’s understandable that many medical facilities have fallen behind in their conversion to electronic records and updates to whatever industry-specific software they already have. The recent economic meltdown has added to the already heavy burden of running practically any kind of medical business, on top of the heavy malpractice insurance and other expenses practitioners must budget for just to stay in the game. That means there are a lot of offices out there that are still either running on paper files or using electronic systems so antiquated that aren’t even compatible with modern software. But time is running out. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 states that medical providers must adopt an EMR system by 2015 or sacrifice a percentage of their incoming Medicare payments. So while investing in a modern record-keeping system costs money, not investing could cost a lot more.
Updating your network’s security, if it hasn’t been done recently, is also a must for ensuring HIPAA compliance. Insecure networks can be hacked, and the resulting loss of patient confidentiality could put your facility at risk for lawsuits and financial penalties. Again, you can’t afford not to upgrade your systems — now! But don’t panic; just contact CEC and let us help your business achieve a clean bill of health.
