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Small Clinics are Big Believers in I.T.
January 2006
Nothing succeeds like success, the old saying goes, and nowhere is that more apparent than when small clinics find information technology tools that make a difference.
Ob/Gyn Associates of Northwest Alabama PC has just such a story to tell. In late 1999, the Florence-based clinic rolled out electronic medical records and practice management systems in a span of five months.
The fact that all nine physicians and three nurse practitioners were using the technology by early 2000 testifies to the clinic's determination, but there was more to come, says Charlie Lathram, president and CEO.
Fast-forward to 2006 and the clinic has added more tools, such as wireless technology, and developed a management services organization that offers the records system to its group practice clients via the application service provider computing model.
Combined effects of the practice management and electronic records systems, from Raleigh, N.C.-based Misys Healthcare Systems Inc., were a gradual reduction of 12 medical records staff to four. And revenue is up.
"Each physician is seeing 10% to 20% more patients, but clinical staff overtime is down more than 70%," Lathram notes. "I can't begin to quantify what coding correctly has done for me. Code levels used to be 2 and 3. Now most are at levels 3 and 4, and we're meeting all guidelines for evaluation and management coding."
Ob/Gyn Associates of Northwest Alabama is among a growing list of small clinic converts that have seen the light in terms of using I.T. to make their facilities run more effectively. Few small clinics have evolved into ASPs, but many are taking advantage of technology tools to counter rising operating costs and sinking reimbursements, experts say.
"Smaller clinics realize it's important to stay abreast of technology for a more efficient workplace and to improve the way they present themselves to patients," says Jeff Wasserman, director of physician practice services at Hayes Management Consulting, Newton Center, Mass.
Small clinics, ranging in size up to 10 physicians, are sustaining I.T. momentum initiated two to three years ago, he adds.
A recent study by the Medical Group Management Association Center for Research and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health shows 20.7% of practices with five or fewer full-time physicians have fully implemented electronic medical records or are in the process. A report on the study, titled "Assessing Adoption of Health Information Technology," shows that 25.4% of practices with six to 10 physicians are at the same levels of implementation. More than 3,300 medical groups participated in the survey, which was published in September.
The numbers of in-place, in-progress and planned implementations for smaller providers generally are in line with those for practices of all sizes. The most glaring difference is among smaller provider organizations with no plans to implement electronic records systems in the next two years.
Nearly half of all medical groups with five or fewer doctors say they have no plans to do so; about 37% of groups with six to 10 physicians are of like mind. In other words, smaller practices have far to go.
Technology improves
Still, small clinics are deploying a wide array of I.T. tools. Among the most common are revenue-based applications, such as PDA-based charge capture, coding and billing software that help streamline the business side of a clinic's operations. "Some vendors have made great strides in the past 18 months," Wasserman says.
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