Tag Archives: medicare

Seven Ways In Which Artificial Intelligence Is Impacting The Healthcare Industry

Artificial Intelligence or AI has accelerated the growth in various industries. The growth has been pretty quick and sometimes, totally unpredictable. So, what is AI?

AI is a combination of various technologies that imitate human intelligence. It is an essential part of the technology industry. The core concepts of AI include programming computers for certain human traits like:

  • Knowledge
  • Reasoning
  • Problem solving
  • Perception
  • Learning
  • Planning
  • Ability to manipulate and move objects

Artificial Intelligence in healthcare

Artificial Intelligence has impacted modern healthcare industry to a great extent. With the application of AI, there has been tremendous changes in the way patients are treated by doctors.

AI can be applied to both ordinate and inordinate data, with techniques including machine learning and natural language processing. Nurses and doctors are adopting technology to

  • Reduce manual work
  • Provide more accurate service
  • Give impact interventions to patients

AI helps reduce the repetitive manual work and human intervention in data analysis. A good example of this is predictive diagnosis through which medical condition possibilities can be diagnosed by monitoring the vital stats and other necessary parameters. This helps providers prepare and provide necessary proactive care as foreseen by AI systems. The predictive possibilities of AI transcends to patient experience as well. Using chatbots and AI for responses to patients reduces the burden on manual intervention for scheduling appointments, responding to common queries on the website/chatbot/sms/apps, analyzing x-ray and basic scans and much more. This can help enhance patient experience with quick response times and avoid unnecessary hospital visits.

Medication management to ensure patients are taking medicine on time and prescribing medicine according to progress is also possible with artificial intelligence and this avoids repetitive human tasks.

The promise of AI in the matters of health, including that of life and death critical issues is highly impressive.

Impacts of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare industry

The following are the top seven impacts in the healthcare industry that are most likely to happen with the advent of artificial intelligence within the next decade.

  • Reducing the burden of EHR usage – EHRs are instrumental in the healthcare industry’s journey towards digitization. But the switch brought problems such as cognitive overload, endless documentation, and user burnout. EHR developers are now adopting AI for creating intuitive interfaces and automating some routine processes. Artificial intelligence may also help to process routine requests from the inbox, like medication refills and result notifications. It may also help to prioritize tasks that truly require the clinician’s attention making it easier for users to work through their to-do lists.
  • Operating mind and machine through brain-computer interfaces – AI can create direct interfaces between technology and the human mind without the need for keyboards, mice, and monitors. It is a cutting-edge area of research that has significant applications for some patients. Neurological diseases and nervous system trauma can affect abilities to speak, move, and interact meaningfully with people and their environments.  Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) backed by AI could restore those fundamental experiences to those who feared them lost forever. Brain-computer interfaces could drastically improve quality of life for patients with ALS, strokes, or locked-in syndrome, as well as the 500,000 people worldwide who experience spinal cord injuries every year.
  • Inventing cutting-edge radiology tools – MRI machines, CT scanners, and x-rays produce radiology images that offer non-invasive visibility into the inner workings of the human body.  But many diagnostic processes still rely on physical tissue samples obtained through biopsies, which carry risks including the potential for infection. AI will enable the next generation of radiology tools that are accurate and detailed enough to replace the need for tissue samples in some cases, experts predict.
  • Improving care accessibility to underserved and developing regions – There is severe shortages of trained healthcare providers like including ultrasound technicians and radiologists. This significantly limits access to life-saving care in developing nations around the world. AI could lessen the impacts of severe deficit of qualified clinical staff by taking over some of the diagnostic duties allocated to humans.
  • Building intelligent medical devices and machines – Smart devices are taking over the consumer environment, ranging from offering real-time video from the inside of a refrigerator to cars that can detect when the driver is distracted. In the medical environment, smart devices are critical for monitoring patients in the ICU and elsewhere.  Using artificial intelligence to enhance the ability to identify deterioration, suggest that sepsis is taking hold, or sense the development of complications can significantly improve outcomes and may reduce costs related to hospital-acquired condition penalties.
  • Monitoring health through wearable and personal devices – Almost all patients now have access to devices with sensors that can collect valuable data about their health.  From smartphones with step trackers to wearable that can track a heartbeat around the clock, a growing proportion of health-related data is generated on the go. Collecting and analyzing such data and supplementing the same with patient-provided information (through apps and other home monitoring devices) can offer a unique perspective into individual and population health. Artificial intelligence will play a significant role in extracting actionable insights from this large trove of data.
  • Robotic assistance – Patients might not be comfortable with robots performing a surgery on them. How about combining the skills of a competent surgeon and the technical brilliance of a robot? That makes for a surgery with impressive levels of precision, steadiness and accuracy. And when we have AI guiding the hand of the surgeon through the help of robots, it opens the doors to extremely high levels of precision, and better patient outcomes. The AI assistant can provide patient’s past and present health details and give suggestions that would help in the diagnosis. Surgical bots use computer vision to perform surgeries after accurately calculating human body measurements. When a surgeon performs a complex surgery, AI can provide real time data that helps in identifying and reducing risk, and improving quality. Highly precise movements are made the robot hands so any tremors in the surgeon’s hands will be neutralized completely, enabling the progress and success of micro surgeries.

Benefits of Incorporating AI in Healthcare

Healthcare is definitely improving through AI. Patients and medical practitioners experience the following benefits,

  • Predictive medical care – Predictive healthcare will lead to an evolving treatment model wherein the patient data is reviewed constantly to check for any anomalies, followed by suggestions of medical intervention.
  • Personalized medication – AI makes it possible for patients to have personalized care based on their body constitution and past medical history.
  • Better diagnosis – Fast research and cross-referencing of data leads to better diagnosis of diseases
  • Advanced treatment plans – New treatment methods are generated and introduced, including robotic surgery, cell biology, stem therapy, genomics and proteomics.
  • Lower liability for hospital – Continuous monitoring of patients would ensure timely care and treatment and even reduced hospital stay.
  • Cost savings for patient and medical care provider – AI can make healthcare both efficient and affordable as it helps in
    • Guiding treatment choice
    • Making more efficient diagnosis
    • Helping patients make better decisions regarding their health
    • Taking important decisions in drug development.

The healthcare industry is evolving with Artificial Intelligence. It has a great impact on the role of doctors and patients. There are some challenges like managing and integrating large data sets that need addressing, but the benefits outweigh them, and AI is here to grow and expand. AI will change every medical word – in diagnosis, in treatment, in disease detection, in treatment disciplines and more.

Reference

https://www.cabotsolutions.com/revolutionizing-modern-healthcare-with-internet-of-things

https://healthitanalytics.com/features/ehr-users-want-their-time-back-and-artificial-intelligence-can-help

https://healthitanalytics.com/features/what-is-the-role-of-natural-language-processing-in-healthcare

https://healthitanalytics.com/news/ai-for-imaging-analytics-intrigues-healthcare-orgs-yet-starts-slow

https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/mhealth-for-children-4-concepts-that-could-change-the-world

https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/mhealth-wearables-ai-used-to-detect-diabetes-in-ones-heart-rate

All You Need To Know About Insurance Prior Authorizations In Healthcare

Insurance Pre-authorization in healthcare

Prior authorization is the talk of the healthcare industry since the increase in specializations in healthcare. Any healthcare process has its own pros and cons. Prior authorization is no exception to that. A Health Insurance Company must verify if the patient is eligible for an insurance for a certain drug or procedure. Before the physician prescribes it to the patient, it is a common practice to parallely check for authorization from an insurance company. 

Current Healthcare Insurance Prior Authorization (PA)  Workflow

  1. The physician recommends a lab test – A patient visits a physician complaining of leg pain. The physician suggests the patient get an X-ray to know what is causing the pain.
  2. The lab receives the order – The lab receives the request for the test and initiates the process of prior authorization.
  3. Lab conducts PA – A separate team is dedicated for PA in most of the labs. They check the PA requirements, health plans, etc. They retrieve patient-specific data like the history of medications, diagnosis done, etc
  4. Insurance agents review Prior Authorization – Lastly, the insurance agent reviews and validates the documents sent as a part of the PA process.

The ultimate aim of PA is to optimize patient outcomes by ensuring that they receive the appropriate medication thereby reducing

  • Wastage
  • Errors
  • Unnecessary prescriptions and drug use
  • Cost

Problems presented by the process of Insurance Prior Authorization

1. Time taking process for doctors – Physicians are dissatisfied with the time their staff has to spend interacting with health plans. When a procedure needs authorizing, it consumes a lot of admin time. It includes the time a physician spends persuading an insurance company to cover an expensive medication or a procedure. For most PA, physicians have to follow multiple steps. This involves

  • securing the correct form
  • filling it out with the required information
  • submitting the form to the plan

Physicians say that the overall process takes 30-45 minutes for each PA submission.

2. The cost involved in Prior Authorization – Though PA is the most talked about topic in the healthcare industry, little is known about its cost. In 2009, a study by Health Affairs estimated that on average, prior authorization requests consumed about 20 hours a week per medical practice

  • one hour of the doctor’s time
  • six hours of clerical time
  • 13 hours of nurses’ time

It further revealed that when the time is converted to dollars, practices spent an average of $68,274 per physician per year interacting with health plans. This equates to $23 billion and $31 billion annually! Prior authorization ultimately ends up costing the health care system more than it saves.

3. Patient delay – The real impact of PA is often felt by patients whose treatment is delayed. Nearly all physicians noted that wait times increased the delays in necessary care, which added to the risk of adverse events. According to AMA, a PA decision takes at least one business day for 64% of physicians and 3 or more business days for the rest. During this time, patients are unable to start treatment. These long wait times have a negative impact on patient experience and patient care.

4. Management of Prior Authorization – The management of PA can sometimes be difficult to manage. This is because the requirements can vary widely from one insurer to another. Each one has a different process for submitting prior authorization requests. The process cannot be standardized at times and must be done manually. This will of drain resources and time if this is already limited.

How can the Insurance Prior Authorization process be improved?

Healthcare Insurance Prior Authorization is a necessary step in many practices. But the current process is all too often manual and involves a cumbersome workflow. It may result in delays in treatment and dissatisfaction for patients and medical practitioners. As a result, many are implementing electronic prior authorization solutions to address common issues with the approvals process.

HealthViewX Referral Management solution makes the referral workflow easy for the practices. It has the following features that make the process of Prior Authorization simpler.

  1. EMR/EHR integration – Our System integrates directly with electronic health records (EHRs). This enables healthcare professionals to easily obtain prior authorizations in real time at the point of care. It also eliminates time-consuming paper forms, faxes, and phone calls.
  2. Timeline View – Both the center and the PCP can view the timeline data of the patient in which the referral history is present. Documents and notes can be attached anytime for one another’s reference.
  3. To and fro Communication – At any time of the referral process, the PCP and the center can communicate with the help of the inbuilt secure messaging and voice call applications.
  4. Referral Data Consolidation – It has options for printing the consolidated data about the referrals and the referral history of any patient as a hard copy at any time in pdf/excel.
  5. Secure Data Management – HealthViewX Patient Referral Management is HIPAA compliant. It manages all patient-related documents securely.
  6. Referral Analytics – Helps in tracking the number of referrals and gives complete information about the referrals processed, missed, scheduled etc with the help of a Referral Data-centric Dashboard.

HealthViewX Patient Referral Management solution helps practices in managing their prior authorization process and saves their time and money. Are you a practice looking to ease your prior authorization process? To know about HealthViewX Patient Referral Management System in detail schedule a demo with our team.

HealthViewX Version 2 Is The Solution To The Challenges Faced By The Healthcare Industry

HealthViewX is excited to announce the launch of its all new version. HealthViewX 2.0 is advanced version of our healthcare product that has been,

  • Designed to suit any practice
  • Customized to meet the user requirements

What is HealthViewX?

HealthViewX is a care orchestration platform passionate about building a user-centric healthcare ecosystem. We aim at,

  • Improving patient and provider experience
  • Creating defined workflows
  • Raising the standard of care

We are at the forefront of enabling a collaborative platform for better care coordination & efficiency of care to enhance provider-patient relationship.

How does HealthViewX help?

The HealthViewX end-to-end Care Orchestration Platform guides healthcare organizations through its entire care journey by enabling data-driven decision support and providing real-time insights of patient reported data to promote better care delivery. The platform enables secure communication of patient information and remote monitoring of patient vitals to improve participation and create an interoperable ecosystem for care delivery. We provide three major solutions, they are,

What is exciting about HealthViewX 2.0 ?

In this period, healthcare industry is experiencing its most drastic changes in terms of technology. Every healthcare provider wants to give the best possible care to the patients in their network. So HealthViewX, a care-orchestration technology platform is focused on providing end-to-end healthcare lifecycle management. With enhanced technology, HealthViewX helps healthcare providers in,

  • adapting and evolving to meet the changing needs of the industry
  • providing the best quality care for its patients

Though HealthViewX has the right solutions for the pain points of the healthcare industry, customization was needed for each client. Through many discussions with our clients, we figured out that though many practices have similar challenges, each one had a unique workflow. Everytime we onboarded a new client, we had to modify the workflow to suit their needs. This was time-consuming and difficult. For eg: HealthViewX has a Chronic Care Management solution. One of our clients wanted to track all call logs within different ranges. Another one of our clients wanted to track only call logs with more than 60 minutes duration. This configuration was not easy as the components were static and not reusable.

This is when HealthViewX product experts wanted to make the product more reusable and dynamic. We realized that every practice had unique requirements and workflow. So we enhanced the product by making it a component-based with drag and drop workflow creation in minutes, simple user interface and real time plug & play usable components.

HealthViewX 2.0 features

HealthViewX solution has the following unique features,

  • Report and Analytical Engine – This helps the users in customizing the information they see on their dashboard and also the information they want to download as reports. Customizations mean the users can choose the format and what data or information they want to view. This information will be a great analytical tool for practices who can study such information and make changes accordingly in future to generate more revenue.
  • Module Engine – The users can now create and manage new modules (e.g. CCM, Billing module etc). Previously with version 1, module creation required more effort and time. Version 2 has made module engine so simple that it can be created by the users themselves.
  • UI Studio – The users can define the design and the layout of data on various modules and forms. This customization allows them to view the data in the way they want to.
  • Template & Form creation – This helps in creating and managing various forms in the platform (e.g. Prior-authorization form, Patient referral letter). For eg: In a prior authorization form, the user can design it with the information they need instead of using a standard form.
  • Integration Engine – This engine now enables setting up link between other systems (EHR, schedulers). The users can manage information on such systems easily with the help of this integration engine. Also it manages back and forth communication.
  • Communication component – It enables asynchronous Messaging, Fax, SMS, and Email. It enables the users to stay in touch always so that they don’t miss out on sensitive information.
  • Custom Workflows – The users can now create and update custom workflows that suit their practice.

HealthViewX solution is customizable and user-friendly. The above features are promising and solves most of the challenges in the healthcare industry. To know more about our solution, schedule a demo with us.

Streamline Your Patient Referral Workflow With HealthViewX Patient Referral Management Solution

Most healthcare providers are aware that referrals are critical, high-quality, and high-value demand generation channel. Did you know?

  • More than one-third of all patients seen are referred
  • Additionally, over 46% of faxed referrals never result in a patient visit
  • An estimated 50% of referring physicians never know if their patient was actually seen

But there are some mistakes every provider makes which can affect the revenue and the referral process to a great extent.

Common mistakes in healthcare referral programs

1. User Interface Design – Referral programs should be so simple to use that the physicians refer their patients without facing any issue. There are many constraints physicians face while initiating referrals. Some constraints include,

  • Sending referrals to receiving providers in the preferred channel
  • Poor website structure with little information about referrals
  • Handling paper-based forms of various templates for sending referrals 

These confusions cause a bitter experience to the referring physicians. The chances of PCPs referring to such specialists are less.  This will lead to the failure of the referral program.

2. Complicated referral process – A referral program should not impede the existing workflow. It should not require extensive hours for a person or group to manage the referral program. One of the major problems faced by referring physicians is that they have to manage multiple systems or software for initiating a referral. For eg: A referral coordinator must take the patient information from the EMR/EHR and then create a referral through fax, website or direct message. This complicates the process for the referring physicians.

3. Finding the right specialist/imaging center – The number of imaging centers and specialist practices is increasing day-by-day. The referring physician does not have the list of all such imaging centers and specialty practices. The chances of missing out on a good receiving provider are high. With a manual process in place, it takes a lot of time and effort for the referral coordinator to narrow down the referral coordinator’s search and find the right one.

4. Time- consuming referral process – As the referrals are handled manually, a referring coordinator spends about half-an-hour to one-hour for a creating referral on an average and even more time in following up the same.

5. No system to give referral updates –  After a referral is sent, both the referring and the receiving providers so not have easy access to updates. The referring and the receiving providers lose track of the referrals as it is difficult to coordinate manually for such referral updates. This results in open referral loops.

Monitor your patient referrals better with the HealthViewX solution

Referring physicians can address the referral workflow challenges and achieve a streamlined referral pipeline with the help of a software solution. HealthViewX Patient Referral Management solution enables creating a referral in three simple steps thus providing a successful referral program. After the referral is created, it can be tracked with help of the status. Both the referring and receiving providers will be notified of the appointments, test results, treatment recommendations, etc. HealthViewX can integrate with EMR/EHR and can also coordinate between the referring and the receiving sides. Any referral has a timeline view which is common to both the receiving and the referring providers. In the timeline view, history of the referral can be seen for eg: notes related to the patient’s health, previous status of the referral, etc. Documents attachment and status change can also be done at any time of the referral process. HealthViewX Patient Referral Management solution can always keep you updated on the progress of the referral thus simplifying the referral process and helps in closing the referral loop.

HealthViewX Patient Referral Management solution helps the referring provider to track the referral progress. Schedule a demo with us and our patient referral management experts will guide you through our HIPAA compliant solution.

How has HealthViewX added value to referring physicians’ patient referral problems?

1) Automating the insurance pre-authorization process

HealthViewX platform has a payer management module that maintains and manages

  • different payer details
  • their modes of prior authorization
  • direct authorization procedures
  • payer forms
  • online portal links

With this information already present, it provides the referral coordinator with the capability to automate

  • prior authorization submission
  • status checks coupled
  • fax integration

It simplifies the process of insurance pre-authorization. The referral coordinator need not waste time on the process anymore.

2) Intelligent Provider Match

Our “Smart Search” feature makes it easy for the referring provider in finding the right provider. It has smart filters and search options that help in narrowing down the specialist based on the requirements.

3) Establishing best practices

After using our HealthViewX Patient Referral Management System, physicians were automatically alerted to

  • Appointments
  • Referral status
  • Patient diagnostic reports
  • Referral completion

As a result, we can cut down on miscommunications and bridge the gaps between the specialist and the physician community. The system also assembles a patient encounter record from the EMR/EHR and pushes it directly to the physician.

4) Forming a close-knit of trusted referral receiving centers

Our system helps in strengthening ties with the medical community. From a history referral experiences the PCPs can from a close-knit of referral receiving providers. Physicians can refer now patients to hospitals they can rely on.

HealthViewX Patient Referral Management solution helps the referring physicians in handling and managing their referrals. Are you an inbound referral heavy practice looking for an end-to-end referral management solution? Schedule a demo with us. Our patient referral management experts will guide you through our HIPAA compliant solution.

 

References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3160594/

Attract And Retain Patients Within Your Network In Seven Simple Steps

Did you know? More than 80% of the patients rely on online reviews to evaluate patients. 8 out of 10 Americans internet users have researched topics including diseases, treatments, health insurance, a particular doctor or hospital. They do not go to the specialist just because they were referred to. Indeed patients spend a lot of time researching about the hospital and other options. Hospitals try to seek the attention of the patients through advertisements. But in this world of growing technology, ads through radios and billboards have become old-fashioned. So the hospitals are quite lost with the following questions in mind,

  • How can we reach our ideal patients at the right time with the right message?
  • How can we keep them happy and loyal?
  • If potential patients are no longer reacting to traditional advertising and promotional methods then what are they responding to?

It is through Patient Value Journey.

The way a patient chooses their health care provider shows what consumers want from a product or service. Below is the 7-step Patient Value Journey that can help practices turn patients into appointments and advocates of their practice.

The Patient Value Journey

Millions of Americans are embracing technology. From online search to wearables, they are transforming the patient journey at record-breaking speed. Google receives 63,000 searches per second on any given day and health care is the third most searched topic.

Considering the present reality, how can a practice drive more patient appointments both online and offline? The best marketing strategies begin and end with how a patient finds a practice and the process that flow after their first appointment.

1) Attaining Patient Awareness

A potential patient first becomes aware of the practice and its doctor(s) during the Patient Awareness Stage. Perhaps they have a health problem or concern, are researching a health condition and potential treatment.

In this early phase of the patient journey, the patient has a problem. The practice must present their solution while showing them what differentiates them from other practices. Potential patients can become aware of a practice in the following ways:

  • Seeing an advertisement
  • Finding the practice on social media
  • Receiving a referral from another doctor, friend or family member
  • Viewing the practice website as a search result on Google
  • Meeting at a health fair or community event

All these avenues present significant opportunities for a practice to reach potential patients both online and offline.

2) Patient Engagement

After becoming aware of the practice, a potential patient will take action to learn more of their doctor(s). After grabbing their attention, the practice must trigger them to interact with you or their social circles. Downloading a digital asset (white paper, checklist or eBook) from your practice website

There are numerous ways patients can engage with the practice including:

  • Searching specifically by name for the practice on Google
  • Visiting physician review sites to check their overall score
  • Sharing, commenting or liking one of their social media posts
  • Clicking on an ad or post that drives back to their website
  • Asking peers (online or offline) about their experience with the practice
  • Visiting the practice website

Digital marketing, social media, and website strategies are critical for bringing the patients to the subscription phase. When new visitors arrive at the practice’s website, it must impress the users in a few minutes. The site must have an eye-catching design, have killer content, and be easy to navigate. In addition to being desktop-friendly, the website must also be mobile-friendly.

3) Patient Subscription

In stage 3, potential patients will opt in to view or receive additional content from the practice. Here, a prospective patient likes what they have seen so far, but isn’t ready to commit to an appointment just yet. They are, however, seriously considering that practice for their health care needs.

What patient actions can the practice expect in this phase of the journey?

  • Joining an email list for the practice’s newsletter
  • “Liking” the page(s) on social media to receive updates in their newsfeed
  • RSVPing to attend a talk or seminar
  • Signing up for a webinar discussing a particular pain point or treatment option

There are several tactics a practice can employ to optimize patient subscriptions.

  • Keep blogs updated and post relevant content that readers can share across their social networks
  • Respond (ideally in real-time) to comments on their social media pages
  • Add social sharing buttons to their blog posts, newsletters, and general emails
  • Encourage readers to share their posts on their social media networks

4) Conversion

In the Conversion phase, the potential patient is satisfied with their research and is now ready to become a patient of the practice with a scheduled office visit. Upon entering the conversion stage, a patient will:

  • Book an appointment and schedule an office visit via the website or by phone
  • Set up a time for an in-office consultation about services
  • Not cancel the appointment

To ensure a patient’s smooth flow from subscription to conversion, the practice must make the transition easy for them.

If a potential patient spends precious minutes on the website trying to figure out how to contact or book an appointment, they’ll just give up in frustration. The site must make it easy for patients to schedule a visit on every single page.

5) Achieving Diagnosis and Treatment

In the diagnosis and treatment phase of the patient journey, the medical team diagnoses and prescribes treatment to the patient. The patient receives immediate value in the form of a diagnosis or treatment plan following the appointment.

Depending on the condition, the patient is under observation or conservative treatment over multiple visits and monitoring.

6) Ascension

As part of their journey, patients may or may not be prescribed additional treatments. It depends on their condition and their response to initial treatment(s) in the diagnosis and treatment phase.

Some patients will receive continued treatment as needed. Some others may be referred to supplementary services in or outside of the practice. While others may require surgery and rehabilitation.

7) Advocacy

In the Advocacy stage, the patient has completed their treatment protocol and is satisfied with the outcome of their care. They are now in a position to advocate for the practice both online and offline.

Patients can share positive feedback with the world by:

  • Providing an online review or rating on the physician(s) review website(s)
  • Taking part in a video testimonial to share their brilliant outcomes and benefits with other potential patients
  • Become the subject of a case study

Patient advocates are one of the most valuable assets for a practice. Patient success stories create a connection, build trust, credibility, and interest to motivate potential patients to answer a call-to-action.

Making the Patient Value Journey Work For You

The patient-physician relationship is a symbiotic two-way relationship. The patients can provide transparent feedback which can positively impact the start of other patient journeys.

Mapping the medical practice’s goals with Patient Value Journey helps in understanding the audience’s mindset and behavior. It can hone the practice’s short-term, quarterly wins and activities that contribute to reaching their long-term goals.

Using technology to solve patient-related problems

If your practice is facing problems related to managing patient traffic, patient referrals, chronic care management, remote patient monitoring or anything at all, HealthViewX is always there to solve your operational issues and optimize the workflow. To know in detail about our solution, schedule a demo with us.

 

References

http://www.internetlivestats.com/google-search-statistics/

https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/pew-study-health-information-third-most-popular-online-pursuit

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3077086/t/more-people-search-health-online/#.W4zdVc4zbIW

https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/how-patients-use-online-reviews/

How valuable is a Patient Referral Management Software To Primary Care Physicians?

When PCPs send a referral to a specialist, they expect that specialists will let them know when their patients received care. Many times it doesn’t happen as expected. The hospital may be too busy to share information. In other cases, the hospital may have faxed a notification to a patient’s primary care physician (PCP). But, for one reason or another like coordination issues, busy schedule, the physician practice may never have received it.

There are many such problems as the above PCPs deal with every day. Let us read through a few in detail.

  1. Insurance pre-authorization – The time a PCP invests on the process of insurance pre-authorization is more. Waiting for the insurance to respond is neither good for the PCP, not the patient.
  2. Finding the right specialist/imaging center – The number of imaging centers and specialist practices is increasing day-by-day. It takes a lot of time and effort for the referral coordinator to narrow down the referral coordinator’s search and find the right one.
  3. Time Spent – As the referrals are handled manually, a referring coordinator spends about half-an-hour to one-hour for a creating referral on an average and even more time in following up the same.
  4. No Updates –  After a referral is sent, both the referring and the receiving providers get busy. It is not possible for both of them to be updated on the referral progress. So the specialist/imaging center and the patient fail to update the clinic on the progress of the referral. This results in open referral loops.

Manage your patient referrals better with the HealthViewX solution

Fortunately, many PCPs are realizing the need for a better way to process and manage referrals securely. This is when they feel an automated Patient Referral Management System can help.

HealthViewX Patient Referral Management solution enables creating a referral in three simple steps thus providing a successful referral program. After the referral is created, it can be tracked with help of the status. Both the referring and receiving providers will be notified of the appointments, test results, treatment recommendations, etc. HealthViewX can integrate with EMR/EHR and can also coordinate between the referring and the receiving sides. Any referral has a timeline view which is common to both the receiving and the referring providers. In the timeline view, history of the referral can be seen for eg: notes related to the patient’s health, previous status of the referral, etc. Documents attachment and status change can also be done at any time of the referral process. HealthViewX Patient Referral Management solution can always keep you updated on the progress of the referral thus simplifying the referral process and helps in closing the referral loop.

How has HealthViewX added value to PCPs’ patient referral problems?

1) Automating the insurance pre-authorization process

HealthViewX platform has a payer management module that maintains and manages

  • different payer details
  • their modes of prior authorization
  • direct authorization procedures
  • payer forms
  • online portal links

With this information already present, it provides the referral coordinator the capability to automate

  • prior authorization submission
  • status checks coupled
  • fax integration

It simplifies the process of insurance pre-authorization. The referral coordinator need not waste time on the process anymore.

2) Intelligent Provider Match

Our “Smart Search” feature makes it easy for the referring provider in finding the right provider. It has smart filters and search options that help in narrowing down the specialist based on the requirements.

3) Establishing best practices

After using our HealthViewX Patient Referral Management System, physicians were automatically alerted to

  • Appointments
  • Referral status
  • Patient diagnostic reports
  • Referral completion

As a result, we can cut down on miscommunications and bridge the gaps between the specialist and the physician community. The system also assembles a patient encounter record from the EMR/EHR and pushes it directly to the physician.

4) Forming a close-knit of trusted referral receiving centers

Our system helps in strengthening ties with the medical community. From a history referral experiences the PCPs can from a close-knit of referral receiving providers. Physicians can refer now patients to hospitals they can rely on.

HealthViewX Patient Referral Management solution helps the PCPs in handling and managing their referrals. Are you a PCP looking for an end-to-end referral management solution? Schedule a demo with us. Our patient referral management experts will guide you through our HIPAA compliant solution.