Medical Practice Efficiencies & Cost Savings
Many health care providers have found that electronic health records (EHRs) help improve medical practice management by increasing practice efficiencies and cost savings.
Electronic Health Records Create More Efficient Practices
EHR-enabled medical practices report:
- Improved medical practice management through integrated scheduling systems that link appointments directly to progress notes, automate coding, and managed claims
- Time savings with easier centralized chart management, condition-specific queries, and other shortcuts
- Enhanced communication with other clinicians, labs, and health plans through:
- Easy access to patient information from anywhere
- Tracking electronic messages to staff, other clinicians, hospitals, labs, etc.
- Automated formulary checks by health plans
- Order and receipt of lab tests and diagnostic images
- Links to public health systems such as registries and communicable disease databases
Studies Demonstrating Improved Efficiency and Productivity
- Increased accuracy in coding, leading to average billable gains of $26 per patient visit 1
- Improved care delivery from clinical decision support capabilities 2
- Increased patient flow, staff productivity, and increased revenue 3
- 1 http://www.aafp.org/fpm/2004/1100/p43.html#fpm20041100p43-b2
- 2 Chaudry, B. et al. 2006 "Systematic Review: Impact of Health Information Technology on Quality, Efficiency, and Costs of Medical Care", Annals of Internal Medicine.
- 3 http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&mode=2&objID=1958&PageID=20410
Electronic Health Records Reduce Paperwork
EHRs can reduce the amount of time providers spend doing paperwork.
Administrative tasks, such as filling out forms and processing billing requests, represent a significant percentage of health care costs. EHRs can increase practice efficiencies by streamlining these tasks, significantly decreasing costs.
In addition, EHRs can deliver more information in additional directions. EHRs can be programmed for easy or even automatic delivery of information that needs to be shared with public health agencies or for the purpose of quality measurement.
Electronic Health Records Reduce Duplication of Testing
Because EHRs contain all of a patient's health information in one place, it is less likely that providers will have to spend time ordering—and reviewing the results of—unnecessary or duplicate tests and medical procedures. Less utilization means fewer costs.
