Software to Increase Physician Morale By Increasing Efficiency

Every physician has a favorite innovation.

Anonymous

September 27, 2012 -   Lately I’ve been writing posts on loss of physician morale.   Why the loss?  Because physicians  can’t keep up with escalating  federal regulations, including meeting demands of new ICD-10 coding, qualifying for EHR meaningful use criteria,  getting paid for the right codes, worrying about getting sued by patients or the government for non-compliance, and handling the low reimbursements of  new Medicaid and Medicare patients.   Physicians are so distracted they no longer have time to deal with quality care or spending quality time with patients.

So what can physicians do?  They can do three things.

One, go to work for the hospital or large health organizations who can handle the administrative or liability paperwork require to function in the brave new world of health reform.

Two, drop out of regulated  3^rd party medicine, by converting to  concierge medicine,   cash-only practices, or do locum tenens.

Three, find some innovative solution that allows them to stay in private practice, make a living, avoid malpractice, become more efficient and productive, engages patients in such a way to draw upon their unique knowledge, and practice quality medicine.

My Favorite Innovation

My favorite medical innovation is the Instant Medical History, which I have been following for ten years and which I highlighted in my 2007 book Innovation-Driven Health Care, The Instant Medical History  is now being used by more than 10,000 physicians to facilitate their practices.

Here is how the company describes their Instant Medical History product.

Instant Medical History, patient interview software, interviews patients to begin gathering the subjective history prior to the encounter.

“Branching logic enables patients to progress quickly through adjustable questionnaires from an extensive medical knowledgebase. Sophisticated technology enables this information to transfer to EMRs. Physician productivity increases because as much as sixty percent of the medical data necessary to complete the visit note can be provided by patients and automatically documented in medical terminology through the Internet, in exam rooms, or in waiting areas before the visit.”

We are the leading provider of patient interviewing technology.

“Our vision is to become an indispensable part of the way patients and physicians communicate. Our solutions are used by physicians each day to facilitate physician-patient communication in a variety of practice settings. Our software has been recognized by vendor associations, consultants, and industry peers as an invaluable component of medical history software and the future of healthcare."

What does the Instant Medical History software accomplish?

1)      It engages the patient directly, by drawing on their knowledge, their complaint, their symptoms, and their family and social history.

2)      It satisfies the patient,  who now has the satisfaction of knowing  his/her story is being considered comprehensively from their point of view.

3)      It efficiently  combines the  art of medicine  with  data made possible  by modern information technology.

4)      It is practical and workable since 70% of doctors are now using EHRs to some extent and 70% to 80% of the population has household computers.

5)      It saves 6 to 8 minutes in each patient encounter because doctors can get  to the root of the problem immediately.

6)      It minimizes malpractice risks because patients understand their problem is being considered fully.

7)      It gives the physicians the framework and the data for submitting a claim for a comprehensive  examination.

8)      It increases diagnostic accuracy by leaving nor historical stone unturned.

9)      It is an innovation approach to a fundamental problem – giving the physician time to address patients’ problems in a time-efficient manner.

10)  It reduces overhead by decreasing  the number of office staff required to practice.

11)  It allows patients to leave the office with a documented medical history, minimizing misunderstanding  of what occurred during the medical encounter and what plans are for treatment.

Tweet:   The Instant Medical History is patient interview software that accomplishes multiple purposes, including  lifting physician morale.