A synopsis of the web based Electronic medical recording system

The healthcare industry has turned over an important page in the book of the healthcare management manual with the invention of the Electronic Medical Recording system. The Electronic medical recording system, abbreviated as the EMR, is basically a system that helps in recording the medical history of a patient automatically with the control of a remote location server. It primarily aids healthcare service providers and hospitals to maintain the records of patients and also in other functions like e-prescription management, creating accurate medical bills and also helps in managing related events at lower costs.

The best part about this system is that it helps in taking better care of patients and helps reduce the possibility of committing errors which could have been made by service providers and hospital staff.

So what is it about the web based system of EMR which makes it so desirable? Some of the biggest contributing factors are:

1.       It extremely lucrative: there is absolutely no need for you to invest in the software since the user would be connected to the main website with the help of the internet and all the massive medical data is put up online. This is done for a fee that needs to be paid every once a while to gain the right of access. The only existing costs will be those of implementation and the costs of maintaining the workstations, which are quite insignificant.

2.       The EMR optimizes the workflow and it can be conveniently run.

3.       Doctors and medical healthcare professionals won’t be limited to a particular place to get this data as they can reach the data from anywhere thanks to the internet. You won’t even be required to create a WAN only for this purpose.

4.       Doctors can easily deal with patient’s appointments, old health records, test results, prescriptions and all this very easily.

5.       It is safe also because it meets the requirements of the HIPAA’s security standards.

6.       The web based EMR system is owned by the seller and thus, they are fully responsible for its security, maintenance and other such details.

7.       With the help of this system, doctors can ask pharmacies and diagnostic centers for patient’s test results so that they can give the right treatment at the right time.

The only constraint of the EMR is that the software is in the control of the seller. Thus, you may not be able to customize the function as per your needs. However, on the whole, it has helped medical agents to save a lot of money as well as time and is a good tool for the benefit of the whole society.

Acroseas Global Solutions is a provider of transcription services complying with the HIPAA i.e. the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Since 1999, the company has been offering professional, cost-effective and timely services to clients all across North America, Australia and the United Kingdom. Acroseas has a well-qualified and trained team of professionals. Furthermore, they provide 98.8% accurate transcripts and at efficient turnaround times.

HHS and DEA ponder e-prescribing comments

The Health and Human Services Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration are reviewing the feedback they have received on DEA proposed rule on e-prescribing for controlled substances, but the final rule might not emerge this year.

DEA published the proposed rule earlier this year, which would impose security requirements for e-prescribing of controlled substances. A public comment period expired Sept. 25. Groups representing physicians, pharmacies and health information technology vendors have expressed concern that the rule as currently written could impede adoption of e-prescribing.

Kerry Weems, acting administrator of HHS; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said DEA and HHS are reviewing the comments. Speaking at CMS; National E-Prescribing Conference in Boston this week, Weems said the goal is to address DEA concerns while creating a rule that doesn’t provide a barrier to e-prescribing.

Jodi Daniel, director of the Office of Policy and Research in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, said the final rule might not be on DEA to-do list for this calendar year. The presidential election could also push action into next year.

The change in administration…may slow things down; said Daniel, who also spoke at the conference.

Meanwhile, a Medicare incentive program that will initially provide a 2 percent bonus to physicians who adopt e-prescribing goes into effect Jan. 1, 2009.

Some experts say Deal’s current prohibition against e-prescribing controlled substances has blocked broader acceptance of the technology. The situation compels doctors who use e-prescribing to maintain a paper-based system for controlled substances and an electronic system for other drugs.

MTIAPI and MTIA Forged Medical Transcription Accord

The Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines, Inc. (MTIAPI) has forged an agreement with the US-based Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) to protect the interest of the industry.

MTIAPI president Myla Rose Mundo-Reyes, who attended the Building a Viable and Sustainable Relationship with Offshore MT Service Organizations by the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) conference held recently in Long Beach, California reported.

“I was actually glad that the participants’ concerns on quality, data privacy, public holidays and government support in policy making were openly raised because I was given the opportunity to inform them that the Philippines is addressing exactly the same issues that really matter to our clients,” Reyes said.

Reyes reported that MTIAPI and MTIA agreed to forge a partnership to protect the interests of the industry and its players. Some of the highlighted areas of cooperation were policy enforcement on data privacy protection, intellectual property rights protection of their MT curricula, certification of MT workers and training facility accreditation, a company verification process, and some business matching activities for MTIA’s US Medical Transcription Service

Organizations (MTSO) members looking for offshore partners.

Colin Christie, CEO of MXSecure and MTIAPI director who joined the meeting viewed the meeting as a great step towards future cooperation.

“The well-attended panel discussion has torn down barriers to the Philippines’ emergence as the outsourcing and offshoring destination of choice and presented the country as having viable solutions for US MT companies looking for a virtual extension office so as to expand their businesses.

Reyes, who is also the managing director of Total Transcription Solutions, Inc., explained that the panel discussion corrected some of the participants’ negative perceptions about offshoring and informed them of where to go, who to talk to, and what to consider if they want to explore outsourcing to other countries.

“I was actually glad that the participants’ concerns on quality, data privacy, public holidays and government support in policy making were openly raised because I was given the opportunity to inform them that the Philippines is addressing exactly the same issues that really matter to our clients,” she added.

Another MTIAPI delegate and marketing manager of IQ West, Sammy Pe, said that as a result of the panel discussion, he was able to get a number of leads at the convention.

MTIAPI director and Transkripsyo chief executive officer Michael Chua said, “It was a very good mission. I believe the delegation presented the Philippine value proposition very well. We are looking forward to having more US companies taking a second look at the Philippines for their outsourced transcription needs.”