Alex Tate

If you've recently purchased an EHR system for your practice, you know the initial investment was not small. You also know that in order for you to see a return sooner than later, your organization must get up to speed as quickly as possible post-implementation.

many practices that feel their EHR systems

 just don't want to "play nice." The reality is health technology can offer phenomenal benefits to clinicians if those clinicians use it as efficiently as possible.

If your EHR system feels like public enemy number one, here are some ways you can befriend it:

Any EHR vendor worth their salt will offer training to customers. Sometimes that training is in person, sometimes it's over the phone, and sometimes it will be via online webinars, white papers, and training modules, or even a combination of all these.

Don't try and figure out all of your system's bells and whistles on your own. Your vendor will be able to get you up to speed on things like your system's templates, shortcuts, and triggers.

If you put off onsite training because of cost, understand this type of assistance is much more efficient. Your vendor can observe your practice's workflow as well as the nuances of how you're currently using the system. You get what you pay for. Why struggle for a year and not see a return when, if you spent a little more up front, you'd see a return much more quickly.

We just mentioned shortcuts and triggers. Are you using any of these? Think about all of the repetitive tasks your clinicians perform in the EHR. Shortcuts will allow them to do those same tasks quicker.

For example, most practices treat the same illnesses day after day. To be efficient, pick your top five or 10 things you treat the most (burns, cuts, sore throats and earaches) so you can build efficient templates and improve your workflow.

You may similarly create "triggers" within your EHR that can help your physicians document more quickly. As an example, when a physician says 'review of systems normal,' that single statement, or that one specific click, can trigger a standardized set of language or text that is automatically created into the note on his behalf.

A portal can help your practice in a couple of ways. To start, it's going to satisfy the patient engagement requirements in Medicare programs. But it is also going to significantly cut down on the time it takes physicians and staff to document patient information. When a portal is integrated with your EHR and patients use it to enter information such as their history and current medications, this can be seamlessly pulled into your system.

Many practices overlook the tools built right into their systems, and these tools are there to help you improve your efficiency. For instance, your EHR may have a messaging feature that allows your physicians and other staff to communicate in real time. Calendar options help physicians stay focused on high priority patients and tasks.

In a way, you've got to think of your EHR as any other operating system. When you buy a new laptop, it can benefit your work and personal life in many ways. But it's up to you to add the different software programs (Microsoft Office, Adobe, etc.) that you will need at home or at work.

Beyond a portal, you may want to consider other technology add-ons that will help your EHR work for you. For instance, "smart" pens 'write' text on a computer or tablet, which can then be converted to text within the EHR. There is also speech recognition software that will fill in areas of the documentation record as the physician is speaking.

Ensure your practice is always aware of any updates and improvements your vendor makes to the system so you'll always use your EHR in the most efficient way possible. Pick one of your "super users" who will regularly review new information and guidance by the vendor and help other staff members get up to speed on any changes.

It takes a village to implement an EHR system efficiently.

Make it a priority to get your physicians and staff together to discuss challenges, frustrations, and opportunities for improvement. All of you are working as a team and you've got to approach your workflow and EHR with a team mindset. Ask yourselves and each other how you can get your EHR to play nice; how can you get it to become an efficient member of the team.

 to help you be compliant and improve your workflow, but 

 must help it help you by using it as efficiently as possible.

 is a health IT fanatic who is passionate about technology and its revolutionary impact on the healthcare industry. He adds value to the healthcare community by providing answers to problems faced by the providers. He is always hunting hot topics and opportunities that will open new dimensions in the field of Health IT.  You can contact at alex.tate@curemd.com

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Here's how medical practices can effectively turn a new EHR system from a stranger to a friend in seven easy steps. 

Becoming Friends with Your New EHR System

Besides providing their patients with the highest quality of care, the main thing all physicians want to do is maximize their revenue cycle management (

) and generate the largest amount of net revenue possible. Unfortunately, things like coding compliance, claims denials, and increasing technology expenses make this goal challenging.

However, with solid strategies, smaller providers can maximize their RCM and increase their bottom line. Here are seven ways to do just that:

As more providers and health systems are hit with audits, it becomes even more import to treat compliance seriously. Accurate billing has taken precedence since the transition to ICD-10 and it’s more important than ever to ensure your billing team has realistic expectations.

It’s easy to become complacent in anything we do. Just as weightlifters have to continue to add weight if they want to see any gains, providers also have to keep looking for ways to improve their RCM to see gains.

Providers should ask themselves on a monthly basis: How can our processes become more efficient? How can we reduce cycle time? How can we reduce waste? How can we improve our current performance levels? How can we maximize cash flow? How can we reduce bad debt while improving on denials and underpayments?

3) Integrate EHR and practice management software

Many practices currently use electronic PM systems to manage their billing and accounts receivable. Those that have adopted EHRs may also still use paper superbills that require separate data entry. This setup is inefficient and prevents practices from optimizing their revenue cycle.

When providers integrate their EHR and PM systems, they are able to capture charges at the point of service. That data can then be sent directly into the PM system where billing staff can review charges and submit claims.

Integration of IT solutions can also help small practices reduce the risk of data entry errors and decrease time to claim submittal. The end result is faster reimbursements and better quality reporting, which will help practices participate fully in future quality-based reimbursement models.

A big part of maximizing revenue is managing claims denials effectively. To do this your staff must be proactive and diligent. For instance, an important front-end strategy to reduce denials is training your staff to verify insurance eligibility at check-in. On the back-end, it’s important you develop processes to monitor denials as they come in.

While it may not always seem worth the effort to resubmit denied claims if the claim return is small, all of those small amounts can add up to thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

A quality PM system can come in particularly handy here because it can scrub claims, manage denials, and even highlight any patient eligibility problems, thus speeding up reimbursements.

Physicians don’t go to medical school to learn about coding and billing and collections. Because their particular expertise does not always align with their revenue cycle goals, it’s important that they find the time to get trained.

The more physicians and their staff can get educated about the different facets of RCM, the more they will be able to create workflows that increase their bottom line.

Too few practices are using analytics and this is one of the best ways physicians can maximize their RCM.

No matter what the next compensation model might be, practices who track their cost containment efforts and improvements to patient outcomes will always come out ahead.

Running a small practice generally means forming close relationships with your patients and their family. The result is often past-due balances and collections that never happen. Letting payments slide is simply bad for your practice’s bottom line.

Outsourcing your billing needs will allow you to keep a close relationship with patients and get paid at the same time. Plus, outsourcing frees up time that staff could be using in other areas of your practice.

Though it may not always feel like it, maximizing your practice’s revenue cycle is in your control, regardless of changes that may take place in the healthcare industry. While it is essential you leverage tools such as EHR and PM systems, it is equally important that you and your staff become more educated on effective billing and coding strategies and automate as many tasks as possible to free up precious time.

Alex Tate is a health IT fanatic who is passionate about technology and its revolutionary impact on the healthcare industry. He adds value to the healthcare community by providing answers to problems faced by the providers. He is always hunting hot topics and opportunities that will open new dimensions in the field of Health IT.  He can be contacted at 

It's not impossible. Smaller providers can maximize their RCM and increase their bottom line; here are seven ways to do just that. 