Health IT

Laptop and PDAs have become the office-away-from-the-office for many. But physicians, especially, need to be aware of the potential security risk posed by a lost gadget. Protect sensitive data with encryption software - before it goes missing.

Patients want more from your Web site than a photo of you and directions to your office. They’re demanding interactivity and utility: They want to get stuff done online, like setting up appointments and making payments. Here’s how to have the coolest Web site in town.

Is your IT guy too powerful? In a small office, just one staffer often holds the keys to the kingdom. What if he quits abruptly - or worse, holds you hostage?

Many practices in the market for an EHR have been leery of ASP models. But as Web connections get faster and the technology improves, more vendors are delivering acceptable results.

Are you a small office skating by on IT? Here’s why paying for a quarterly IT checkup might save you big bucks in the long run.

What are your colleagues doing when it comes to information technology? Are they finally hearing the siren call of EHRs? Are they buying new practice management systems? We asked and you told us.

Why travel for meetings when simple technologies make it possible to have all of your meetings in your office (or, heck, in your living room)?

ReachMD broadcasts to physicians on XM Satellite radio. As physicians become open to communication styles that are shorter and more interactive, technology is jumping in to provide these new platforms. Are you ready?

EHR companies are increasingly offering billing services, and vice versa. Is this just another way to squeeze money out of you, or does it make sense to combine the services?

Here's the scoop on reimbursement for your medical practice's EHR use if you meet the meaningful use requirements of CMS.

Say goodbye to photocopies: Machine-readable cards could make billing and collections easier. When will payers make them widely available?

In this podcast, Justin Barnes, chairman of the HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association and vice president of marketing and government affairs at Greenway Medical Technologies, explains the EHR incentives.

A Michigan pediatrician is seeking his second EMR. Can he get over his old baggage and anxieties enough to make the right choice?

Most practices still accept a lot of paper checks from patients - and it costs money when they bounce, as they too-often do. But electronic check services can help you get rid of the rubber.

Medical Practice Management Technology Resources

Is your practice in the market for a new EHR or other new technology you’re not all that familiar with? Or do you want to upgrade some outdated software or IT tool, and you’re not sure how to start looking? Physicians Practice’s new Product Assessment Worksheet, adapted from a checklist created by New Jersey’s Regional Women’s Health Group, can help you compare products and ensure they are appropriate for your office’s specific needs.

Whether a staff departure is amicable or not, it’s vital to formalize and document a process for removing an exiting employee’s IT access.

You’re ready to buy an EMR. But how do you know which one is right for your practice?

Of all Wal-Mart’s innovations, the most surprising is its plan to sell EMRs off the shelf. Few private practices use EMRs - most cite cost as the biggest hurdle. Can Wal-Mart really make a difference?

As credit-card processing fees rise, you may be tempted to stop accepting them, but this would be short-sighted. Still, you can be savvy about choosing payment processors and equipment, negotiating rates, and other particulars.

You want to go electronic but you worry that the technology will mystify you. An ASP may be the answer.

The Obama administration is putting serious money behind its determination to make all medical records electronic. Has the time finally come to get that EMR?

We hate to say it, but there’s a big one coming: ICD-10. The new coding system will not take effect until 2013, but it’s still going to cost you. Here’s the scoop.

Autodialing machines can be a nuisance, but using them for appointment reminders is a cheap, easy way to reduce no-shows.

Your patients are going online to get their health questions answered. Might as well point them to sites they can trust. Here’s a good start.