Group Practice IT Problems, IT Solutions

Ajit Kumar, Ph.D., for HealthLeaders News, June 19, 2007

Medical groups that continue to run outdated UNIX- or DOS-based software contend with a common array of practice management system problems. Unreliable platforms and unstable databases leading to system crashes and downtime. Cumbersome software that is tough to learn and difficult to use. Slow system performance and financial reports that can take hours to run. Inefficient billing and payment posting. Inaccurate claims submission. Inflexible patient scheduling features and functions that are so frustrating that office staff revert to scheduling in paper and pencil in old-fashioned appointment books. To make matters worse, expensive and unresponsive software support can compound these problems for many physician group practices.

Muddling along with outdated software
Why do so many medical groups continue to struggle along with outmoded systems even after it has become readily apparent that system limitations and software problems hinder the ability of medical office staff to carry out the critical business operations that physicians and practice administrators count on them to manage? In the face of reimbursement constraints, rising malpractice insurance premiums and declining margins, they put the financial viability of their practices at risk.

There is no one single factor that explains why it seems so difficult for so many medical groups to decide to replace their antiquated practice management systems. According to conventional wisdom, of course, the reluctance of physicians to spend money on healthcare IT is the biggest barrier. And to be candid, I have resorted to this explanation on more than a few occasions. In reality, the situation is more nuanced.

Replacing systems does take a substantial financial investment. It does require a commitment to take the time and make the effort to define requirements and achieve agreement on priorities for a new system. Identifying vendors, undertaking initial assessments, narrowing the list of potential vendors to a manageable short list of finalists, and then doing in-depth evaluation to choose a system are all demanding tasks. After a new vendor and system are chosen, the medical group then has to work through hardware configuration and software installation and testing. Then the vendor must convert historic data to its new system and train the users. Plus, current client/server systems are costly to buy and maintain, since each smart client is a full-featured PC with its own CPU. And with Windows-based software there is the ongoing necessity of keeping up with operating system updates and security patches. With all that, it is little wonder that the decision to deploy a new practice management system is not an easy decision for a medical group.

Benefits of healthcare IT investment
There is good news. The tangible benefits a group practice secures by moving to a Windows-based, client/server practice management system make the investment worthwhile. Based on the experience of group practices that have made the investment, what benefits can a medical group reasonably expect from a state-of-the-art system?
Ease of Use. It will takes users days, instead of weeks, to learn the software and become productive in using it.
Reliable, Fast Performance. Potential system crashes will no longer be a major worry. Reports that once took hours will take only a few minutes.
Greater Productivity. For core operations such as billing and payment posting, many medical groups gain 20 percent to 30 percent increases in office staff productivity.
Improved Billing Accuracy. Claims rejection rates can be reduced by 20 percent to 40 percent, and that accelerates cash flow.
Increased Collections. Medical groups that implement new practice management systems can achieve up to 20 percent increases in straight collections as a percentage of billing charges.
Enhanced AR Management. Group practices whose accounts receivable had been running from 90 days to 120 days are routinely able to achieve an average of 60 days or less, again improving cash flow.
More Efficient Scheduling. After switching to a new system, medical groups can get efficiency improvements that enable them to schedule one to three additional patients per physician per day.

The bottom line? With such achievable improvements in practice performance, many medical groups can get a positive return-on-investment in new practice management systems in six months to one year. Windows-based, client/server technology provides stability and reliability and also scales up to support practice growth. Importantly, it establishes the essential technology platform for implementing clinical software, especially an electronic medical record system. In sum, IT problems yield to IT solutions for medical groups that select the right technology from the right vendor.

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Ajit Kumar, Ph.D. is general manager of Henry Schein Medical Systems. He can be reached at ajit.kumar@micromd.com.