Focus on: MGMA Information Management Society
Will your practice management system meet new standards for shared data?

Stand-alone servers can pose a challenge when it comes to communicating with stakeholders about reimbursement in pay-for-performance programs. When you measure patient care, outcomes and satisfaction to determine physician compensation, the need to examine how the shared data are collected becomes a primary issue.

The “client server” model is no longer a viable option for most practices because traditional software licenses are prohibitively expensive, and this approach requires software maintenance, coding updates and electronic claims transmissions that often strangle cash flow when changes or problems occur.

As the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) adds new measures to the Health Plan Employer Data Information Set (HEDIS), reporting measures will require updates to physician practice management and electronic health record (EHR) systems. HEDIS is the standardized set of performance measures related to public health issues such as cancer, heart disease, smoking, asthma and diabetes designed to ensure that purchasers and consumers have the information they need to reliably compare the performance of managed health care plans. Traditional software solutions do not have interfaces with stakeholders, such as hospital laboratories and pharmacies. These interfaces are useful for measurements such as antibiotic use, follow-up for children and seniors who are taking certain medications, diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the appropriate use of medication in the elderly.

However, an application service provider (ASP) solution eliminates the need for upgrades and information technology support staff, making HEDIS reporting easier and less expensive.

ASPs offer medical practices a viable alternative to the high costs of technology implementation, support and maintenance. In this model, the practice outsources system hosting and maintenance to the ASP and its off-site data center. Using a standard personal computer, users have access to the application through a secure Internet browser. The ASP makes updates and enhancements to the system, providing the latest technology to the end user and eliminating the need for upgrades.

ASPs require minimal preparation before they go live. Because the Web-based systems are intuitive and user-friendly, medical office staff is easily trained. In addition, employees will have access to technical support staff during and after implementation. Embedded coding software ensures that claims are scrubbed, making for clean transmission. The system’s “dashboard” guides the front and billing offices and clinical staff workflow.

The reliability of Web-based practice management systems is almost never questioned because multiple hosting centers are armed with a network of server redundancy and failover systems, all designed to provide a practice with guaranteed uptime.

A Web-based practice management system can solve the problems of quality and outcomes data tracking and sharing in a pay-for-performance program. Integrated EHR capabilities provide seamless efficiency and improved functionality when viewing the patient’s business and clinical information. Integrated e-prescribing software places formulary, drug interaction and allergy information at the physicians’ fingertips while recording pharmacy data for reporting purposes. Using an ASP model, laboratory results are easily received with an interface to the hospital labs. ASPs that work with physician hospital organizations and community hospitals are valuable partners of small physician practices in the effort to achieve IT goals.