The infusion of information technology is not unique to health care. Technology is not a standalone black box sitting in the corner of the office or in a closet. Those in the technology industry are now recognizing the importance of integration and to bring 'game changing ideas' to the market place.
Is technology a noun or a verb? I think you will find this speech by Anish Chopra, the Chief Technology Officer for the United States. interesting.
Does eHealth technology such as email lighten the burden for physicians or does it impose additional responsibility upon them whether they are reimbursed or not?
A study published in the New England Journal reveals this counterintuitive finding. Simple is as simple does; More time on EMR or EHR, less time with patients, not the reverse. Tell that one to the policy makers. Okay I can spend an additional 90 minutes a day filling in the boxes and checking off the drop down menus and see 6 or 7 fewer patients. That will really increase the shortage of PCPs. And what about the nonsense of coding for email and telephone calls. Please, how is
the nation going to pay for that, not that MDs do not deserve to be reimbursed for their time.
The leaders of our government have a very strange thought process, or they are liars and have a hidden agenda.
And now something we as MDs have always realized, the not so hidden cost of sending a bill to the patient and the payor.
Another study performed at the Massachussetts General Hospital and published in Health Affairs (abstract) (full pdf article), explains how " The U.S. system of billing third parties for health care services is complex, expensive, and inefficient. Physicians end up using nearly 12 percent of their net patient service revenue to cover the costs of excessive administrative complexity"
Table 1: Financial Cost of Administrative Complexity
Table 2:
Administrative Complexity Burden In A Physician Organization’s Professional Billing Office