the Grace Report Provides Important Private Intelligence, Gathered Exclusively
for OBs & GYNs, Their Practice CEOs, and Key Administrators.

Headlines- April 24, 2006
THE GRACE REPORT

Headlines- April 24, 2006

Commentary and Opinion by Robert L. Michel:
Here’s a Compelling Reason To Use Electronic Medical Records

WOULD YOU LIKE A COMPELLING REASON WHY YOUR OB-GYN GROUP should take immediate steps to implement and use an electronic medical record (EMR) system? If so, then you will want to access the April 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The story you want to read concerns a study about patient-centered
care. Researchers identified 11 specific elements which are essential for
patient-centered care. These elements range from whether physicians kept registries of patients with chronic diseases to whether physicians were sending notices to their patients to remind them of preventive care or their need for follow-up care.

The story includes the results of a survey that involved 1,800 physicians
who responded to a questionnaire. It turns out that more that 80% of the
responding physicians had not adopted even half of the 11 patient-centered practices! But what caught my attention was another finding. More than 75% of responding physicians admitted “some problems with availability of patients’ medical records, test results, or other relevant information at the time of a scheduled visit.”

This finding should be a wake-up call for every ob-gyn and practice administrator in the United States. Physicians are under increasing
pressure to reduce medical errors and improve patient safety. At the same time, clinical standards are tightening and payers (including Medicare and Medicaid) are taking aggressive steps to measure outcomes of individual physicians—and link compensation to higher-than-average outcomes.

Thus, isn’t it shocking to learn that more than 75% of physicians in a
study admit that, at the time they are treating patients, they lacked timely access to that patient’s full medical record? Moving to an EMR system is an important step to enable you and the colleagues in your group to have ready access to every patient’s full medical records at all times!

My recommendation is that your ob-gyn group revisit its plans and
timing for acquiring and implementing an EMR system. Use of electronic
medical records is rapidly becoming a critical success factor for all
physician groups and solo practitioners.

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EMR Implementation: A Tale of Two Groups

Two ob-gyn groups in Maryland find electronic records cut costs and improve cash flow

CEO Summary: Many physicians remain reluctant to install electronic
medical record (EMR) systems. They argue that the cost is high and EMRs require significant adjustments to practice workflow. However, most ob-gyn groups that opt to switch to EMR systems report significant improvements in documentation of patient services, improved collections, increased productivity, and major cost savings. In this issue, the GRACE REPORT shares the stories of two similar-sized ob-gyn groups and how they implemented EMRs, followed by an analysis of the benefits and lessons learned.

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OB-Gyn EMR Case Study #1:
Annapolis OB/Gyn Associates Hits Home Run with Its EMR

Annapolis OB/Gyn Associates Hits Home Run with Its EMR: Maryland ob-gyn group harvests major clinical, productivity, and financial gains

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OB-Gyn EMR Case Study #2:
Simmonds & Simmonds Tries “Big Bang” EMR Intro

Ob-gyns decide to introduce all EMR functions
simultaneously to all the group’s offices

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EMR Implementation Yields Major Benefits to Groups

Savings of more than $300,000 per year from eliminating pulling/filing paper charts

CEO Summary: In a side-by-side comparison, two ob-gyn practices, located in the same region, with a comparable number of physicians and implementing the same electronic medical records system, have impressive results to report. Physicians at both groups now see more patients per day, are more detailed and complete in the documentation of services provided, and have ready access to the group’s EMR, even from remote locations. Cost savings and operational improvements are equally impressive, particularly from the elimination of paper records and the labor and expenses involved in maintaining them.

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Ob-Hospitalists Find Role In Newly-Opened Hospital

Pioneering effort uses obstetricians to support community ob-gyn groups in positive ways

CEO Summary: When Legacy Health System in Portland, Oregon prepared to open a new hospital, it recognized that the addition of another hospital in the community of Vancouver, Washington was going to stretch the coverage resources of ob-gyn groups in that area. Legacy decided to staff the new hospital with obstetric hospitalists. These ob-hospitalists would provide in-hospital patient care as a supplement and support for local physicians. In the nine months since the hospital opened, physicians and ob-gyns in the area have begun to appreciate the benefits of this clinical resource.

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Compliance Update: Advice on How Ob-Gyn Groups Can Survive a Coding Audit

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INTELLIGENCE: Late and Latent

• DOCTOR SOUGHT FOR FELONY MAKES “AMERICA’S MOST WANTED” TV SHOW
• MASSACHUSETTS MANDATES HEALTH COVERAGE
  

Look for the next briefing on Monday, May 15, 2006.

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