Information Technology for the Practicing Physician: (Health Informatics)

As health care moves from an inpatient to an outpatient delivery system, physician practice management will become more complex and accountable. To manage this change, physician practices are increasingly relying on information technology. This book follows both a patient and an employee through a physician visit, highlighting what, where, and how technology is utilized.The first section, "Utilizing Technology to Arrange a Physician Visit," provides information and examples of technology utilized prior to the patient visit, and includes examples of physicians who utilize email and Web sites to attract patients, electronic scheduling systems to decrease wait time, and registration systems which can verify insurance information. The second section, "Utilizing Technology to Enhance the Physican Visit," demonstrates how technology is utilized when the patient is in treatment and/or follow-up care. Focusing on electronic medical records, electronic referral systems, billing and collection systems, and follow-up patient education and discharge information, it portrays the "future physician office visit." The third section, "Utilizing Technology to Enhance Physician Practice Operations," focuses on the physician practice manager's daily operations and how technology can achieve efficacy. The examples and case studies provided demonstrate a more timely, efficient mode of delivering quality patient care.This is a "how-to" manual for implementing practice management solutions, and will appeal to Physicians, Practice Managers, Information Technology Specialists, Allied Health Professionals, students and researchers.

Table of Contents:
Utilizing Technology to Arrange a Physician Visit.- Physician Practice Management: Into the Technology Age.- Workflow in the Primary Care Physician’s Office: A Study of Five Practices.- Workflow Concepts: The Challenges of Managing Healthcare Business Processes.- Workflow and Usability.- Interviewing Patients with the Aid of a Computer.- Internet-Based Registration.- Utilizing Technology to Enhance a Physician Visit.- Clinical Documentation That Improves Patient Care (or Tips for Avoiding Potholes in the Road to the Electronic Medical Record).- Selecting and Installing an EMR: HPHC’s Successful Implementation.- The Ambulatory EMR.- EMR Reduces Costs and Protects Revenues.- Patient Acceptance of Computerized Progress Note Documentation.- Key Characteristics of an Electronic Prescription Writer.- Clinical Software for Strengthening the Physician-Patient Relationship.- Computer-Based Patient Education: The X-PlainTM Experience.- E-Consultation and Education: Medicine Now.- The Health Network.- Utilizing Technology to Enhance Physician Practice Operations.- Billing for What Your Practice Deserves.- Duke University Medical Center.- St. Bernard’s Finance System.- Credentialing Physicians.- Using Web Technology to Manage Care, Enhance Patient Experiences, and Improve Outcomes.- Implementation of IDX LASTWORD at Mercy Healthcare Sacramento.- Technology Across the Continuum of Care.- Implementing an Automated Clinical Messaging System.- EMRx Implementation at MedClinic of Sacramento.- PhyCor of Corsicana.- A Rapidly Evolving Definition of Telemedicine.- to Telemedicine.- Medical Applications and Benefits.- State of Security Features for Medical Information.- Establishing Information Security Policies.