How to Optimize EHR Documentation for Better Patient Outcomes

How to Optimize EHR Documentation for Better Patient Outcomes

Maximizing Efficiency and Quality of Care with Streamlined EHR Documentation for Mobile Healthcare Providers.

 

 

As a healthcare provider running your own practice, you know that managing patient care can be a complex and time-consuming task. One of the most important aspects of patient care is documentation, and having the right tools in place can make all the difference. In this post, we’ll share six tips for better documenting care using an electronic health record (EHR) system.

Utilize templates

Most practice management software comes with pre-built templates for common conditions and procedures. Using these templates can save you a lot of time and ensure consistency in your documentation. By using the same template for all patients with a particular condition, you can ensure that all of the important information is captured and that your notes are easy to read and understand.

Customize Your EHR Templates

One of the best ways to optimize EHR documentation is to customize your templates. Many EHR systems offer pre-built templates that are designed to be generic and cover a wide range of scenarios. However, these templates may not be tailored to your specific needs or the needs of your patients. By customizing your templates, you can ensure that you capture all the necessary information for each patient encounter while reducing the amount of time it takes to document.
To customize your templates, start by identifying the common elements that you include in every patient encounter, such as vital signs, medications, and allergies. Then, create a template that includes these elements and any other information specific to your practice or patient population.

Learn more about how to customize templates with companyOn here!

Document in real-time

Try to document patient encounters as they happen, rather than waiting until later. This can help to ensure that important details are not forgotten, and it also makes it easier to provide continuity of care. By documenting patient encounters in real-time, you can also be sure that the information is accurate and up-to-date.

Using Voice Recognition Technology

Typing on a keyboard or touchscreen can be time-consuming, especially when you’re on the go. Fortunately, many EHR systems now offer voice recognition technology that allows you to dictate your notes instead of typing them. Voice recognition technology can significantly reduce the time it takes to document patient encounters, allowing you to focus more on providing care. 

If the device you use to access CompanyOn offers voice recognition technology, you can use this capability to document care within CompanyOn. Please refer to your device manual to learn more and give it a try.

Using EHRs with Mobile-Friendly Interfaces

When you’re on the go, you need an EHR system with a mobile-friendly interface that allows you to access patient data quickly and easily. Look for EHR systems that offer mobile apps or web-based interfaces that are optimized for use on smartphones and tablets. These interfaces should be easy to navigate, with simple menus and quick access to commonly used features.

Using an EHR system with a mobile-friendly interface can significantly reduce the time it takes to document patient encounters and access patient data, allowing you to provide more efficient and effective care.

CompanyOn uses a mobile-friendly interface that allows you to access it on any device, from anywhere at any time.

Using Patient Portals to Engage Patients

Finally, using patient portals can help you engage patients in their care and reduce documentation time. Patient portals allow you to engage patients in advance and request information electronically prior to care, schedule appointments and communicate with their healthcare providers. By encouraging patients to use these portals, you can reduce the time it takes to document patient encounters and ensure that patients have access to important information.

CompanyOn online services allow you to create a patient portal and communicate with patients in a more efficient way. Check out how it works here.

In conclusion, effective documentation of patient care is a critical aspect of providing quality healthcare, and utilizing the right tools can make all the difference. By using EHR templates, customizing them to fit your practice’s specific needs, documenting patient encounters in real-time, utilizing voice recognition technology, and using mobile-friendly EHR interfaces and patient portals, you can streamline your documentation process and ultimately provide more efficient and effective care to your patients. At CompanyOn, we provide a range of services that support these best practices and help you optimize your EHR documentation for better patient outcomes.

At CompanyOn, we are dedicated to providing unwavering support to our community of solo practitioners, no matter where they are in their journey towards professional independence. We believe in fostering open communication and collaboration with our valued community members, and would be delighted to hear from you regarding any specific topics you would like us to address. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] with your suggestions or feedback.

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How to Streamline the Patient Intake Process

How to Streamline the Patient Intake Process

Streamlining the patient intake process can help to improve the overall patient experience and increase efficiency at your medical practice

 

 

Footcare nurse helping client

Patient intake is an essential part of running a successful medical practice, but it can also be a time-consuming and inefficient process.

Here are some tips for streamlining your patient intake process:

1. Offer online appointment scheduling

Allow patients to schedule appointments online, which can reduce the time and effort required to handle scheduling tasks.

2. Use electronic medical records systems:

EMR systems can streamline the patient intake process by allowing patients to input their own information and providing easy access to their medical history. .

3. Train staff to be efficient and friendly

Ensuring that your staff is well-trained and able to handle patient intake efficiently can go a long way in streamlining the process. Encourage staff to be friendly and helpful, as this can help to put patients at ease and improve the overall patient experience

4. Review and optimize processes regularly

Regularly reviewing and optimizing your patient intake process can help to identify areas for improvement and ensure that you are providing the best possible service to your patients.

5. Make use of technology

Technology can be a useful tool in streamlining the patient intake process. Consider using electronic forms, appointment scheduling software, and other tech solutions to reduce the time and effort required to handle patient intake.

CompanyOn’s online forms provide the ability to send intake forms and econsents so you can collect patients’ information in advance

Practitioners should strive to leverage all the automation that technology can offer and create streamlined processes in order to improve performance and metrics.

6. Communicate clearly with patients

Ensuring that patients understand the intake process and what is expected of them can help to reduce confusion and improve the overall patient experience. Consider providing clear instructions and information to patients to help them navigate the process smoothly.

7. Stay organized

Maintaining a well-organized office can help to streamline the patient intake process. Consider implementing a filing system and making use of online storage solutions to keep important documents organized and easily accessible.

By implementing these strategies, you can help to streamline the patient intake process and improve the overall patient experience. This can help to reduce wait times and increase efficiency, ultimately leading to a more successful independent practice.

At CompanyOn, we’re committed to supporting our community of solo practitioners, no matter if they are just thinking in pursuing professional independence, or they are already well established solo practitioners.

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Are You Being as Productive as You Need to Run a Successful Independent Practice?

Are You Being as Productive as You Need to Run a Successful Independent Practice?

Identifying the drivers of a private practice productivity is vital to measure the financial health of the business

 

 

Footcare nurse helping client

It is also important to identify where the most opportunity lies for improvement when it comes to the way the practice is managed and clients are cared for.

Here are 3 quick tips for measuring your practice productivity:

1. Efficiency and Effectiveness

The first step is to determine what productivity actually means. The best metric to use is the utilization rate or number of hours per client per week including, commute and documentation of care, you invest in the provision of care.
Utilization is defined as the amount of a practitioner’s available time that’s used for productive, billable work, expressed as a percentage. It’s a measure of billing efficiency that helps the business understand if it’s billing enough to cover its cost plus overhead. To learn more about how to calculate your utilization rate, please check the following article here.

2. Net Collection Rate

Net collection rate measures productivity by determining how much of the work a practitioner bills for, actually gets paid. It measures how effective the practice is at collecting all legitimate forms of reimbursement for services. The net collection rate will reveal deficiencies in this process. It provides visibility into what is actually being collected and what your independent practice is actually allowed to collect after factoring in any refunds, write-offs, discounts, etc. To learn more about how to calculate your practice net collection rate, please check the following article click here.

3. Outstanding Account Receivables

This is one of the key indicators of a practice’s performance. How long does it take your practice to collect payments for services you provide? Reducing the time, it takes for an outstanding invoice to be paid is key to increase cashflow and overall financial stability of your business.

There are a variety of metrics that practitioners can use to assess how effectively and efficiently running their practice is. While some such as net collection rates and outstanding accounts receivable are traditionally seen as indicators of how satisfied clients are with the services provided, they may also indicate billing issues.

Practitioners should strive to leverage all the automation that technology can offer and create a streamlined billing process in order to improve performance and metrics.

This will help identify any potential problems early on and hopefully result in increased satisfaction among clients.

At CompanyOn, we’re committed to supporting our community of solo practitioners, no matter if they are just thinking in pursuing professional independence, or they are already well established solo practitioners.

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The Cost of No-shows and Late Cancelations: How to Prevent them

The Cost of No-shows and late cancelations: How to Prevent them

No-shows and late cancelations can prove costly to your practice — not only in terms of wasted time and cost, but also in missed revenue.

 

 

Footcare nurse helping client

We all know how hard it is to maintain a client who does not show up for appointments or cancel at the last minute and the overall effect on the management of your business.

In this article, we explore what you can do to reduce the impact of no-shows and late cancelations, and some tips for dealing with those difficult patients who always seem to choose the 9th option when it comes to showing up for appointments.

1. Incorporate automated reminders

A system that puts a dent in no-shows: Reminders are a great tool to help clients stick to their appointments. Clients who fail to show up could be empowered with a text or email reminder.

Additionally, if clients need to change or cancel an appointment, a reminder allows them to connect with you in advance — giving you time to reschedule the visit for a later date and assign the time to another visit.

With CompanyOn you can send automated appointment notifications and reminders via email and SMS. You can choose what clients and services you want to send reminders about. And let’s not forget the ability to add customized notes.

2. Build a patient wait list

A patient wait list can be a tremendous asset in growing your practice and saving you money. By having a list of clients wanted to be seen as soon as a slot becomes available, it’s easy to schedule visits that were canceled or rescheduled by other patients.

Having a system where you can easily access the client’s information and book an appointment as soon as possible, is priceless.

To learn more about how you can create your own patient waitlist, click here.

CompanyOn offers you the feature to set penalties for no-shows, that could be automatically set as part of your services charges.

3. Create a no-show/late Cancellation policy

Studies have shown that even if this policy is never implemented, notifying clients of a no-shows/ late cancellation policy, decreases no-shows at a high rate.

Within CompanyOn you can set penalties for no-shows/late cancelations, as part of your services charges.

At CompanyOn, we’re committed to supporting our community of solo practitioners, no matter if they are just thinking in pursuing professional independence, or they are already well established solo practitioners.

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How to Create a Safety Culture Within your Business

How to Create a Culture of Safety Within your Business

For business owners, including independent practitioners, it’s important to create a culture of safety. Not only for the well-being of ourselves, but any staff that may work for you. Worker training and orientation are part of the employer’s occupational health and safety responsibilities with ensuring a safe work environment.

 

 

Safety Culture

Training and education boost knowledge and further develops skills. Train yourself and workers on hazard recognition and how to work safely and you’ll see a shift in mindset and increased engagement. Want to motivate your staff and boost your bottom line? Create an effective safety program that includes an investment in worker education and training, then watch for an improvement in motivation and productivity. To support yourself and your staff with working safely, provide training on the hazards associated with the job and effective measures in place to prevent them. Check out WorkSafe BC for more on training.

  • Safety orientation for new workers
  • Specific job tasks
  • Providing supervision
  • Training Records
  • Ongoing training

What Are the Top Three Topics to Train Yourself or New Staff On?

For new solo practitioners, safety orientation training is the first step. The benefit of training on safety right from the get-go is that it sets you and your team for safety success! Provide the best start with the following topics in your training program and back it up with appropriate supervision.

Check out the WSBC site on training and orientation for more info on these three topics that must be included in every orientation:

  • Rights and Responsibilities
  • Workplace Hazards
  • Safe Work Procedures

Want to see a surge in safety culture at your work?

Invest in your workers with training, support the learning process, encourage worker feedback and watch your return on investment grow with higher productivity and less worker turnover. Demonstrate your commitment to worker safety, support your business values and positive culture by prioritizing health and safety that minimizes risks and supports accident, injury and illness prevention with effective control measures. 

Want to learn more about assessing and improving your workplace culture or providing customized training? visit The Safe Way – Workplace Safety.

Disclaimer: This information is provided in an attempt to heighten sensitivity, increase awareness, and enhance judgments on this topic. We encourage our audience to contact their legal advisor and regulatory body to learn more. 

Resources

General Duties of Employers. Workers Compensation Act. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/19001_02#section21 

About the Author

Margo Wipf,

Margo Wipf,

Programs Director, The Safe Way – Workplace Safety and Human Resource Corporation

Margo is a solutions and values-based safety consultant and Director of Programs with The Safe Way – Workplace Safety and Human Resources Corporation. Her safety company’s vision is to ensure safe work behaviours and environments for all workers, including the continuing care sector.

She excels at helping business owners establish a system to identify risk management issues, employment standards; Worksafe requirements, and much more. 

Her method of approach is what sets her apart; she coaches, motivates, and builds relationships that promote safety culture and mitigate risk. She collaborates with solo practitioners creating safety policies and procedures that fit company needs and meet regulatory compliance. For the solo practitioner, these deliverables save money, provide peace of mind, and more time to focus on business and client needs.

To learn more about Margo and how she can help your business, please visit her website at www.thesafeway.ca

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