Tech To Help
As the years pass, technology continues to change getting more and more helpful to our everyday lives. This is true in all industries, but can especially be true in the medical field, as you look at how far we’ve come in the advancement of medical practices just in the last 100 years, alone. And most practices are stepping up to the plate, using new technology to improve performance and help their practice run smoother.
An article in Physicians Practice takes a look at some of the technologies practices are using.
1. Electronic Health Records (EHR): This is one of the biggest ways practices can improve performance. EHRs transfer patient records to an online database, decreasing the need for a paper trail of records. A computer typically is less forgetful and less likely to forget a patient’s information.
2. Patient Portal: This is an online resource for patients. Patients would be able to see their medical records, request appointments, review test results and past appointments and get prescription renewals. A big way to getting patients to use this is to have staff ‘talk it up’. Before the patient leaves the office, tell them about the website and how to sign up and then follow up with them within a couple days.
3. Mobile Device Technology: Many offices are using apps for smartphones and laptops to store and share protected health information (PHI). While this is the way of much of today’s population, this is can be a risk because of potential security problems.
New technology can improve performance. However, staff need to be properly trained and knowledgeable in how to use it. One thing that never goes out of style is the technological need for a quality medical answering service and disaster phone plan. We invite you to visit our website for more information.