Health Care System: How to Nurture a High-Performance Medical Group of India using EHR

Before we review what it takes to operate a high-performing health care system, let’s start with some fast facts related to India:

Total number of doctors registered (allopathic): Approximately 8, 56,065 (Till 31^st July, 2011)

Total number of AYUSH Doctors (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Naturopathy, Homeopathy): Approximately 7, 121, 21 (Till 31^st July, 2011)

Total number of dentist registered: Approximately 11, 8000

Hospitals: 15,393

Total no. of licensed Blood Bank: 2445

Exactly who is leading and managing this healthcare system fiercely independent collection of practices and doctors? Are their incentives now aligned with those of the hospital or health care system with whom they are working?  In addition, does this structure address the medical group constituency?

Very Important questions: While Indian health care currently trails nearly every other industry in innovation. We can see the accelerated growth in Indian healthcare. Government expenditure has also increased over last period. We are just beginning to see a wave of innovation the likes of which our industry has never seen: As innovation, we can see Ambulatory Surgical or Emergency Centers, Retail clinical chains especially in dental. All that has changed, and even “day care and hospital at home” facilities are demonstrating improved patient satisfaction and better outcomes.

Each of these new models is for caring about patients in the most cost-effective way. In addition, to succeed, each of these new models requires highly coordinated networks among high performance medical groups.

So how does a healthcare system transform a collection of independent practices into a high-performance medical group?

The solutions for transforming healthcare are followings:

1. A Clinical collaboration allows easy access, secure sharing and integration of clinical data of patients across a variety of platforms in a patient-centric care. This facilitates both storing of clinical data in various formats like in image, PDF, Word etc. and sharing this with other doctors. DocEngage helps in storage of various clinical records related to patients and sharing with other practioners.

2. An analytics service to develop both clinical as well as operational insight. Only Visibility is not enough. Now hospitals/clinicians need access to real-time analytics and dashboards that help them to understand revenue drivers and helps in decision-making at the point of care. DocEngage provides real time analytics and dashboard which gives an insight of revenue drivers and makes decision making more evidence based

3. Workflows that guide action to the right care provider at the right time. DocEngage helps in managing the workflow in easier manner and supports care provider by providing evidence material required for giving right treatment to patients. Evidence based material includes all patient’s assessments forms, investigations with impression, previous medications list, previous clinical notes and history related to perticular patients.

DocEngage is uniquely positioned to deliver above three solutions to health care systems. Here are a few examples of the advantages the DocEngage

Smart, comprehensive and intuitive access and helps in sharing of information—regardless of platform across the entire continuum of care;

• Provides real time visibility across the care providers network
• Rapid deployability, at one time more than one care center can be managed within single Organisation without any difficulties
• Financial efficiency, no software installation and server maintenance cost
• Helps in providing the right information to the right person at the right moment of care

DocEngage: Improving Care and Revenue through Patient Communication

Operating a small clinic in today’s economy is difficult. To provide high-quality medical care requires financial strength. Most of the  physicians are ill-equipped to survive in a very tough business environment in our country. They spend years training to take good care of their patients, but they have no idea to run a practice effectively. How can they best improve practice management, Patient Communication, delivery of care, financial health … all at the same time..

What is mainly required to make it all work?

A stable clinic needs to do two things : Maximize revenue and  control costs

In today’s world, small practices must also continually look for ways to increase their  revenue.

Controlling costs is actually very difficult but it can be managed with the help of the right stuff. An added challenge is with maximizing revenue is to improve care.

DocEngage helps small clinic in controlling costs and maximizing revenue by reducing errors during care and continuously retaining patients.

So, how DocEngage helps in increasing their bottom line with fixed reimbursement rates and overhead?

By increasing patient flow through their clinic. By two ways  this can be accomplished: 1. By gaining new patients; and 2. By increasing the number of visits from existing patients.

DocEngage helps in a continuously improving patient flow by increasing more communication between doctor and patient. It helps in seeing patients more often, which is not only financially rewarding, but it also helps in promoting better care. It works on the principle of maintaining a relationship with the patient, when they are healthier rather than when they are sick.

Let’s help in  getting healthy patients into the clinic and keeping them healthy.

DocEngage helps in patient communication, which can be a great driver for both health and revenue. It helps in sending e-mail to patients, to remind them about routine health maintenance visits. It also helps in sending reminders on the basis of age, gender and disease.

With these automated reminders, It helps in increasing scheduling  and does “the required thing” by improving care for a specific patient at-risk and general patients.

The next step-when DocEngage enables to see patients. Here is how it does: When a patient checks out, if his/her follow-up appointment is not made on the spot, DocEngage will automatically send reminders for the next recommended visit.

DocEngage helps in providing good care as well as financial stability, together.

Adding Value to Care Management by Taking a Patient-Centered Care

Patient-Centered Care means deep respect for patients as unique living being and obligation to care for on their terms. There have been always concerns that patient-centered care is for better outcome.  As they are well informed, respected, and involved in their care—and their wishes honored during their treatment in today’s world. Thus during promoting a Care should consider patient-centeredness of clinicians, and health systems. 

To proceed with, there would be certain infrastructural changes. These changes will include electronic health record and advance scheduling management, it is necessary to move medical care into the 21st century. Simply implementing an electronic health record will not help in accomplishing the goal unless it helps in strengthening the relationship, promotes communication about health related things that matter, helps patients know more about their health, and increase their involvement in their own care. Similarly, advanced scheduling management could as likely lead to greater access to an overworked, uncaring functionary as it could to a familiar and caring presence in time of need.

A patient who was accustomed to a passive role in care might be satisfied by the physician has rushed, “Any questions?” at the end of a visit and habitually answer was no; and the person may never have experienced a more active invitation for involvement during his own care. In this approach physician, invite the patient to participate.

Integration of information technology (IT) infrastructure into healthcare—especially use of electronic health records (EHRs), portals that allow access to select personal health information online, and e prescribing will help in providing accustomed Care. EHR helps in providing evidence based cost effective care.

DocEngage helps in providing Patient-Centered care by improving access to care, engaged patients, coordinated care, Integration of all care provider, routine patient feedback to doctor, personal health record that support high quality care and less errors during care .Thus DocEngage works on following principles :-

1) Dignity and Respect: - DocEngage helps in understanding the family perspectives and choices. It also helps in incorporation of family history and cultural background during delivery of care.

2) Information Sharing: - Doctor communicates and share complete and unbiased information with concerned and their families in a way that are affirming and useful.

3) Participation: - The families are encouraged and supported in participating in care and decision making at the level they choose.

 4) Collaboration:-DocEngage helps in collaborating patients, their families, clinicians, hospitals during delivery of care