Meaningful Use Reimbursement Checks

At NYeC’s Syracuse and Binghamton educational Summits on April 28 and April 29, 2011, several providers spoke on various panels and the impact EHRs have had on their practices. Their presentations captured the benefits of EHRs for both patients and providers. Their first-hand accounts spoke about improved patient care, more efficient offices and cost savings.

Here are some of their quotes which tell the story.

• Daniel Mather, Practice Manager, Oswego County OB-GYN PC, Oswego, N.Y.:
  “Practicing without an EMR system is inefficient. Our system has reduced denied claims by 10%. The reporting lets us identify slow payers too... within 18 months we had a positive return on investment. And there were no incentives available when we adopted our system.”
• Bea Grace, RN, Manager, Endwell Family Physicians, Endwell, N.Y:
  “We used to have stacks of charts on the providers’ desks, taking up space and unavailable to anyone else.”
• Duncan Sze-Tu, MD, Endwell Family Physicians, Endwell, N.Y.:
  “We started in 2001, implementing gradually. It took about 6 months to get up to speed, but we didn’t slow down appointments. I used to have to stay for hours in the evenings, sometimes, to finish notes. Now my notes are generally done by the time the patient leaves the office. A big difference. Big.”

Cathy Comeno, RN, BSN,MBA,CCDS, Clinical Services Director, Cardiology Associates, Johnson City, N.Y.:

“Back in the old days, a patient would call with a problem and the hunt began for their folder. Sometimes it could be anywhere, including in the back of someone’s car... the financial gain we experienced by adopting and EHR was a big deal for us. For example, an added benefit we didn’t even realize initially was not having to send out letters anymore. We saved something like $40k the first year, just on postage.”