Every medical practice that focuses on a particular specialty will have unique challenges to contend with, and oncology is no exception. With a wide variety of types of cancer to diagnose, assess, and develop a treatment strategy for, oncologists must balance the level of compassion and honesty as they prepare their patients for their upcoming treatments and ongoing surveillance and testing. Oncologists are making great strides in treating cancers, with new techniques, medicines, and protocols being developed all the time to help them handle this disease in all its forms. The stakes are high, and maintaining the highest standards of care requires enormous resources from medical professionals as they seek to improve the lives of their patients. With that in mind, here is an overview of four things every oncologist should be focusing on during evaluation, treatment, and follow-up encounters with the people for which they are providing care.

The following is an excerpt from our whitepaper, The ICD-10 Transition: How to Properly Deal with the Extension. Keep in mind that the transition to ICD-10 can or will affect everyone in yourorganization or practice, including doctors and nurses, billing personnel, coders, managers, the IT department, and more depending on the size of the entity.

The following is an excerpt from an article that appeared on EHR Intelligence. It was written by Kyle Murphy, PhD. The most recent run of ICD-10 acknowledgement testing by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revealed no problems with the Medicare Fee-for-service (FFS) claims systems but did show a lower rate nationally of accepted test claims as compared to previous testing in March. “Acceptance rates improved throughout the week with Friday’s acceptance rate for test claims at 87 percent,” the federal agency said in Medicare Learning Network (MLN) Connects update on Monday. “Nationally, CMS accepted 76 percent of total test claims. Testing did not identify any issues with the Medicare FFS claims systems.”

As an astute medical professional or as a manager or owner of a medical practice, you are aware of the impending required change from ICD-9 as mandated by CMS. Organizations need to make the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 by October 1, 2015. The code change is organized by the World Health Organization, which creates, manages, and updates ICD codes. Understanding the differences between ICD-9 and ICD-10 will help you and your team get prepared for the upcoming change. It’s natural to ask what is the most significant change when switching from ICD-9 to ICD-10? Since the change is mandatory, your staff really has no choice in making the switch, but it is important to know why they must do so.

How well do you think your dermatology practice is being managed lately? If you’re not using a robust computer system and the finest available dermatology-oriented software, it’s likely that you’ve been making do with generic medical practice applications or an outdated legacy system. Certainly, conventional electronic health record applications can help you improve how you do work, but dermatology-oriented EHR systems are a much better option. Why settle for one size fits all when you can get the specialized software that your organization could really benefit from? Managing a dermatology practice is much easier when you have dedicated software that is designed to meet the needs of your specialty and the particular needs of your patients.

The following is an excerpt from an article on Corrections.com. It was written by Girish Navani. Based on recent research, there is a need for correctional facilities across the nation to implement electronic health records (EHRs) to ensure that inmates get the proper care. According to a national nonprofit group, The Treatment Advocacy Center, prisons and jails in the United States held over 356,000 inmates with severe mental illnesses in 2012. In fact, state prisons around the nation are urging government officials to implement digital health records.

The following is an excerpt from an article that appeared on Modern Healthcare. It was written by Joseph Conn. Hospitals are further along in upgrading their electronic health-record systems to where they need to be than had seemed possible only a month ago, according to new data from the CMS. After getting off to a sputtering start, nearly 3,700 hospitals have attested to meeting the program's meaningful-use requirements through Dec. 1 this year. More are expected to attest as the filing period draws to a close at the end of this month, Elisabeth Myers, of CMS' office of e-health standards and services, said in a report to the federally chartered Health Information Technology Policy Committee.

If you’re not maximizing the number of patients you can see every day as well as the number of referrals that your facility sees on a regular basis, you are doing a disservice to your radiological practice. Taking advantage of the latest developments in software solutions will definitely help a health services provider work more efficiently. Many medical practices use electronic health record software to keep track of their patient’s clinical and medical details and to interact with insurance entities more effectively. However, standard EHR applications are not the most suitable approach when you have a specialty to support. Read on for details about how radiology-specific software can maximize your revenue and keep referrers referring patients to your practice.

How many beds are currently occupied at your inpatient facility? Which ones have patients that are due to be released soon? Can you determine which programs are using more beds? The ebb and flow of patients staying at your facility by its very nature must be somewhat unpredictable. When you have hard data on the status of each bed, you’ll be able to manage your resources much more effectively.

Computer systems capable of understanding human speech have become part of the fabric of our everyday life. People routinely speak to disembodied electronic assistants, such as when calling a customer help line or to check the balance on an account. We also speak to our smartphones, using them to look up information or to dictate a note. With robust speech recognition in place, we can get our jobs done faster and with fewer errors, leaving us free to devote more time to our core responsibilities.