Now that the U.S. government has extended the deadline for healthcare organizations to switch over to ICD-10 from version 9 of the International Classification of Diseases code, we all breathed a sigh of relief. Too many organizations had signaled that they would not be able to make the transition in time, so the new deadline for the mandatory switch is October 1, 2015.

Your medical practice is perfect and will continue to run just fine without you and your staff ever having to consider potential deficiencies, right? Of course not. No organization can rest on its laurels and hope to continue to meet the high standards it initially established, as conditions continue to change over the years. In order to deliver the best possible service, savvy managers of medical practices will make an effort to keep evaluating how they do things and to make sure existing protocols are up to modern challenges. With this in mind, here are three ways to improve your patient care.

No medical practice manager likes to think of himself as living in the past. However, when you have been in business for a significant period, it’s possible that you may be holding onto old habits without realizing that there are more efficient ways of doing work. Here are three outdated medical habits and practices that you can stop doing today, thanks to new developments in software and technology.

How do your patients feel about the amenities you offer at your medical practice? If it’s been a while since you thought about the first impression your organization makes on current patients and potential new patients, your waiting room may be in need of an upgrade. After all, it’s the place where your patients and their family and friends spend most of their time during visits to the doctor. Accordingly, one big thing that every medical practice needs to do is evaluate the waiting room from the perspective of patients.

The following is an excerpt from an article on Forbes. It was written by Glenn Watt, the Corporate Information Security Officer at Medidata Solutions. What are we talking about when we talk about data security? We are really talking about how we maintain the confidentiality of data to make sure only approved people have access to see that data, as well as the integrity of the data to ensure only authorized people can modify the data if needed. The third area is to ensure data availability to its owner at a time and place of their choosing and that no one is blocking that availability. So data security boils down to confidentiality, integrity and availability.

The following is an excerpt from an article on Information Management. It was written by Bob Violino. Electronic health records (EHR) uptake in the U.S. has accelerated dramatically as a result of government initiatives and the considerable resources healthcare providers have invested over the past five years, says research firm Frost & Sullivan. Electronic health records have become the heart of health IT, the firm says, and U.S. clinicians use them on a daily basis.

The following is a sneak peek of our new ICD-10 infographic, ICD-10 Readiness: Is Your Practice Prepared? ICD-10 is back, and medical practices everywhere are racing to get ready for the big, upcoming change taking place on October 1, 2015. Although the new version of ICD will make a medical professional's job a lot easier, it is no doubt going to be tough to prepare for this advance. Our ICD-10 Readiness Infographic can help you prepare by showing you: Up-to-date, helpful statistics to see where you stand amongst others How to make a smooth transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 before the deadline The typical costs of the ICD-10 process

The following is an excerpt from an article on ICD10 Monitor. It was written by D'Arcy Guerin Gue. We all know that the official deadline for implementing ICD-10 has been moved to Oct. 1, 2015. Any healthcare organization that singles out that date as its primary focus, however, is placing itself at grave financial risk. While there are some portions of ICD-10 that simply cannot be implemented in production early, like sending ICD-10 codes on claims, there are others that can – and simply must – be implemented earlier.

As the manager or owner of a thriving medical practice, you may already have some experience using electronic heath record software to streamline workflow at your facility, cut down on errors, and improve patient care. EHR software definitely makes it easier on your employees, and using certified EHR software can make you eligible to receive financial incentives from the government because of the gains in efficiency providers -- typically experience.

The ICD-10 compliance deadline of October 1, 2015, is less than a year away, and it is crucial that your team is fully ready for the switch. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decided to extend this deadline due to the complexity of the process of getting your entire healthcare facility ready to make this change. ADSC cares about the readiness of you and your colleagues. As a result, we want to help you prepare for this large scale transition by providing you with these 3 resources we have put together.