The following is an excerpt from an article on Medpage Today. It was written by Joyce Frieden. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may relax some of its rules for implementing Meaningful Use requirements, the agency announced Thursday. "Meaningful Use" refers to provisions in the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which authorized incentive payments through Medicare and Medicaid to clinicians and hospitals that use electronic health records (EHRs) in a meaningful way to significantly improve clinical care.

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.

It seems that people are busier than ever these days, with their attention constantly shifting between the requirements of work, family, and other priorities. The busier people are, the less energy they typically have available to devote to cultivating relationships. However, as the owner or manager of a thriving medical practice, you know just how important and valuable each relationship is with your patients. It takes time and effort to begin a relationship with each new person who comes into your practice, and you don’t want to waste that by failing to cultivate it.

From taking an extra moment to engage in small talk with a patient to offering children a lollipop after getting a vaccination, medical practices are always coming up with ways to improve the relationship between doctors and patients. With the advent of highly affordable computer systems and widespread adoption of high-speed Internet capability within most people’s reach, the potential to improve doctor-patient relationships is made easier with patient portals.

It’s not always clear how new software will help an organization in any industry, especially if you are entering into unknown territory. Such is the case with medical organizations and Practice Management Software. It’s prudent to work with a software company that has the experience and knowledge to develop and regularly upgrade its medical applications.

What is a patient portal? Like the name suggests, a patient portal can serve as a door to your medical practice. Unlike the doors of your brick and mortar office space, however, the portal is designed to always be open, giving patients access to a variety of helpful information and services. The more medical organizations can empower their patients, such as by giving them easier access to the vital information they desire, the more they will feel engaged with the practice. This can go a long way when it comes to patient satisfaction and retention, and can also lead to new business as patients refer their friends and family to you because they are pleased with the many benefits of using the patient portal you’ve set up.

You may be familiar with some of the benefits of electronic health record systems for medical organizations. This is why so many healthcare providers and other entities have made the switch to EHR from their antiquated, paper-based systems. There is, however, another way to look at EHR when making the case for implementing it in your organization. How does it benefit the patient?

You may have seen that some of your medical organization’s competitors have been using patient portals, or heard requests from your patients asking you to implement a patient portal because they have enjoyed using them elsewhere. As a busy manager or owner of a medical organization, it’s prudent to wonder about the return on investment for patient portals.

A major aspect of any medical organization is the ability to offer ongoing educational resources to patients. The more you can encourage your patients to learn about what steps they can take to get healthy and stay healthy, the better off they and your practice will be. What’s more, as you engage your patients, they will have a more positive attitude toward your practice and your staff. Fortunately, there are simple electronic health record tools that your organization can use to both engage and educate each of your patients.

Is your medical organization ready for Stage 2 Meaningful Use? Medical organizations have an opportunity to benefit from financial incentives offered through the government by meeting the requirements of Stage 2 Meaningful Use.