Mobile Dictation Tools Gaining Ground in Healthcare

Robert N. Mitchell wrote an interesting article in the November 8th edition of For the Record Magazine in which he discussed the rise of mobile dictation in the healthcare industry.

With the government urging HIT adoption, there’s been a gradual change in physician documentation habits. Moreover, physicians are being asked more frequently to use electronic health records (EHR) instead of narrative dictation to dictate. However, using an EHR takes twice as long to accomplish because physicians have to “leave the exam room, find a computer, log in to it, load an application, search for the patient, find a template, fill out the template–all the while hoping that the template covers all the information that has to be documented.”

Some physicians combat the lag time by taking notes and entering all of the day’s the information into EHRs at the end of the day. However, when this is done from memory, it increases the risk of incomplete or inaccurate EHRs. Enter mobile dictation apps.

Good Shepherd Medical Center (Longview, TX) recently developed an iPhone app for its physicians to view patients’ clinical and demographic information. Using the app allows doctors to “see which patients need attention and to view lab values, medication lists and radiology reports” all from their smart phone.

3M Health Information Systems developed a mobile app that interfaces with scheduling systems and patient admissions, discharge and transfer systems. Doctors can use their app to “dictate notes, view patient lists…and access current patient information.” In addition, 3M’s app allows physicians to dictate directly into a smartphone during a patient encounter. The completed dictation is then automatically sent for speech recognition and then into the medical transcription system.

Emdat has also developed an app that allow doctors to download their patient schedule and record their dictation directly into an iPhone and/or Windows Mobile platforms. In addition, physicians can review the completed dictation and use electronic signatures from their mobile devices.

Finally, BayScribe has developed mobile dictation apps for the iPhone (both 3 and 4), iPad, Windows Mobile devices, and Blackberry, and Android is on its way.

BayScribe’s IT manager Dean Ganskop,  said: “This takes an entire narrative from a doctor and the engine parses out discrete reportable transcription [DRT] information such as allergies or diagnosis list.”

As exciting as these new mobile dictation technologies are, Claudia Tessier (RHIA, MEd, president of mHealth Initiative and former CEO of the American Association for Medical Transcription) insists that the need to review a dictated report will never go away.

Q: What do you think about mobile dictation devices?

Decision Health’s 2010 Private Duty Conference Overview

Last week, PRN Funding exhibited at Decision Health’s 13th Annual Private Duty National Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, NV.

Overall, it was a wonderful conference. Phil Cohen (President of PRN Funding, LLC) and Nikki Flores (Marketing Manager) had the opportunity to speak with a number of  home care agency owners who were interested in using PRN Funding’s private duty factoring services sometime in the future.

PRN Funding is looking forward to exhibiting that Decision Health’s 2011 Private Duty Conference and Expo next year!

Nuance Launches Speech-Enabled MT Services Offering

According to SpeechTechMag.com, Nuance Communications launched an outsourced medical transcription services offering that expands Nuance’s clinical documentation solutions portfolio.

According to the article, “Nuance Transcription Services combines Nuance’s proprietary eScription speech recognition platform with its global medical transcription and editing services team…[It] also draws upon strengths and resources from two recently acquired leaders in medical transcription outsourcing, Outsourcing Solutions and Encompass Medical Transcription.”

Click here to read the entire article: Nuance Launches Speech Enabled Medical Transcription Service Offering.

Advocacy Summit 2011 Details Released

Attendees are set to speak with key legislative officials and staff about the medial transcription industry’s critical role in healthcare delivery at Advocacy Summit 2011 is set for May 3-4 in Washington DC.

According to the official MTIA Blog, Advocacy Summit 2011 attendees will receive the following:

  • Orientation and training on effective lobbying techniques
  • Appointment scheduling services for legislative meetings
  • Materials to convey a clear, concise, and powerful message
  • AHDI/MTIA staff assistance every step of the way

Additional events are scheduled at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center.

Download Registration Form
Register Online – Full Registration
Register Online – Day Tripper Package

The Hotel

Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center
3800 Reservoir Rd NW
Washington, DC 20057
Phone: 202-687-3200

The Georgetown University Hotel and Conference center is nestled among the buildings of the university campus in one of the most historic Washington, DC, neighborhoods. Complimentary transportation to two nearby metros—Dupont Circle and Rosslyn—are available along with abundant shopping and restaurants right around the corner in the heart of Georgetown. Single- and double-occupancy rooms for AHDI/MTIA Advocacy Summit attendees are $189 per night.

Online reservations
Reserve by Phone: 1-888-324-2111 (mention you are with AHDI/MTIA)

Room-Sharing Program
Advocacy Summit attendees interested in sharing hotel room costs at Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center may contact Miranda Youkhaneh at myoukhaneh@mtia.com or 800.982.2182 for roommate pairing.

For more details and updated information, visit Advocacy Summit 2011 at www.mtia.com/AdvocacySummit.cfm.

CDC Report Finds 59 Million Americans without Health Insurance

CDC analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and early release NHIS data from the first quarter 2010 to help determine the number of uninsured Americans or who had gaps in coverage. Then CDC used their findings to determine whether lack of health insurance coverage was associated with increased levels of forgone health care. Here are some of it’s key findings:

  1. In Q1 of 2010, approximately 59.1 million people had no health insurance for at least part of the year before the interview, which is up from 58.7 million in 2009 and 56.4 million uninsured in 2008.
  2. Of the 58.7 million who were uninsured in 2009, 82.8% were between the ages of 18-64, and 16.2% were under the age of 18.
  3. From 2008-2009, the number of uninsured children decreased 5%, however the number of adults (aged 18-64) who went without insurance increased 5.7%.

CDC also concluded that Americans aged 18-64 with chronic medical conditions and without consistent health insurance coverage are much more likely to forgo needed medical care than those with the same conditions and continuous coverage. In addition, CDC said: “Increasing the number of persons with continuous health insurance coverage can reduce the number of occasions that persons forgo needed health care, which can reduce complications from illness and avoidable long-term expenditures.”

Click here to read more from CDC’s report on Health Insurance Coverage and Health Care Utilization.

AAPC Welcomes 100,000th Member

Mrs. Carla Peacock was The American Academy of Professional Coders 100,000th registrant to become a part of the medical coding association.

The AAPC is celebrating this triumphant membership milestone by awarding Mrs. Peacock with an all-expense paid trip to the 2011 AAPC Conference, scheduled for April 3-6 in Long Beach, CA. She will also receive a free Certified Professional Coder (CPCA) exam along with a 2011 AAPC webinar subscription to help earn CEUs.

Click here for more details on the 100,000th AAPC member.

Cash Flow Problem – Try Invoice Factoring

There was an article in today’s Wall Street Journal entitled: Fast Money talked about how many companies are using “what was once a controversial way of obtaining quick money–Selling their invoices to a factoring firm.

Although business owners suggest a number of reasons to take advantage of factoring, one of the biggest attractions is no longer having to wait to be paid. Other business owners use accounts receivable factoring to help them get their companies up and running. Still, some business owners see use factoring to help them bridge the cash flow gap for a short period of time.

Still, these same business owners who use factoring also admit that there are some drawbacks, namely the cost of factoring.

The article also included a factoring snap shot for those business owners who are thinking of working with a factor.

  1. Ask Around – Talk to other people in your industry who have used a factoring firm.
  2. Check References – When you find a factoring firm you want to work with, ask them for references.
  3. Choose a Factor who Understands Your Business – Take the time to provide sample invoices for the factoring firm to review ahead of time.
  4. Listen – Communicate with the factor over the phone to get an idea of how the factor will interact with your customers.
  5. Negotiate – Once quoted, try negotiating the rates.
  6. Be choosey – About which invoices you want to factor.

Staffing Agencies Name Cash Flow No. 1 Challenge

About two years ago, The Receivables Exchange marketplace opened its doors. It’s a unique factoring service that allows factors to bid on various business owners’ invoices.

The Receivables Exchange recently conducted a survey of 636 executives at companies from the $1-200 million revenue range across 15 different industries. The results of the survey yielded some interesting insights into the cash flow worries at temporary staffing firms:

  1. 2/3 of the executives surveyed listed working capital as their #1 concern, and staffing agency owners were the most worried about cash flow.
  2. Staffing agency owners also listed seasonality and disruptive events (i.e. fluctuations in the market that affect demand for services) as top concerns.
  3. Although extended payment terms were not as big of a capital challenge for staffing agency owners as in other industries, staffing executives still listed it as a general business concern.
  4. 1/3 of all the respondents believed that they were being blocked by traditional financing sources.
  5. Nearly half of the staffing companies were not satisfied with their borrowing capabilities from traditional financing sources.

Given all of these findings, it comes to no surprise that staffing agency owners would benefit greatly by selling their invoices to a factoring firm. Click here to access the complete research report: http://www.receivablesxchange.com/recruiting-staffing.