Dragon Medical Practice Edition

Transcription

1 C U S T O M E R C A S E S T U D Y Dragon Medical Practice Edition Couples Dragon Medical Practice Edition and eclinicalworks EHR to Achieve Significant Improvements in Level of Service and Responsiveness to Referring Physicians, one of the largest cardiology practices in the greater Delaware Valley, has 17 full-time cardiologists serving thousands of patients annually., located in Abington, PA, is a forward-thinking practice that provides comprehensive cardiac care from imaging and stress testing to cardiac catheterization and electrophysiologic procedures., which is affiliated with Abington Memorial Hospital, had recently made a decision to deploy front-end, real-time speech recognition alongside its new eclinicalworks electronic health record (EHR) and practice management solution to improve clinical workflow. The practice has recognized significant cost savings and dramatically higher levels of service and responsiveness to its referring physicians. Currently, 16 physicians, two nurse practitioners, and two physician assistants are using Dragon Medical Practice Edition to complete their documentation within eclinicalworks. Adopting a Full EHR Was Not Enough Prior to implementing an EHR, dealt with an abundance of paper charts that were circulated by courier among four office locations. It was an extremely involved process during which office staff were constantly looking for charts, recalled Barbara Thompson, Office Manager. Furthermore, rising transcription costs were becoming burdensome, totaling more than $200,000 annually. Highlights n 16 physicians, two nurse practitioners, and two physician assistants currently use Dragon Medical Practice Edition within eclinicalworks n $160,000 in annual transcription expenses have been eliminated n Reduced and redistributed office headcount by four to five FTEs n Rather than producing canned notes, Dragon Medical Practice Edition lets physicians create thorough documentation unique to each patient encounter n Comprehensive notes lead to confidence in coding at the maximum, appropriate level n Fewer claims are denied since documentation is more complete n Physicians no longer take work home with them n Referring physicians are extremely pleased with the quality of notes they receive immediately from following a patient visit

2 Dragon Medical C A S E S T U D Y A M S C a r d i o l o g y Physicians at, who all have an ownership stake in the practice, chose to explore adopting an EHR to eliminate their paper charts, while also cutting back transcription expenses. The Solution: Speech-Enabling the EHR As the practice researched EHR solutions, they realized that point and click templates limited their physicians ability to enter all relevant information in the patient record. physicians still needed the ability to dictate portions of their notes. That s when speech-enabling their EHR with Dragon Medical Practice Edition was presented as a viable solution. Dragon Medical Practice Edition, coupled with eclinicalworks, promised to provide the physicians a way to create complete, comprehensive, real-time patient notes. Expert Consulting from Logan Solutions A phased roll-out of eclinicalworks and Dragon Medical Practice Edition was overseen by Paul Logan, CRNP, Owner, Logan Solutions, a reseller of Dragon Medical Practice Edition and eclinicalworks. Logan chose to begin the implementation with a group of four technology-savvy physicians first, and then gradually added physicians over time. It was very beneficial to have Paul Logan as the lead implementation consultant for both eclinicalworks and Dragon Medical Practice Edition. He knows each application inside and out, and more importantly, how to make the products work seamlessly together, said Bonnie Mower, assistant office manager. Logan, a cardiovascular nurse practitioner, had strong credibility with the staff, notes Mower. I use eclinicalworks for a lot of point and click, but for the subjective information, as well as my conclusions and impressions, that s where Dragon Medical Practice Edition shines I would never go back to life pre-dragon. Dr. Bruce Berger Cardiologist Logan and his team worked closely with each physician to familiarize him/her with Dragon Medical Practice Edition and eclinicalworks. Although some physicians initially resisted adopting the new workflow, after a brief learning period, and within a few short months, the entire practice was fully ramped up. Getting Up to Speed Dr. Bruce Berger, Cardiologist, recalled the ramp-up period: Initially, I was dragged kicking and screaming into using it, but I was trained after only one day. Today, I m much happier than I expected. Dr. Berger, like other physicians at, kept his schedule light during the first days of use, seeing fewer patients. This strategy resulted in a more effective, faster rampup. Overall productivity isn t affected and I get a more complete note dictated now with Dragon Medical Practice Edition, noted Dr. Berger. Dr. Andrew Fireman, Cardiologist, echoed Dr. Berger s remarks: I was surprised by how easy learning Dragon 2 solutions for healthcare

3 Medical Practice Edition was. You go through the tutorials, and start dictating; it was just that easy. Soon, Dragon Medical Practice Edition became an indispensable tool for physicians at as they began to realize all the accompanying benefits, described below. Stronger Medical Decision-Making It is well known that the point and click templates of an EHR are invaluable for documenting structured or codified data within the patient note. However, by speech-enabling the EHR, physicians can dictate the medical decision-making aspects of the note, including a more comprehensive History of Present Illness and more detailed Assessment and Plan. Rather than being limited to producing canned notes, Dragon Medical Practice Edition lets physicians create thorough documentation unique to each patient encounter. Overall, Dragon Medical Practice Edition has helped physicians at create high quality documentation that garners positive feedback from patients and that referring physicians appreciate. Satisfied Referring Physicians Dr. Marc Cohen, Cardiologist, explained that the ability to dictate a letter and have it on a referring physician s desk in 12 minutes is huge Dragon Medical Practice Edition allows us to do that. Dr. Fireman added that everyone loves our letters generated from eclinicalworks with Dragon Medical Practice Edition. Dr. Fireman also explained that Dragon Medical Practice Edition has been a major contributor to capturing far more detailed information about the patient in the record, which is available immediately to both staff and appropriate referring clinicians. Dragon Medical Practice Edition works great for me; since I can t type, I use eclinicalworks for a lot of point and click, but for the subjective information, as well as my conclusions and impressions, that s where Dragon Medical Practice Edition shines, said Dr. Berger. I would never go back to life pre-dragon, he concluded. Better Work-Life Balance Physicians at state that they now no longer have to take work home with them in the evening. When I leave the office, my dictation is done for the day. This part of medicine is more fun, said Dr. Berger. Dr. Fireman concurs, I love to be able to walk out of my office and be done. Dragon Medical Practice Editon is unbelievable for what you can do with it. Everyone loves our letters generated from eclinicalworks with Dragon Medical Practice Edition. Dr. Andrew Fireman Cardiologist Dr. Bruce Berger, Cardiologist solutions for healthcare 3

4 ...since we ve adopted Dragon Medical Practice Edition, far fewer claims are denied before they go out the door since the documentation is more complete and comprehensive. Dr. Andrew Fireman Cardiologist Dr. Andrew Fireman, Cardiologist To be able to get all of your work done and dictate and send out letters with no lag time, it makes our whole office infinitely more efficient, said Dr. Fireman. Dramatic Improvement to the Bottom Line Having moved to Dragon Medical Practice Edition, has eliminated nearly all transcription expenses, saving over $160,000 per year. Further contributing to the practice s bottom line, AMS Cardiology was able to reduce and redistribute office head count by between four and five FTEs for additional savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. The office is more streamlined with eclinicalworks and Dragon Medical Practice Edition. The office staff cutback is a huge savings that s even larger than the transcription savings, explained Thompson. Dr. Berger explained that we re more productive economically with Dragon Medical Practice Edition; our coding and billing is better. The comprehensive notes that result from coupling narrative with point and click lead to a confidence in coding at the maximum, appropriate level of billing. Dragon Medical Practice Edition and an EHR is the ideal combination. Dr. Andrew Fireman Additionally, since we ve adopted Dragon Medical Practice Edition, far fewer claims are denied before they go out the door since the documentation is more complete and comprehensive, mentioned Mower. Setting A New Benchmark for Speed and Quality When Documenting Care within the Health System Dr. Fireman summed up s experience: If I didn t have Dragon Medical Practice Edition, I couldn t use the EHR. I can t type, and I m not going to point and click all day. The precerts are all done right away. Everything is there in the chart because of is seen by Abington Memorial Hospital as the benchmark for providing better services to primary care providers. Barbara Thompson Office Manager solutions for healthcare 4

5 Challenge: Replace an inefficient and labor intensive paper-based process and also eliminate $200,000 in annual transcription expenses, all while creating comprehensive patient documentation. Dragon Medical Practice Edition. It makes no sense to have an EHR and transcription. Dragon Medical Practice Edition and an EHR is the ideal combination. Due to the resounding success has attained with Dragon Medical Practice Edition and eclinicalworks, Thompson commented, AMS Cardiology is seen by Abington Memorial Hospital as the benchmark for providing better services to primary care providers. Based on s experience, the broader physician practice community associated with Abington Memorial Hospital is considering adopting Dragon Medical Practice Edition and eclinicalworks in hopes of achieving similar successes. In the meantime, looks forward to continually reaping the benefits they ve achieved with Dragon Medical Practice Edition and eclinicalworks. Solution: Speech-enable the EHR by coupling Dragon Medical Practice Edition with eclinicalworks in order to create complete, real-time patient notes. Results: Dragon Medical Practice Edition within eclinicalworks is now used by 16 physicians, two nurse practitioners, and two physician assistants to create high quality documentation unique to each patient encounter. Significant annual cost savings include $160,000 of transcription expenses and hundreds of thousands of dollars via office staff reductions. Maximum confidence in coding has led to far fewer claims being denied. Physicians no longer have to take work home with them in the evening and referring physicians are extremely pleased with the quality of notes they receive from immediately following a patient visit.. For product information please visit Nuance Healthcare at or call Nuance Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Nuance, the Nuance logo, and Dragon are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. 5 solutions for healthcare

6 L /11 DTM The experience speaks for itself NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC. ONE Wayside Road Burlington, MA NUANCE.COM/healthcare