News 3/26/13

The average turnover for physicians in 2012 hit 6.8 percent, while turnover for PAs and NPs was 11.5 percent. More than a third of practices expect the pace of retirements to increase in 2013. Physician turnover is hitting small group practices especially hard: 19.4 percent of physicians practicing in small groups and over the age of 64 are leaving, compared to 12.7 percent for older physicians in all other groups.

Vitera offers some tips for practices shopping for EHRs. A few highlights:

• Get others in the practice involved in the selection process
• Consider the vendors training and support options, including vendors’ willingness to customize implementations
• Make your final selection based on long-term value and not just price.

Robert Tennant, a senior policy advisor for MGMA highlights some of the ways that the Affordable Care Act will impact small physician practices, including:

• Health plans must return patient eligibility and benefits details to providers within 20 seconds of an inquiry. Practices will presumably take advantage of “real time” eligibility checks, allowing them to collect the correct co-pay and deductible amounts at the time of service
• Health plans must offer electronic funds transfer and not just paper checks. The remittance advice must adhere to a national standard, making reconciliation easier for practices.
• A future rule may require health plans to send providers requests for additional information electronically and allow providers to provide additional information electronically.

Aprima says nearly 200 former MyWay customers have converted to the Aprima EHR and PM platform in the six months since Allscripts announced that it would not be enhancing MyWay to meet MU and ICD-10 requirements. Aprima CEO Michael Nissenbaum says he expects the company to gain up to 1,500 provider users, nearly half of those who had implemented the Allscripts product.

An ONC report shows FQHC providers who work with an regional extension center are more likely to utilize EHRs than providers practicing in other settings (79 percent, compared to 71 percent).

The role of EMR project manager typically falls to the practice manager, requiring the manager to be educated on the MU program; to assemble a team to carry out the plan; to develop an implementation plan; and, to monitor progress. Consultants say the physician’s role is to lead the clinical team and support the practice manager in implementing changes in workflows and staffing roles.

It’s time for our annual HIStalk Practice reader survey, which is different than the HIStalk survey we opened a couple weeks ago. It would help us a lot if you could take one minute or less to answer 12 simple questions. Thanks!

E-mail Inga.