Healthcare Management Software

Pace Health Management Systems

Guide to Healthcare Management Software

Healthcare providers stay organized with software for healthcare administration
By Judy Artunian

	Nuts & Bolts of Health Care Administration Take advantage of software solutions that simplify health care administration. Medical practice management is increasingly shifting to electronic medical records. With medical billing software, your practice can actually get paid faster.

Medical practices, hospitals and other healthcare organizations turn to healthcare management software for help complying with the increasingly complex medical coding and billing rules imposed by health insurance companies and government agencies. Software for healthcare administration can also help physicians and healthcare administrators tackle time-consuming tasks such as electronic medical records (EMR) management and medical credentialing.

When considering medical practice software:

1. Confirm that the healthcare management software complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). If it doesn’t, insurance claims could be rejected because certain data will be absent or incorrect.
2. If you already use EMR software and plan to add a practice management software package to your system, keep in mind that the two programs are more likely to be interoperable if they’re both from the same vendor.
3. To help ensure that your staff gets thoroughly trained on your new healthcare management software, look for software makers that provide user training programs.

Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Vanquish medical office headaches with practice management software Full-featured medical office software packages give physicians and their staff the tools to efficiently complete many clinical and administrative tasks, including medical coding and billing.

I recommend:  Sage Software offers four practice management products including Intergy, which allows you to integrate EMR. AdvancedMD’s solutions include medical office software packages for small practices and multi-location practices. eClinicalWorks offers solutions for EMR management, electronic claims monitoring and a secure portal where patients and doctors can communicate via the Internet. There is also an online forum where eClinicalWorks users discuss the ups and downs of medical practice management.

Healthcare management software for hospitals Hospitals are still waiting for a comprehensive healthcare management software solution that can handle their broad spectrum of healthcare management needs. Meanwhile, software for healthcare administration can help hospitals automate many of their most labor-intensive administrative and management procedures,

I recommend:  HealthLine Systems provides healthcare management software for contact centers, credentialing and quality management. IntelliSoft Group’s applications include credentialing, payer and provider contract management and information technology management.

Get down to medical office software basics with EMR If you're not ready for a multi-tasking healthcare management software suite, consider investing in new EMR software. Look for EMR products that integrate with your other healthcare management applications.

I recommend:  PracticeStudio.NET EMR is an electronic medical records suite that includes input forms for dozens of medical conditions and symptoms. It’s compatible with PracticeStudio’s medical practice software. AllMeds provides specialty-specific EMR software. If you’re drowning in hardcopy medical records, a service such as Spectrum Information Services will convert your hardcopy records to electronic documents. Find more electronic medical records system vendors at Business.com.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• When trying to convince the doctors in your practice to adopt new practice management software, emphasize how it will help improve their quality of care and ultimately reduce operating costs.
• Transferring old data, such as patient contact information, to your new medical office software program can waste time in the long run because much of the information is likely to be outdated. You can save time and money by entering new addresses and other data when patients come in for appointments.
• When it's time for your new healthcare management software to be installed, appoint someone from your staff to serve as the project manager. This person would be responsible for making sure that the installation proceeds on schedule and that your staff is properly trained.