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Author: Jeff Tormey

Why Your Healthcare Website Must Be ADA and HIPAA Compliant

What is ADA & HIPPA Compliance?

Written by Jeff Tormey on . Posted in Connect.

As a healthcare provider, you know the importance of staying on top of regulations and standards. If your medical website does not comply with ADA and HIPAA requirements, you are at risk for fines from the Department of Health and Human Services. In this article, we will discuss what these regulations mean for your website as well as some simple steps to make sure that your site is compliant!

What Is ADA Compliance for Websites?

The ADA was enacted in 1990 to protect individuals with disabilities from discrimination. One of its mandates is that websites are accessible to people who have visual, hearing, or physical impairments. It’s important to note that the law doesn’t just apply to public accommodations; it also applies to employment and telecommunications services offered by private entities.

What Does This Mean for Your Healthcare Website?

There are specific guidelines that your website must follow in order to be ADA compliant. Some of the requirements include:
  • Captions on Videos or Sound Files: If there is any audio content, it should have a transcript for people who can’t hear it. Videos must also have captions turned on by default.
  • Alternatives to Flash: If your website uses flash, it must have an alternative that is accessible.
  • Navigation: The main page of your site should be navigable by keyboard only (tabbing through links) and screen reader software. It also needs to follow standard web conventions for how visitors can go back or forward in the browser.
  • Content: All of the content on your site must be accessible by screen readers or other assistive technologies. This includes links, images, and forms so that people with disabilities can access them using adaptive equipment. It also means alt text needs to accompany every image you use (the alt attribute provides a brief description of what is in an image so that screen readers can read it out to their users).

What Is HIPAA Compliance for Websites?

HIPAA compliance in healthcare websites is not just about putting a lock icon on your website where you can find important information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 protects the privacy of patients’ medical information. It applies to healthcare providers, health plans, clearinghouses (companies that process claims), data/information which are part of a standard transaction for banking or insurance purposes, as well as their business associates who have access to this sensitive information.

What Does This Mean for Your Healthcare Website?

HIPAA compliant website design is complex, and the law applies to many different aspects of your business. Some requirements you need to be aware of include:
  • Disclosures on Forms: One HIPAA website requirement is that any form that asks users for sensitive information must have a link at the top or bottom with detailed information about how data will be used.
  • Privacy policy: Your privacy policy needs to be prominently displayed on your website so that users can easily find it and read the information about how their data will be used.
  • Accessibility: Some of these requirements are covered under ADA compliance, but HIPAA also includes requirements for making your website accessible to people with disabilities.
  • Business Associates: This part of HIPAA applies if you outsource any work that involves PHI (protected health information). A business associate agreement needs to be in place and it outlines what they can and cannot do with the data they access from your site.
  • Security: This part of HIPAA requires you to have reasonable security measures in place. This also includes having a privacy officer who is responsible for making sure that the policies are followed.

What Should You Do Now?

If your healthcare website isn’t ADA and HIPAA compliant, it’s important to take steps now so that you can avoid penalties and damage to your reputation. If you aren’t sure how to get started, Guideway Care is here to help. Contact us today so we can audit your website and discuss what needs to be done for it to become compliant with HIPAA and ADA, as well as design your complete medical digital marketing plan. Want to learn more about why compliance is important in healthcare websites? Read: Keys to a HIPAA Compliant Website.
Key Reasons Healthcare Practices Should Offer Online Scheduling

Key Reasons Healthcare Practices Should Offer Online Scheduling

Written by Jeff Tormey on . Posted in Connect.

The healthcare industry is currently in a state of flux. Technology has transformed the way we live and work, and medical practices are no exception to that trend. Patients want more convenience when they visit their doctors’ offices, and many physicians agree. One big change that has happened over the past few years is the advent of online scheduling for medical appointments; it offers several advantages for both patients and providers alike.

The Benefits of Online Appointment Scheduling for Doctors

There are several benefits to offering online scheduling for doctor’s appointments. Some of the chief advantages include increased patient convenience, better access to providers, and improved staff efficiency. However, there are many other less obvious but still very important reasons why practices should offer this service too. Here is a list of ten benefits of a doctor appointment booking system that will hopefully convince you:
  1. Increased patient satisfaction because there’s less time spent on hold with an automated service or waiting on hold with a receptionist for an appointment date.
  2. Reduced costs because fewer people show up at clinics unnecessarily (because they confused it with a different date).
  3. Improved efficiency by allowing nurses to spend more time with patients by handling fewer administrative tasks.
  4. The service easily allows for EMR integration with the right patient portal software.
  5. When scheduling online, patients are more likely to utilize other healthcare engagement solutions.
  6. Online medical schedulers reduce no-shows because patients are able to see when they have appointments scheduled.
  7. Patients gain access to more medical providers in different categories of insurance because online appointment scheduling software can schedule at virtually any clinic, urgent care center, or doctor’s office.
  8. Patients are able to schedule appointments in advance, which is especially helpful when they have chronic conditions.
  9. Online scheduling services enable patients who lack transportation or live far away from healthcare providers to get the care that they need.
  10. When patients aren’t able to visit a practice during hours of operation, online medical appointment schedulers give them another way to get in touch with their healthcare providers.
Not sure how to get started with allowing patients to book medical appointments online? Guideway Care is here to help. Speak with us today about our various online solutions. Want more info now? Read our guide to successful EMR integration.
How to Design a Waiting Room Your Patients Will Love

How to Design a Waiting Room Your Patients Will Love

Written by Jeff Tormey on . Posted in Connect.

Doctors are faced with a difficult task when it comes to designing their waiting room. For them, it must be functional, holding the correct number of patients while allowing for easy flow in and out. But patients want to feel comfortable while they wait for their appointment. It can be difficult to strike the right balance, which is problematic, given your waiting room is a critical component in healthcare CRM. Luckily, there are some simple design tricks that will help you create an amazing waiting room that will make your patients love you! Here are a few waiting room ideas to keep in mind.

14 Tips for Patient-Centric Clinic Waiting Room Design

  1. Include high-quality art to make your medical or dental waiting room feel more welcoming.
  2. Place plants in the corners of the patient waiting room, adding life and visual appeal.
  3. Make sure that there is adequate lighting during both day and nighttime hours (consider using lamps instead of overhead lights). This will help ease any potential anxiety about power outages.
  4. Use neutral tones and warm colors to help patients feel more at ease in your healthcare waiting room, such as beige or light brown with pops of green color.
  5. Keep the temperature comfortable (between 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit). If you do not have air conditioning, consider using a fan during particularly hot days to enhance the waiting room experience.
  6. Increase the noise level in your waiting room. If patients are able to concentrate on their music or entertainment, they will be less likely to get frustrated with the wait time.
  7. Make sure that information is clear and easy to read for your patients. This includes any signs in your waiting room along with appointment cards/reminders if you have them available.
  8. Offer a number system to allow your patients to feel more in control of their wait time. This will also help lessen the likelihood that they will have an outburst due to frustration or anxiety from waiting too long.
  9. Consider having magazines available for those who are interested as well as water and other beverages.
  10. Make sure that your staff is friendly and approachable. Your patients should not be afraid to ask questions if they have them!
  11. Keep the area where patients are waiting discreet so they do not feel too seen.
  12. Allow for room between patients. This is especially important since the pandemic began.
  13. Make sure your furniture is ergonomic.
  14. Ensure you have spaces that are suited to those with mobility aids.
Have you already made the effort to enhance your space but still find the patient experience in your waiting room is lacking? Contact Guideway Care. In addition to our various digital healthcare engagement solutions, we can offer some guidance on enhancing your physical spaces.
Google My Business: A Guide for Doctors

Google My Business: A Guide for Doctors

Written by Jeff Tormey on . Posted in Connect, Manage.

Your practice is just one of hundreds competing for local online visibility. Many doctors are taking advantage of the internet to grow their patient base and generate more revenue, but it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. This blog post will provide you with a guide on how to use Google My Business as a tool for building your healthcare practice’s reputation and search rankings on Google Search and Maps.

What Is Google My Business?

Google My Business is a free service offered by Google that allows businesses to manage their online presence through the use of a business profile. This profile can include information about your practice, such as service offerings, hours of operation, location details, and more. For instance: Your office’s website should be optimized for local search engine results. Medical SEO on your website will get you far, but Google My Business takes you even further. Google My Business allows users to manage their business profiles on Google Search and Maps, which are two of the most popular search tools today. As more people use mobile devices for internet searches, being found in local results is increasingly important to drive traffic to your website or physical location.

What Can I Do With A Google My Business Profile?

Google My Business for doctors provides you with a variety of tools that can be used to manage your online presence. Some of these include:
  • Creating or changing business information on Google Search and Maps.
  • Managing & generating the Google review link of your medical website for your customers.
  • Answering questions from people curious about your practice.
  • Uploading photos related to your practice, such as new or services, patient room renovations, or even updates to your waiting room.

How Can I Use Google My Business for Local Medical Practice SEO?

Claim Your Listing: You must claim any listings related to your business before being able to manage them. Even if a listing is automatically generated, this isn’t very useful until you have ownership of it. Optimize Your Google My Business Profile: Name, address, and phone number are often the most important details to include. Be sure that all information is fully visible on a desktop computer as well as a mobile device. Remember that you can add links from other websites in your Google My Business description section. Enhance Your Presence: Once you claim your business information on Google My Business, most of the work is done for you. However, if your profile does not show up in local search results or has incomplete data, you may want to work on enhancing your presence. Map Optimization: Location, location, location! The physical address of your business is the most important aspect for search engines and potential customers alike. Make sure you include directions from major roads or landmarks if your address alone isn’t enough to get people there without confusion. For more information about GMB for medical practices and how to make it work for yours, speak with Guideway Care. We are a comprehensive medical digital marketing service. For more information on boosting online visibility, read our ultimate guide to healthcare SEO.
Chronic Care Management

Billing Guidelines for Chronic Care Management: Things To Know

Written by Jeff Tormey on . Posted in Manage.

If you are a healthcare provider, then there is a good chance that you have patients who need chronic care management. These patients may be on Medicare or Medicaid and require more frequent visits with their specialist to monitor their condition. This post will explain CCM billing guidelines 2021 so that you can get paid for the time and resources that it takes to provide them!

What Is Chronic Care Management CPT 99490?

The CPT code 99490 is for chronic care management. It was introduced in the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) with its description reading as follows: “Chronic Care Management services delivered via telephone by a physician or other qualified healthcare professional to an established patient within the last 12 months, 30 days prior to service being provided.”

What Does That Mean?

This chronic care management billing code is intended for physicians who provide ongoing care to a patient with conditions that require more frequent visits and monitoring. For example, if you have patients on dialysis or those requiring chemotherapy, then they may need your help managing their condition over the phone to ensure it remains well controlled between in-person visits. Patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, and asthma may also benefit from these services. This code is not intended for just any use of the telephone with patients; it must be used in conjunction with one of your other CPT codes that require more frequent visits to justify CCM medical billing.

Who Should Bill For This Code?

Any physician who is qualified to provide the service and has a patient that they are billing for may bill this code. For example, you could be an internal medicine physician or primary care doctor who specializes in hypertension management and prescribing medication. You would only use this CCM billing code if your practice had developed systems to monitor these patients over the phone between office visits so as not to be wasteful with your resources.

How Do You Bill For This Code?

According to CCM guidelines, to bill for this code, you will write the CPT 99490 in front of one of your other codes that require more frequent visits (99201-99215). So if you were billing Medicare, you would report 99490 after my E/M visit service.

How Often Can You Bill For It?

You can only bill for this code once per day. So, if you have a patient who needs multiple check-ins each day, you will want to bill it as a daily service, not per check-in.

Can You Bill For It With Any Other CPT Codes?

Yes. This code can be reported with any other Medicare or Medicaid-covered service that you provide to your patient. It is not limited to just office visits or any other specific medical services. If you need assistance with your medical practice billing, allow us to help. At Guideway Care, we offer a wide range of solutions that can streamline your practices. Want more assistance with CCM? Read about how practices can implement chronic care management.
Why Reputation Management Matters in Healthcare

Why Reputation Management Matters in Healthcare

Written by Jeff Tormey on . Posted in Manage.

Doctors are under a lot of pressure these days. You have to juggle seeing patients, staying up to date on the latest research, and practice within your state’s guidelines. On top of all of that, you have to think about healthcare reputation management. This can be difficult because you’re always being watched by someone who might be a little too critical about what you’re doing wrong or getting right. However, with proper medical reputation management, you can ensure that your overall standing is strong.

What Is Reputation Management?

Reputation management for medical practices is essentially public relations for your brand. Given you aren’t a celebrity, you don’t really need a PR manager like someone in Hollywood would. However, you do need to exercise a certain level of control over your public image and that of your practice and work to make sure people are saying good things about you. Another way to put this is that it is about building your brand. You want prospective patients to see your name or that of your practice and instantly feel a sense of trust in you. Medical online reputation management goes a long way towards making that happen.

Why You Should Care About Your Online Reputation

It is easy for doctors to assume that quality results and a kind demeanor are all that is needed to build a strong reputation. And not all that long ago, this was true. But now, your online healthcare reputation will reach prospective patients before you ever do. A sloppy website, lack of information on Google, and just a couple of poor reviews without good ones to balance them can tank a career you’ve spent years trying to build. But, if you engage in medical practice reputation management, you can be seen as a genuine authority in your field, even if you’ve never headlined a conference or published your research. As a medical professional, your reputation matters—and it matters, even more, when people are looking at reviews on Google or Yelp. Our team can help with everything from monitoring what is being said online to helping craft positive content that will endear your patients to you. At Guideway Care, we believe in protecting this most important asset; after all, who wants their livelihood impacted by an angry customer review they never saw coming? So don’t hesitate; contact us today. Interested in patient engagement solutions? We can help you with everything from surveys to healthcare CRM.
What Is the Role of a Medical Insurance Verification Specialist?

What Is the Role of a Medical Insurance Verification Specialist?

Written by Jeff Tormey on . Posted in Manage.

As a doctor, you’re always looking for ways to reduce costs and have more time in your day. You work hard, long hours with few breaks. As a result, you need a qualified support team helping with all the tasks you can’t get to on your own—including medical insurance verification. While you can give this task to your receptionist in charge of billing, this could mean paying for more hours or even hiring someone new just for insurance verification. A better solution, in most cases, is to contract with an insurance verification services company. For a fraction of the cost, you’ll have access to top-notch insurance verification specialists, as well as other services that can make your practice run more smoothly.

But First, What Is a Medical Insurance Verification Specialist?

Medical insurance verification specialists are experts at clearing hurdles by quickly reviewing records, analyzing insurance plans, and verifying whether a patient has coverage or not so doctors can focus on healing instead of paperwork. Medical insurance verification specialists also serve as a second set of eyes when it comes to making sure an insurer is paying benefits correctly, which helps make certain that health care providers get paid fairly for services rendered while protecting them from fraud schemes.

What Qualifications Do Medical Insurance Verification Specialists Have?

This can vary based on the company employing them. In general, all companies will look for the following qualifications: • A high school diploma or GED. • Previous billing experience. • Knowledge of medical terminology. • Experience with insurance companies. • Clear communication skills and fluency in English. • Detail-oriented focus. Other companies will look for greater qualifications than this, such as a two-year college degree or greater, passing a certification exam, and completing a rigorous training program. For those who are at the supervisor level, there is usually a requirement that they have a degree in healthcare management or business administration. In this post, we’ve highlighted a bit about the role of a medical insurance verification specialist. If you want to learn more about how you can outsource your insurance verification, don’t hesitate to reach out! We offer a wide variety of solutions that can help improve the quality of your practice while boosting your bottom line, including healthcare CRMs and call centers. Not quite ready to outsource this task? Not a problem. Read up on how to verify medical insurance coverage on your own.
Steps for Creating Your Patient Portal Software

Steps for Creating Your Patient Portal Software

Written by Jeff Tormey on . Posted in Connect.

Medical patient portals are quickly becoming the new standard for hospitals and healthcare practices. However, a lot of the solutions advertised online are expensive—and still require you to handle a lot of the setup and maintenance on your own. You may be wondering: Can I create patient portal software on my own? Let’s put it this way: Can you? Yes. Should you? Probably not—but if you are up for the challenge, we’re happy to provide you with a little guidance. Here are the basic steps for developing portal technology in healthcare.

Determine the Purpose of Your Patient Portal

This might feel like it is obvious, but the truth is that there can be many different reasons for having a patient portal for your practice. Chances are you have several in mind. It is important that you really think about these motivations because they will guide you in how you design your platform.

Decide What Information Will Be on the Portal

This ties into know the purpose of your patient portal. You need to have an idea of what information is going to be accessible there. Are you just looking for a way to simplify prescription access and billing? Or do you want patients to have access to lab results, appointment summaries, scheduling, and more?

Determine Who Will Have Access to the Portal

There are two essential parties when it comes to patient portals—you as the doctor and the patient. However, you might want to grant access to other doctors and staff—with permission—in order to facilitate a smoother treatment process.

Make Sure Everything Is HIPAA Compliant

This is a big one and often the hardest step. While you might be able to build a portal using some drag and drop program you find online, making certain you are HIPAA compliant takes a lot of research and technological savvy. However, if you fail to do this with your medical patient software, it could end your career. Patient portals are designed to make the patient experience better by streamlining your processes and improving communication. However, going DIY can worsen communication and get you in hot water. Our team of experts can help you get started with a portal that will meet all of your needs, or we can even build one for you from scratch if necessary. Let Guideway Care handle all the steps for you, including getting patients to sign up for your medical portal.
7 Reasons Digital Marketing Is Essential for Your Medical Practice

7 Reasons Digital Marketing Is Essential for Your Medical Practice

Written by Jeff Tormey on . Posted in Other.

No matter your specialty, your medical practice exists in a competitive environment. Medical digital marketing helps ensure that you remain at the top of the pack. But what are some concrete reasons why you should invest in online marketing for doctors? In this article, we will give you 7 reasons why digital marketing is essential for any medical practitioner.

1. Digital Marketing Is Cost-Effective

Compared to older methods of marketing, such as print and radio ads, online marketing for medical practices is incredibly cost-efficient. Depending on the methods you choose and the companies you work with, you might be able to spend just a few hundred dollars a month to reach thousands of people across multiple platforms.

2. It’s Easy to Promote New Services and Products

Do you often add new services and products to your practice’s offerings? Digital marketing makes it easy to promote them. With just a simple social media blurb and a blog post, you can accomplish more than print media would allow.

3. It Can Help You Build Relationships

Digital marketing for medical practices makes you more approachable to patients, especially when you embrace social media. This not only brings in more patients, but it makes those you have feel more comfortable being open with you.

4. You’ll Be Able to Reach People You Might Not Otherwise

You need to reach patients where they are, and many are not listening to the radio or looking at billboards on their drive into work. This means you need to grab their attention in online searches or through your social media profiles.

5. You Can Use It for Branding Purposes

Part of any good healthcare digital marketing strategy is branding, and chances are you’ve already invested in this for your other forms of advertising. All you need to do is tie that into your online efforts.

6. Video Grabs Attention Where Words Alone Cannot

One major issue with older advertising methods? They’re static, while modern patients are dynamic. With an online strategy, you can incorporate video, which is the most eye-catching medium. Read more: How Video Marketing Can Influence The Future Of Healthcare

7. Online Presence Is Essential

In today’s digital world, it’s essential for any medical practice to have a strong online presence. From the moment they’re searching for your office on Google Maps, prospective patients are looking at reviews from previous customers and reading through your website content. With so much competition in the healthcare industry, how will you stand out? Don’t worry—we can help! Our team of experts is ready to create online medical marketing strategies that attract quality patients with minimal effort. Ready to learn more about how digital marketing benefits you? Give us a call.
What Is Workflow Automation in Healthcare?

What Is Workflow Automation in Healthcare?

Written by Jeff Tormey on . Posted in Other.

What is workflow automation?

Workflow automation is leveraging technology to allow repetitive workflows to be completed on their own. Workflow automation is used in almost every industry to raise efficiency levels, healthcare is no exception. As systems have more data requirements and programs to keep up with, the importance of workflow in healthcare becomes ever more important to decrease human errors, reduce the amount of effort required, and increase capacity to treat patients.

What Role Does Artificial Intelligence Play in Workflow Automation?

The development of AI technologies including computer vision and machine learning has increased the capability of automating more complex tasks. Before the development of these technologies, workflow automation capabilities were reduced to simple tasks that could be done by robotic process automation. Today, even complex tasks such as appointment scheduling, revenue management, IT, inventory management, and client billing can be automated.

What Workflow Automation Benefits Can We Expect in Healthcare?

Already, workflow automation technology has the potential to completely overhaul your healthcare information management processes, reducing staff burnout, increasing revenue, and improving interoperability. Healthcare workflow management has already been completely transformed by workflow automation technology. The benefits that come from this technology include less staff burnout, improved costs, improved interoperability, and increasing data security.

Less Burnt-Out Staff

Working in the healthcare industry, staff are typically exposed to repetitive workflow situations daily. The everyday stress eventually leads to burnout which increases costs, reduces patient satisfaction, and negatively impacts morale. Workflow automation reduces the time staff has to spend on manual repetitive workflows and frees up time for staff to spend tending to the needs of patients.

Improved Costs

Workflow automation can reduce costs without ever having to negotiate any supply costs or cut corners anywhere. Instead, workflow automation cuts cost by eliminating human errors, increasing capacity, and reducing the waste caused by operational inefficiencies.

Improves Interoperability

Healthcare relies on dozens of siloed programs and legacy systems. In a perfect world, these systems work with each other instead of independently. This perfect scenario can be achieved with the help of AI to automate the workflow that pulls and enters data from one program to the other.

Increased Data Security

Data security is a top concern for anyone in healthcare, this becomes especially relevant when implementing new technology. Workflow automation leads to an increase in data security by reducing human interaction. Human contact and manual manipulations of the data are the largest privacy vulnerabilities to data. Reducing or eliminating human contact and manual manipulation of the data enhances the security of the data. To continue learning about workflow automation in healthcare read our guide on Working Smarter with Healthcare Workflow Management Technology.