Hey Doc, It Pays to Listen
The doctor/patient relationship is a two-way street and more positive outcomes occur when there is collaborative communication between the two parties.
However, many doctors cite lack of time for their inability to interact one-on-one with patients. According to a report from Health Affairs, many physicians don’t see the need for a patient’s opinion and remain entrenched in the antiquated, physician-directed, decision-making strategy rather than implementing a share-directed, decision-making strategy.
The healthcare culture is shifting from provider-centered to true patient-centered care. However, like everything else in the healthcare industry, change comes slowly.
With the move to healthcare consumerism and a growing trend of healthcare information transparency, medical practices are looking to implement more patient-centric programs. Examples of these programs are: NurseLines, online education sessions, patient portals and many more. The goal is to engage and educate patients and aid in making better decisions about treatment options.
This generation of patients isn’t satisfied with the archaic take two aspirin and calls me in the morning suggestion. Many are tech savvy and want to be an active participant in the decision-making process as it relates to their healthcare choice. They want to know what kind of aspirin. Should it be Tylenol, Advil, Excedrin or any other brand of pain reliever? They may also not use the phone to contact the physician. It could be a text or via a virtual consultation.
The modern patient doesn’t have time to go to the doctor. He or she expects the doctor to come to him or her. Consider Guideway Care patient portal solution as the virtual house call. A horse-drawn carriage or motorized vehicle has been replaced by a click of the mouse, and if your practice is not in tune with the digital age, your practice could go the way of the horse-drawn carriage.
The next generation of patients is out there. Let us aid you in transforming your practice to the digital age. Let us share our solutions with you, including professionally trained NurseLine, HIPAA-compliant security and simple website incorporation and much more. Visit our website and request a demo today.
Medical records for more than 700 United States Olympians will be managed electronically for the first time ever at this year’s London Olympic Games.
This is in great contrast to how the U.S. Olympic Committee historically shipped electronic medical records in paper form on pallets around the world to where the athletes and doctors were at the time. Aside from being costly, paper medical records are much less efficient and provide a greater risk of destruction than EMRs.
The implementation of EMRs at the Olympic Games will mean a world of difference for the athletes and participating physicians. EMRs will enable quicker response time of treatment, a better understanding of an athlete’s medical history and performance, and easier management of individual treatment for members of a team.
Included in the collection of EMRs is an additional 3,000 records of images and other vital documents, including X-ray and ultrasound.
Tracking medical information electronically also enables health care providers to track and analyze data for further treatment. With real, reportable information, providers can analyze what treatments were more effective and custom-build programs for each individual athlete.
The success of EMRs isn’t exclusive to athletes. 
In a recent study, NPR found that people who have been hospitalized recently considered their care to be very costly and not up to quality standards.
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Patient intake. Scheduling appointments. Answering questions. Verifying insurance. Seminar and event registration. Patient outreach and recruitment. Patient followup. These can all be extremely time-consuming tasks for any medical office, especially for a small-to-medium-sized practice with only a few people making phone calls. That’s when a 
