The medical industry is always changing. Each year, there are new medical trends that significantly impact healthcare organizations of all shapes and sizes. Even though 2018 has recently made its debut, there are already several medical trends that many healthcare facilities have noticed. A few of these trends include:
Physician Burnout
The Mayo Clinic recently conducted a study that revealed that more than 50 percent of physicians experience at least one symptom of burnout. This is often because they have a tough time coping with difficult patients and the administrative and financial challenges of their practice. Fortunately, many physicians have been able to reduce or even prevent burnout and stress by outsourcing their billing and coding to a reputable company like Applied Medical Systems.
Data Security
Patient privacy issues and data breach were a significant challenge for medical providers in 2017. Unfortunately, these problems have not stopped and continue to be a concern in 2018. By outsourcing medical and billing services to a HIPAA-compliant provider, healthcare practices can ensure compliance with data security and avoid serious HIPAA violations down the road.
EHR Data Entry
The majority of physicians are overwhelmed with the task of EHR data entry. It prevents them from providing their patients with the attention they deserve and makes it more difficult for them to provide exceptional patient care. The good news is that outsourcing EHR-related documentation tasks to a medical billing and coding company can make life easier for physicians and allow them to focus on caring for their patients.
Quality Measures
The government implemented a Merit-based Incentive Payment System known as MIPS to reward physicians for providing their patients with quality care that leads to improved patient outcomes. In 2018, the cost category based on claims data is 10% of an eligible physician’s MIPS score. This change may hurt physicians who are already struggling with providing the type of data necessary to show improvement in care, value, delivery, and efficiency of services. While physicians focus on patient care and reporting quality measures, they can ensure excellent revenue cycle management by outsourcing medical billing and coding.
Contact Applied Medical Systems Today
It’s clear that outsourcing medical and coding can help healthcare facilities keep up with the current industry trends in 2018 and beyond. Additionally, it can give them the opportunity to spend most of their time and energy doing what they do best: providing patients with the highest quality of care. If you’re interested in learning more about medical trends or how your medical practice could benefit from our medical billing and coding services, we encourage you to contact us today.
