This case study was documented in January of 2010 to provide an example of a successful of electronic medical records (EMR). With the pending introduction of DeckerWright Corporation's Virtual Care System, doctor offices and health care organizations can utilize the benefits of moving their voice and data systems into the "clouds" while storing their medical records electronically The Virtual Care System provides for real time system monitoring, centralized desktop management, system backups, patch management and security.
DeckerWright Corporation recently had the opportunity to work with a doctor opening a private medical practice after over 10 years in another practice. We consulted with the doctor and their business manager to review the options for practice management systems (PMS), electronic medical records (EMR) and phone systems. After evaluating the requirements and investigating options, the doctor's decision was to move forward with a complete virtual solution.
The solution started by securing the fastest internet service available at the location, Verizon FiOS 20/50 service. The doctor was the first tenant in the building to get the FiOS 20/50 service, and as a result, the install took longer than normal. Fortunately enough time was built into the project plan to resolve the provisioning issues prior to the practice opening. The service was secured with a SonicWall firewall to provide security, and Unified Threat Management with enough processing power to support the high speed access needed for the PM and EMR and unforgiving applications like Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP).
Rather than installing a premise based traditional phone system, we installed an IP Centrex system utilizing the internet as the transport for phone calls. The system, hosted by Cooperative Communications, provides for six phone lines plus a fax line using plain old telephone service (POTS). The "cloud" based phone system includes basic phone system features including voice mail, auto attendant, call forwarding, conference calling and call transfer. The only equipment on site are Polycom SoundPoint 450 telephones combined with a Linksys Power Over Ethernet switch with Quality of Service. The benefits of the technology became apparent even before the office opened. The doctor was able to advise patients of the new phone number and take the calls at home to schedule appointments while the facility was being completed. As a result, the doctor had a full schedule over their first weeks of operation.
The practice management and electronic medical records system are integrated together in a system offered by doctors.com. The system provides templates for capturing data during the visit with coding assistance for electronic claims submission. Rather than having a billing staff, the system was setup to outsource the billing function to a billing service tapped into the doctors.com system. The on-site equipment for the solution includes HP laptops in every exam room, and HP desktop computers at reception, the medical assistant's office and doctor's office. A single multi-function Lexmark printer provides for network printing and copying. While the multi-function printer could be used for scanning, the doctors.com software required local scanners attached to computers to capture paper data like insurance cards and paper patient medical records. A high speed Fujitsu scanner and a Canon flat bed scanner were installed to support those functions. Credit card magnetic stripe reader was also added on to the system to provide internet based credit card processing.
Electronic interfaces to the doctors.com system include lab results, inbound faxes through eFax, electronic claims submissions and electronic document submission to the billing company. The net result of the high level of automation is a lower head count per doctor and patient visit than a typical practice. Lower up-front costs and lower employee costs are offset by higher recurring monthly fees for services provided in the "cloud". Based on the preliminary financial models and early results, we anticipate the doctor will be more profitable than a typical single doctor's practice. Credit this both the technology, but also the an enterprising doctor that was able to leverage their reputation with technology to have a full waiting room on day one.
The doctor's office technology solution provided a faster access to data, a more secure environment, and the streamlining of processes and the implementation of an effective electronic medical records (EMR). DeckerWright's Virtual Care System provided a completely integrated solution with real time system monitoring, centralized desktop management, system backups, patch management and security.
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