How often do you hear the statement, ”I am worried that our office is not as efficient as it could be”? In today’s troubled economy more than ever, keeping track of the true cost of business can directly lead to the ultimate success or failure of a practice.  Whether a new provider is setting up his/her first practice or a seasoned physician is reviewing data for benchmarking purposes, the financial health of their business will ultimately depend on the margin between cost and revenue.

Relative Value Units (RVU) – a term that is becoming more and more popular amongst physicians - is a coding system allowing a provider to assign a specific cost for their services.  Providers can perform accurate cost analysis by identifying the amount of reimbursement that they are receiving from insurance companies for each procedure and directly comparing this to the cost of performing the procedure, as well as various practice overheads, from office rent to malpractice insurance.  The end result is figures that show how much money is coming in compared to how much is going out.

Some practice management systems (including NueMD®) feature a built-in RVU calculator that can automatically take the RVU data from procedures performed within a specified time frame and prompt you for your cost information to build up an accurate picture of what you might choose to charge per relative value unit. As relative value units continue to be identified by insurance companies as key to reimbursement in this pay for performance market, calculating RVUs will truly assist a provider in creating and maintaining a financially healthy practice.

For more information on how RVUs can be a useful tool in benchmarking, refer to Oranges and Apples: HIM Productivity and Benchmarking by D’Arcy Myjer, PhD, and Dan Butu, CCS, in AHIMA’s FORE library (members only).

If your college or university has started its pandemic planning efforts, you may be interested to know that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has recently launched a campaign called “Take the Lead”, aimed at raising awareness of the importance of pandemic planning. It provides a tool kit with talking points, factsheets and even posters to help you disseminate the information across your campus community. More help on getting a plan together can be found in this Nuesoft Xpress newsletter article on pandemic planning, featuring tips from Anita Barkin, chair of ACHA’s pandemic planning task force.

Late last year, HL-7’s Electronic Health Record Technical Committee moved the industry one step closer to a Personal Health Record System Functional Model  (PHR-S FM). The model became a draft ANSI standard in Dec. 2007, and the final standard is expected sometime this year. Read the press release from HL-7 about the draft standard here.

PHR-S FM is designed to be technology–neutral. It also promotes interoperability, and so will require best of breed collaboration between vendors. Nuesoft is a member of the American Health Information Management Association, which has been instrumental in moving the PHR functional model and standard forward. In addition, Nuesoft has been forging partnerships and integrations with EHR companies and other vendors that have embraced the future of health care and that are committed to the adoption of industry standards. Take a look at our news releases about our partnerships with electronic medical records vendors, and our news release about our industry-leading interface certification program.

Nuesoft Technologies Inc. today announced the spring 2008 winners of its 15-year Anniversary Scholarship program. Five schools each received an in-kind donation of up to $15,000 of Nuesoft Xpress™ health center management software.   

The spring 2008 grant recipients are: Agnes Scott College, Barry University, Folsom Lake College, St. Norbert College and Winthrop University.   

“We were extremely pleased with the number and quality of applications that we received this spring,” said Nuesoft Technologies President and CEO Massoud Alibakhsh. “The process was very competitive, but after careful deliberation, the review committee selected the schools that had the most demonstrable need for the grants. I think the choice accurately reflects Nuesoft’s commitment to improve resources for the college health community.”  

“This is huge for our health center,” said Eileen Egan-Hineline, director of student health services at Barry University, and one of this spring’s scholarship recipients. “We have tremendous budget constraints and have not been able to stay current with technology. With a product like Nuesoft Xpress, we will be able to electronically schedule appointments and more easily analyze our school’s health care trends.”   

 “We couldn’t be happier,” said Barbara Bloomer, director of health services at St. Norbert College, which also received a grant award. “We’ve been tracking our student immunizations and other services manually, and it has been an extremely arduous and time-consuming process. Nuesoft Xpress will make us so much more efficient.” 

 The spring winners complete the first round of scholarships given out by Nuesoft. Because university budget calendars vary, Nuesoft is awarding grants in two rounds. The next five winners will be announced in the fall, with all applications reviewed by a selection committee comprised of college health professionals. 

 The deadline for the second round of applications is September 5, 2008. Fall winners will be announced on October 3.  For more information and to download the fall 2008 application, visit the Nuesoft Xpress Web site at www.nuesoftxpress.com/scholarship.

The traditional university health center model may not include third party billing as a source of revenue, but times are changing and some institutions are now embracing commercial insurance options as a way of making ends meet and giving more choices to students.

The topic is still hotly debated, but according to testimony provided by a third party billing service vendor to the Department of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education, third party billing could be one way to avoid capitated health fee increases. Some are not convinced by this - ACHA recently commented that the analysis this testimony relied on was flawed - but third party billing, or indeed a combination of third party and a university plan, may warrant further investigation for some schools. If you’re considering addressing rising costs and falling funding in your college health center, this article explores the issue in more depth.

If you’re an ophthalmologist, you’ve probably recently received some information in the mail about this year’s American Academy of Ophthalmology conference. NueMD is gearing up to exhibit at this show, which this year will be hosted in our hometown – Atlanta, GA. At this year’s conference we will be celebrating our 15-year anniversary as one of the leading Internet-based practice management software companies with a reception for all to come.  So, remember to look be on the look for NueMD at AAO 08 to learn more about NueMD.

Government and health care industry leaders are putting the wheels in motion to develop a nationwide, integrated biosurveillance system to better detect widespread disease outbreaks; chemical, radiological or bioterrorism incidents; or any other events with a public health implication. Recent discussion in the industry has focused on the need to incorporate electronic health records (EHRs), practice management systems and other applications into the mix. See related column from March issue of Health Management Technology.

Integral to the success of a Nationwide Health Information Network, or any other biosurveillance program, is the access to current data, short response times, and the ability to communicate quickly with an impacted population. That is why practice management systems or EHRs that are application service provider (ASP) models are most beneficial to biosurveillance efforts. ASPs, like Nuesoft’s NueMD® medical practice management software system, contain the patient data for all of the medical practices using their application in one concentrated server farm. Data is shared and exchanged securely over the Internet. This means that all patient data is interconnected and available in real-time at any time of day.

Moreover, when it comes to communicating information to practitioners about public health threats, many ASP models offer the ability to notify all users directly (and simultaneously) through the application. This could also come in handy if a public health threat rendered it necessary to target at-risk populations by demographic group or geographic region.

As the dialogue continues about the role of health information technology in biosurveillance, look for ASPs to play a major role. Nuesoft invites your comments.

There was a time, not too long ago, when Methycillin Resistant Staph Aureus, or MRSA, was an infection found only in hospitals and nursing homes. These days, however, as every college health professional knows, it is a great deal more ubiquitous and it’s not just those with a weakened immune system at risk.

The biggest question is this: how do you stop an isolated infection from becoming a rapidly-spreading outbreak? The press would have us believe that cleaning every surface of gyms and locker rooms is what it takes to keep MRSA at bay, but in reality, although cleaning certain items (particularly gym equipment and mats) is helpful, educating those who have the infection and those who are at risk of getting it is far more effective. Attendees of Nuesoft Xpress’ online roundtable on MRSA on March 5 discussed how to achieve this, how to deal with the public relations side of an outbreak, and best practice when students present with skin lesions. If you missed it, you can find the notes and slides here. Nuesoft Xpress holds these roundtables monthly on a variety of topics relevant to college health; to keep an eye on what’s coming up, bookmark this page.

Medical practice management is about more than caring for patients - it is also about running a successful business. Read this new Nuesoft white paper to learn how benchmarking your medical practice against other practices can help you achieve your operational goals.

 Check out the new Nuesoft white paper section and read the new report on smoothing medical software vendor integration.