This “Focus” column presents the perspective of an optometrist who has firsthand experience with a new product or integrated system.

Far before purchasing our first EHR system, our office used analytics. My wife, educated in information technology and mathematics, developed a program that nicely gathered and accumulated patient demographics and revenue generated medically or in primary care, such as in contact lens or optical purchases, respectively. By cross referencing this information, we could assess growth patterns for practice expansion. For example, we mail targeted advertising to areas our in-office data identified as potentially lucrative.

From here, we saw the value in leveraging data and analytics effectively, which is why, our current EHR system (FoxFire Systems) is now integrated with a patient engagement platform (4PatientCare) and a software-based analytics tool (EdgePro, GPN). In this article, I describe the benefits of leveraging these data and analytics tools.

SYSTEMS & CAPABILITIES

FoxFire Systems Group is a software provider for practice solutions, namely, EHR, practice management and billing. For our practice, this provider made sense because it offered an easy workflow of their EHR program, MIPS consulting, complete billing services and easy electronic submission of prescriptions to pharmacies.

4PatientCare integrates with FoxFire, using our data, to offer a direct communication channel with our patients. As an example, one of our goals following this integration was to allow for more advanced scheduling (to attract the electronic savvy-based population). As such, patients have the ability to make online appointments through Foxfire and be reminded of that appointment by email, text and/or phone, through 4PatientCare. To facilitate this, contact and appointment information is shared across these platforms. The results continue to be satisfying; routine examinations increased more than 20% in February, following an integration in October.

GPN’s EdgePro also integrates with our FoxFire EHR system to offer optical analytics. With the technology, comes the ability to closely track inventory, monitor what aspects of sales are most effective, assess and identify staff strengths in retail optical sales and, most importantly, follow growth of the business to ensure increased profitability.

FoxFire provides its practice with a router, the only hardware needed to run the systems. It also utilizes a firewall and encrypted communications, ensuring HIPAA compliance. As the doctor, you want to ensure whenever you are working with patient data that all entities are aware of privacy concerns and leave no opportunities for violations of HIPAA.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

As previously mentioned, the integrating of systems increased our number of routine exams. Another example of a return on investment came via the goal of introducing another method to survey patient satisfaction when we integrated our EHR and patient communication system. Our practice, through the use of real-time survey data that queries regarding customer service, allowed for quick reactions on those few occasions when a patient was not as happy as we would want. One such patient handling not only kept that patient, but, allowed for a new referral!

INTEGRATION

Our office embraces the changes afforded through EHR and its various platforms. The success is obvious, and its advantages means a better ability to create happy, eye healthy and referring patients. OM

DR. O’DONNELL is the managing partner at New Era Eye Care, in Shavertown, Pa. He has more than a decade of experience as an owner and operator optometrist in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Pennsylvania College of Optometry and has a master’s and bachelor’s from Bloomsburg University.