Electronic Health Records For Dummies

Overcoming obstacles

Secure messaging isn’t a panacea for all your patient communication woes and needs. You can bet there will be challenges and maybe even a little pushback from patients who aren’t very tech-savvy or employees who might feel that the practice’s personal touch is lost on a computer screen.

The obvious obstacle for patient e-mail is privacy and security. Patients will be concerned about what is shared via the EHR. You and your staff need to discuss what measures are in place to ensure that their personal information is safe. If you decided to use the messaging features at the time of implementation, you can include this information on your initial patient education information about privacy and security (see Chapter 10). If you opt for the e-mail features later, you can always create a separate brochure. Additionally, offer some privacy and safety reassurance during patient visits.

You may view finance as a potential obstacle as well, primarily in terms of payment and reimbursement. You probably want to know whether you’ll be paid for offering e-mail capability. Look into these options:

Large insurers, such as Blue Cross, Aetna, and Cigna are reimbursing physicians for online visits. Visit www.bcbsnc.com/content/providers/evisit.htm for more information.

Some malpractice carriers are reducing premiums for practices that use e-visits. Contact your carrier to find out whether you qualify.

Code for the e-visit in your EHR using CPT code 99444. The Level I reimbursement ...