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Archive for January, 2011

Benefits of Electronic Medical Records

21 Jan

According to a 2009 survey, just 33 percent of medical practices more than three physicians currently use electronic medical records software. If your practice is considering a shift to electronic medical records from your current paper system, it’s good to know some of the benefits you can expect.

Increased Revenues

When a medical practice Uses paper charts, many of their services are lost and never get billed. Using an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software program, you can increase your practice’s revenues by ensuring you receive money on charges for all services you perform.

Lower Expenses

Electronic Medical Records can reduce the labor costs related to appointment scheduling, billing, filing, medical chart transcriptions, and more. Plus, once a doctor’s office goes to electronic medical records, the costs associated with buying, storing, and destroying paper charts can be eliminated.

Reduce Costs Related to Malpractice

Malpractice insurance costs are always increasing. When you use an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software, some insurance companies may reduce malpractice premiums by as much as 10 percent. This is due to the fact that a doctor’s office reduces their chances of medical errors. EMR software can reduce medical errors in many areas, including misdiagnosis, conflict in medications, reading errors due to bad handwriting, just to name a few.

Versatile Access to Records

Electronic Medical Records can be accessed practically anywhere. This not only saves time for one person, but multiple people in the office, since files can be accessed by multiple people at the same time. Not to mention, you no longer have to worry about files being lost or misplaced.

Better Security

Not only can files have restricted access, medical practices can have more restrictions on certain files, which gives you more flexibility with how you want certain information accessed.

 

DEA Pushing Propofol Towards Controlled Substance

10 Jan

Propofol, administered intravenously in operating rooms as an anesthetic and sedative, made its way into the spotlight in the last year or so thanks to the controversy over Michael Jackson’s overdose death. Now authorities are taking notice. The Drug Enforcement Administration was petitioned in 2009, according to DEA spokesman Rusty Payne, to designate propofol as a "scheduled" drug. This would create tighter restrictions on its distribution and use. However, Payne says that the petition was not related to propofol’s involvment in Michael Jackson’s death.

The Drug Enforcement Administration was petitioned in 2009, according to DEA spokesman Rusty Payne, to designate propofol as a "scheduled" drug. This would create tighter restrictions on its distribution and use. However, Payne says that the petition was not related to propofol’s involvment in Michael Jackson’s death.

However, the concern is rooted in worries of potential abuse of the powerful pain killer. Propofol is administered intravenously in operating rooms as an anesthetic and sedative.

Last fall, the DEA started circulating a proposed rule that would classify propofol as a Schedule IV substance. This puts it in the same category as midazolam, diazepam, lorazepam and zolpidem.

While DEA agent Rusty Payne says that he had no knowledge of propofol being abused on a large scale, having it classified as a Schedule IV substance puts it alongside drugs that are. The DEA also declined to provide a copy of the proposed rule for propofol, but looking at the statement for the sedative fospropofol, which was given Schedule IV status in 2009, propofol is mentioned:

“The current abuse profiles of propofol, the active metabolite of fospropofol, indicate that propofol is abused… The oral activity of fospropofol increases the likelihood of its abuse by other routes of administration and its use to commit other crimes (e.g., date rape).”