Pennsylvania eHealth Initiative

Peter Minio of R+B Sten-Tel is representing PA-AHDI as a Charter Member in the Pennsylvania eHealth Initiative (PAeHI). PAeHI was organized several years ago to promote and support the use of Electronic Medical Records (EMR), specifically as a part of a broader statewide Health Information Exchange (HIE). The group has brought together leaders from government, trade organizations, healthcare delivery (hospitals and ambulatory practices) and the vendors who offer products and services which support the health information infrastructure which ultimately make an HIE.

As part of Peter's participation in this group, he has joined the Communication & Education Committee. His contributions will assist the committee in reaching it's goals of supporting and promoting these efforts with an educational focus through various communication channels. Come back to receive updates on the activities of PAeHI.

"Meaningful Use"

Read a feature article George Catuogno wrote in Healthcare Ledger back in June 2009 titled "HITECH Act Promises EMR Funding to Clinicians with Meaningful Use". George eloquently lays the framework as to why Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT) can play an important role enabling the successful adoption of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) technology.

The article touches on the pitfalls to EMR implementation but also describes how along with human intelligence, discrete data paired with Natural Language Processing (NLP) can address many of the common setbacks. By way of referencing numerous studies and examples, George demonstrates how a DRT enabled EMR accelerates adoption, eases implementation and adds value by enhancing capabilities.

Digital Transcription

Service providers offering digital transcription can help make a medical practice more productive. A doctor can dictate a patient encounter quickly. With the click of a button that digital voice file will be transferred to an electronic system such as the one offered by R+B Sten-Tel, where the doctor’s note will be transcribed by a fully trained and experienced Medical Transcriptionist (MT). The client will receive their finished report over a secure web connection.

Other benefits are that many digital dictation and transcription systems are embedded with additional features such as backend Voice Recognition technology and Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT). Most also have the ability to interface with hospital systems and EHR technology, delivering reports directly. With digital transcription workflow technology, R+B Sten-Tel is able to provide services to clients from coast-to-coast even while headquartered just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The impact to clients goes beyond productivity as it also can help improve quality and patient care.

Benefits of DRT

Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT) is a solution which addresses EMR usability issues. It reduces time spent documenting patient encounters, consults and assessments by supporting narrative dictation with results delivered directly into an EMR/EHR. This affords clinicians more time and intimacy for quality patient care, leaving the clerical work for a trained EMR transcription staff.

DRT allows physicians to use their preferred method of clinical documentation and reduces time spent documenting encounters. It ensures better patient care by allowing a clinician to practice using their natural method of working and increases accuracy with a proven dictation-transcription process by allowing Medical Transcriptionists to be a “second set of eyes.”

R+B Sten-Tel achieves these benefits for clients through their EMR portal, EntriPoint™.

DRT Enabled EHR

There are hundreds of EHR solutions to choose from, all with variations on how one should document a patient visit. An EHR that has adopted DRT (Discrete Reportable Transcription) technology recognizes the need for physicians to continue dictating as a method for data input. This allows them to continue practicing the way they always have. Therefore, a DRT enabled EHR does not change the way in which physicians interact with their patients nor how they document their encounters and provides an added benefit by delivering discrete data directly into the patient's record.

The Great American EHR boondoggle

Modern Healthcare recently published an article, "The Great American EHR boondoggle" written by a Medical Director at Virginia Gay Hospital and Clinics in Vinton, Iowa. The essence of his story was how many EHR solutions on the market today force physicians into losing the intimacy they have maintained with their patients. Click here to read the full article.

The medical transcription community meets this need by offering Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT), a solution when integrated with an existing EHR can allow a physician to practice just the way they always have. Doctors remain productive and can maintain the level of intimacy in their encounters which patients demand.

R+B Sten-Tel offers DRT technology and EHR integration through EntriPoint. Learn More

Is Medical Transcription Going Away?

In the age of EHR technology and with almost $20B dedicated as an incentive to physicians who adopt this technology as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), one would think the medical transcription industry doesn’t have much life left. This holds especially true when thinking of a widespread view initiated by the EMR community as part of their value proposition that transcription can simply be replaced with this technology.

However, that view is not held by everyone, including several influential industry leaders who believe that Discrete Reportable Transcription (DRT) can actually help accelerate the adoption process of EMR technology while alleviating some of the pitfalls which in many instances lead to an unsuccessful implementation. Mark Anderson of the AC Group explains in this video clip he did for MTIA.

Data Backup and Recovery

R+B Sten-Tel has partnered with Proven Backup a White Plains, NY based IT company offering online backup service to clients across the country. We will add the backup service to our offerings as part of an overall effort to provide clients with a comprehensive suite of solutions.

This compliments our current offerings very well. Many practices do not appropriately backup their data effectively and as more adopt EHR technology, their current backup processes may put them at risk. Proven backup is a solution which securely and effectively protects their data from potentially harmful events, enabling clients to recover any lost data.

To learn more about Proven Backup and how this secure, online system works, visit R+B Sten-Tel.

AHDI & MTIA Advocacy Summit

In February 2009 the Obama Administration passed the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), which was inclusive of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act). Through this legislation, physicians will receive incentives if they prove “meaningful use” of EHR technology. The Department for Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) have yet to determine the criteria for “meaningful use.”

Members of both the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity and Medical Transcription Association organized on Capitol Hill this past June advocating how medical transcription can and should play a role in the qualifications for “meaningful use.” Studies show narrative dictation/transcription method is a proven productivity tool and increases accuracy of clinical documentation.

To learn more read Medical Transcription : A Proven Accelerator of EHR Adoption, a white paper explaining how Medical Transcription can help meet some of the usability challenges physicians face with EMR implementation.