Netgain

2017 is sure to be a year full of changes, new policies and updated regulations in the healthcare industry - even more so than previous years. As practices strive to stay on top of these business changes, the consumer healthcare market is focusing on value-based care and building healthier communities.

Some of the upcoming changes have already been released and practices are deciphering what it means to their providers and their business.

We recently joined over 1,400 leaders from Federally Qualified Health Centers (FCHCs) at two national conferences to learn more about the common challenges they face and identify solutions.

During our time at the California Primary Care Association (CPCA) Annual Conference and the Financial, Operation Management & Information Technology Expo, we noticed one overarching trend: a desire to empower and better serve patients. That included everything from patient portals and caring for the whole patient to patient analytics and big data. After a few years in which the system forced a lot of practices to focus on production numbers, we’re refreshed to hear practices feeling that the focus is back on the patients and quality. Recent events have clinical leaders casting a cautious eye to Washington, hoping this trend is not reversed by policy shifts.

I hope it doesn’t seem strange that the VP of Technology for a Healthcare IT services company would attend the MGMA Annual Conference.  And I don’t mean as an exhibitor (although we have done that too, over the years) but as a paying and registered member of MGMA. I just attended this year’s conference held last week in San Francisco (I write from my hotel room). This is, in fact, my third year of attending the conference as an attendee. 

There are over 1,200 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in the United States. For years, FQHCs have been watching the rapid adoption of cloud computing within the private-practices and desired the same great benefits. Their needs are different than other healthcare organizations, but technology service providers are slow to provide solutions that meet those needs.

How many passwords do you have? They have become essential for many websites that we login to, change often and can be hard to keep straight. Although passwords can feel like an inconvenience, they’re critical to protecting your personal information, and the security of your patients’ ePHI.

It’s that time of year again – budgeting. Some administrators dread budgeting, while others love planning and dreaming of next year’s possibilities. No matter the group you fall in to, it’s time. To help you in the process, we’re outlining the key areas that healthcare technology spending is projected to increase in 2017.

As budgeting and planning season approaches, many of our clients engage us when developing their IT roadmap. We’ve found that clients who have roadmaps are able to make more proactive, informed and cost-effective decisions regarding their IT. With the ability to move confidently and deliberately in their IT decisions, these practices are able to use technology as a strategic differentiator.

Imagine one of your registration staff is scanning an insurance card into the EHR during a patient check-in. The scanner malfunctions and the EHR displays an error. The user isn’t sure what went wrong, so she asks the person at the neighboring desk. Now, they both examine the on-screen error trying to determine if the problem is with the scanner or the EHR. They’re stumped, and the patient is waiting.

Learning to regulate temperature. Learning to breathe. Learning how to eat. Most people take it for granted that their newborn baby can do these things on their own but Cory Johnson, a support analyst at Netgain, had to watch his son learn these things on his own after being born 10 weeks early.

It’s the experience of the days following his son Owen’s birth that led Cory to become an advocate forMarch of Dimes and led the charity to be selected as one of Netgain’s Casual for a Cause programs.

As a business owner, one thing that keeps me awake at night is how to achieve unprecedented levels of client satisfaction. We study it. We regularly train on it. We preach it at company-wide meetings. And we consistently perform above average on our client satisfaction ratings, yet, we always strive to do better for our clients.

We want our clients to be so satisfied that they are fiercely loyal to our brand and what we provide. Isn’t that what every business wants?