How gloEMR Has Improved My Practice

Tom Perkins, D.O.

Partner – Institute for Athletic Medicine

Auburn Hills, Michigan

Institute for Athletic Medicine Case Study

Institute for Athletic Medicine

• Orthopedic specialists

• Two-man practice

• Partners have 6 and 11 years practice experience

• Work/life balance essential– 10 kids between two doctors!

Practice Stats

• Average 105 patient encounters per week,

per provider – 2 to 2½ days in clinic per week

• 50+ surgeries per month– 80% at surgery centers– 2 to 2½ days in surgery per week

• One PA, 6.5 FTE Staff– 3.25 to 1 ratio

Institute for Athletic Medicine

We believe that a high-quality patient experience drives practice growth and success.

We believe that an efficient, clean, and technologically-advanced office is one of the major factors to a high quality patient care and experience.

Medical and Business Philosophy

We strive to:

• Dedicate exam room time to patients with no interruption

• Leverage technology to access patient information in real time– History, surgery movies or photos, imaging data, patient education

• Minimize wait in reception and exam rooms

• Serve with unmatched courtesy and professionalism

• Present a modern clinic with professional look and feel

• Retrieve patient chart from anywhere in the practice

Best growth strategy: Provide high-quality patient experience and care

Meeting the Goals:EMR Design and Selection Criteria

Also we wanted:

• Great voice recognition, critical to efficiency

• Ability to dictate in an area outside exam room

• Workstation in every exam room

• Ability to maintain server in office for quick access and control

• Improved documentation of patient encounters

– Match documentation with Billing

gloEMR purchase decision based on practice philosophy and good ROI

Aligned Labor to NewWork Flow = Increased efficiency

• Maintained FTE Ratio, realigned cost to new process– We have Medical Assistant in room

• Documents history and medications before we get in room

• Records HnP while we conduct the exam

• Frees doctor to focus exclusively on patient– Result: The system has paid for expense increases many

times over in improved efficiency– Allows me to see more patients per clinic day

Results After 30 Months

• 14 percent more patients seen on clinic days with same FTE increasing our encounter/FTE ratio

• More surgeries resulting from more patient encounters

• Better documentation has led to increased billing

• Chart chase and associated costs eliminated

• Chart storage physical space reduced

• Higher confidence in documentation and compliance

• Time spent on paperwork down two hours per clinic day

We’re always home for dinner

Cost Quantity Total

Labor Savings per Encounter $7.40 500 $3,699.00

Reduced Transcription Cost $1000 2 $2,000.00

Reduced Chart Costs $5.00 500 $2,500.00

Better Coding $25.00 30 $630.00

Reduction in Postage $.41 380 $155.00

Reduction in Envelopes/Labor $.50 380 $190.00

Reduction in Prescription Order $1.00 250 $250.00

Increase family Time High 2 Hours/Clinic Priceless

Total Savings $9,424.00

Monthly Investment $2,700.00

Monthly Savings $6,724.00

Our Return On Investment with gloEMR from gloStream

Lessons Learned

• Planning for Transition is Important– Map Old Process to New Workflows

• Trusted local IT person is critical– Make sure to have support agreement for hardware and

network– Software can be supported remotely

• Voice recognition really works - stay with it

• Staff resistance fades and productivity increases within six months

• Patients value focused interaction with doctors

• EMR’s do work and Don’t be afraid of conversions