Important Key Reporting

Apr 18, 2023

Why Understanding Key Reports Are So Important

Running reports regularly gives you a complete view into the revenue cycle of your practice. You can use reporting to improve processes, spot trends, and identify issues that may hinder revenue collection. It's important to understand how to conduct financial reports so you may grow the business side of your practice and continue to provide the best care possible to your patients.

Examples of Criterions revenue cycle reports include:

A/R breakdown Report– provides information on beginning aging totals, charges, payments, adjustments, and ending aging totals
Aging report– shows all open insurance balances by Insurance Carrier
Payment Analysis report– identifies accounts receivables by patient and payer
Daily Transaction Report– identifies the amount of charges sent and payments received by insurance type and payment type
Payments by financial class and date of service– shows how quickly you receive payments from major payers after charges have been submitted
ERN kick list/Denials by reason code – provides details on reasons for denial according to payer; if you can calculate your biggest reasons for denials, you can address them strategically
Standard monthly reports – any other reports that the board, practice management, clinical management, or other departments may need for monthly review and tracking.

Here's a few tips to ensure you're monitoring the health of your practice properly within the Criterions system!

1) Running reports on a regular schedule establishes a rhythm. Run daily, weekly, and monthly reports to see financial trends. This will help you meet long-term financial goals.

2) Daily reports may include a reconciliation of claims generated and submitted.

3) Weekly reports may include A/R aging, and denial management activities

4) Monthly reports include charges, payments, and adjustments; A/R balance trends; gross collection rates; and provider productivity.

For more information on different reports, please fill out the form below and we will be in touch shortly!

Case Study: NY Firefighter Heart & Lung

Mar 7, 2023

How Criterions helps the New York Firefighter Heart & Lung Institute care for 9/11 First Responders

Background

Robert Brown started his career as a New York Firefighter in 1996 and worked his way up as Lieutenant at the New York Fire Department, dedicating his life to helping others. He was amongst the First Responders after the horrific 9/11 event and saw firsthand how the hazardous toxic dust and chemicals effected the rescue and volunteer teams. They suffered tremendous damage to their physical and mental health during that time.

Mr. Brown wanted to give back to his firefighter community and founded the New York Firefighters Heart & Lung Institute in 2002. At that time, he was working for North Shore Cardiac Imaging as a Physician Assistant, and his newly founded institute was a part of the North Shore organization. New York Firefighters Heart & Lung is a medical center “designed by firefighters for firefighters” that offers the best healthcare experience for firefighter professionals and are dedicated to serving their needs and family’s needs every day. They specialize in cardiac and pulmonary testing, cancer screenings, orthopedics and much more.

Criterions Electronic Health Record and Practice Management solutions have been apart of their journey since 2014, making it possible for Mr. Brown to treat thousands of firefighters since. Mr. Brown separated New York Firefighters Heart & Lung from North Shore Cardiac Imaging in late 2022 and is now the sole provider at his institute, bringing the Criterions integrated EHR and PM solutions with him.

“Going into this and separating, I thought it was going to be really hard to get on board with an EMR and meeting all requirements we needed, but Criterions made it seamless and implementation got us up and running in no time.”

Long-Term Success

The costs to start a healthcare practice, large or small, are enormous. Affordability is a very important consideration when choosing the various software you need to run your office efficiently, especially when you are a sole provider like Mr. Brown who offers his services at minimal out of pocket expenses for his firemen and firewomen patients.

“It’s very affordable we think, even including features like bulk emailing and text messaging.”

For any practice to be successful in the long run, growth is essential. Expanding your services, hiring more office employees, or moving to a bigger office location, like Mr. Brown just did, are all crucial tactics for progressing your medical practice. When it comes to training new hires on EHR or PM systems, Criterions takes pride in providing an inclusive training program to our customers. Our training and education programs offer a variety of instructor-led training events and online resources to accommodate your needs, ensuring office staff members get the most out of utilizing our products.

“We like Criterions because it’s very easy to use and to train new hires on the software because it’s not as complex as other EHR systems. A lot of features and modules are easy to understand and make sense of in the Criterions system.”

Since implementing Criterions EHR & PM software, NY Firefighters Heart & Lung has been able to increase communication with their patients by utilizing the bulk email feature, email appointment reminders, and the patient portal. Their patients use the Criterions Patient Portal to view their medical records and results, schedule, and change their appointments online which has helped increase office workflow and patient engagement.

They’ve also seen a decrease of no-shows due to the flexibility of online scheduling capabilities for their firefighter patients, who are sometimes on duty in the firehouse for long shifts with limited time to call the practice during office hours if needing to reschedule or cancel their existing appointments.

“Overall, it’s been a good experience with Criterions. We almost never have any issues using the software. Support gets back to us in no time. Training department is always really helpful, and I would recommend their product.”

NY Firefighter Heart & Lung has helped thousands of firefighter professionals throughout their years and will continue to provide the best possible healthcare experiences for years to come. Together, Criterions will support their services as Mr. Brown grows his practice and takes on more patients by helping to improve patient engagement and experience, as well as increasing workflow efficiency for their office staff.

Fore more information on Mr. Brown's mission at The New York Firefighter Heart & Lung Institute, please visit their website at: https://www.fdnyheart.com/

Interested in learning how Criterions software can benefit your practice? Fill out the form below:

Why you should become FHIR API compliant

Feb 8, 2023

What is FHIR API?

As part of the 21^st Century Cures Act, signed by Congress in 2016, a data standard called the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource was created and supported by HL7 International. The intricacy of healthcare data was taken into consideration when developing FHIR, which uses a cutting-edge, web-based methodology to connect several distinct pieces. FHIR API involves the access and exchange of data from healthcare providers to their patients.

Consider how simple it is to find information in real-time on things like travel costs, hotel availability, or delivery tracking. The same goal of FHIR is to enable developers to create uniform "browser" applications that allow access to data regardless of the EHR operating system that supports the user's infrastructure.

FHIR Resources

The resource is key in this. A FHIR resource can be a standalone data packet with metadata, text, or specific data pieces. It can also be packaged into collections to produce clinical papers, much like the Consolidated Clinical Data Model. The SMART on FHIR API standard allows individuals to download their health records and share readily available health data. It also provides a health app interface based on open standards including HL7’s FHIR, OAuth2, and OpenID Connect. For example, the SMART on FHIR API is built into major EHR products, has been used by Apple to connect its Health App to hundreds of healthcare systems, and is used for apps launched on Microsoft products.

Advantages of FHIR API:

Focus on Patient’s Experience: When data is shared with patients, they have more control over their records, which boosts their confidence in healthcare services and practitioners.
Automated Data Structuring: Automated data structuring provides support for service providers and healthcare professionals. Data sharing between patients and providers results in a value-based strategy where the emphasis is on improved care coordination, patient experience, and management, as well as cost savings.
Enhanced Data Management: Data is stored in a variety of forms and is gathered from several sources with varying dimensions and volumes, including surveys, wearables, medical records, and claims data. By accessing real-time records, which guarantees data accuracy, FHIR helps to improve data management.
Efficient Collaboration: Patients receive a complete picture of their clinical data through FHIR. A good example is the Health app for iOS from Apple. It obtains patient information via FHIR from EHRs and other medical facilities, combines it with information from the user's phone, and creates a comprehensive picture of the patient's health.

We’re all used to the federal government creating directives that carry a “carrot & stick” approach, but when it comes to the FHIR API requirement, it’s just the stick. Practices can incur severe penalties for noncompliance. The good news is that Criterions has partnered with a 3^rd party organization to facilitate the requirements imposed- EMR Direct. Please click here for more information on EMR Direct.

For more information on FHIR API or to sign up, please fill out the form below.

Important Notices:

1) FHIR API went into effect for medical practices January 1^st, 2023.

2) There is a 90-day grace period before penalties can incur.

3) Additional information can be found here.

Why eFax Modules are Essential

Jan 18, 2023

Criterions eFax HIPPA Compliant Module

There’s a high chance you are still sending faxes daily, which means you must have reasonable safeguards to ensure they are Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) eFax compliant and that all Protected Health Information being sent and received is safe.

Therefore, all employees should be aware of the HIPAA faxing rules and best practices that come with using traditional fax machines as there are significant obstacles for them to be declared secure enough for sensitive patient information.

Criterions eFax Module aligns with your Practice's medical fax processes utilizing the healthcare industry’s strictest data security standards

Criterions eFax Module enhances compliance with privacy and security rules – including HIPAA, the HITECH Act, and state regulations while streamlining your reporting for meaningful use and audit.

Benefits of using an eFax HIPPA Compliant Module with your Criterions EHR system includes:

Criterions eFax Module has a commitment to security with end-to-end encryption.
Criterions eFax Module safeguards sensitive information, such as patient health records transmitted by hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, and follows HIPAA compliance.
Criterions eFax Module is integrated directly within the Criterions EHR, and you are provided notifications about each fax via email.
Includes unlimited storage, so you will no longer misplace faxes, and it keeps all your documents organized and always available.
When using the Criterions eFax Module, there is no more waste, no paper, and no more costs for maintaining your fax machine.

If you would like more information on the Criterions eFax Module to assist your office staff, please email our Sales Team or fill out the form below and we'll be in touch shortly.

Simplify Patient Visits with Order Sets

Jan 18, 2023

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” — Hans Hofmann

The aim of any good Electronic Health Record (EHR) software is to allow providers to properly document patient care with accuracy and efficiency. If providers are given tools to make documentation easier, they are able to spend more quality time interacting with their patients discussing care and concerns.

What Are Order Sets?

There are some visits or diagnoses that can be described as typical in nature, for example a Well Care/Annual visits, in which order sets allow you to have preselected plan items such as lab orders, prescriptions, and procedures that can easily be applied to a visit with just two clicks. Each provider has the ability to create their own order sets based on their general workflow, and providers with frequently used plan items can also share their order sets with others.

To learn more about creating your own order sets and simplifying your workflow, please login to your Customer Support Center account below for the "Order Sets" instructions or fill out the contact form below to speak with our Support Team.

Support Center Login