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Case Study: NY Firefighter Heart & Lung

Case Study: NY Firefighter Heart & Lung

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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:

What is Practice Management Software

What is Practice Management Software

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What is Practice Management Software?

Practice management involves the decisions, actions and resources that ensure the day-to-day operations of your medical practice. Managing a healthcare practice can be arduous and time-consuming. In a single day, physicians and office staff may deal with administrative, regulatory, financial and technological tasks — on top of making sure patients get the best care possible. Practice Management Software helps manage your practice, patients, and is important with increasing workflow and patient engagement, but most importantly will help your office get paid.

Criterions cloud-based electronic health record comes fully integrated with practice management software you need to keep your office running efficiently. Whether you use a billing service or manage billing in-house, our EHR helps you receive payment faster.

Billing is streamlined with our electronic superbill, and our billing partners offer the best cloud-based billing solutions that can integrate directly with your EHR workflows. Intuitive charting, connections to labs and imaging centers, referrals, prescribing, document management, reporting, communication, and eligibility checks- Criterions does all this and more.

 

A few benefits of a cloud-based Practice Management Software includes:

 Help patients find your services and book appointments online

  • Patients can search for and book appointments online from your Criterions Patient Portal.
  • Once a patient books an appointment, automatic email or text reminders are sent to them to help reduce missed appointments and reduce the time your staff has to spend on the phone.

Check insurance eligibility for patients directly from your EHR

  • Get paid for the appointments you schedule with patient health insurance verification that includes real-time connections to over 300 payers, and automated eligibility checks before a scheduled appointment.

Certified for PQRS and Meaningful Use to help you avoid penalties

  • The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) offer EHR incentive payments for those who can attest to improving patient care with their Meaningful Use and PQRS programs — and payment penalties to those who cannot — if you are an eligible provider but haven't started participating in those programs.
  • To manage and report on criteria performance, Criterions has developed certified PQRS and Meaningful Use dashboards and reports.

Simplify your billing and increase revenue

  • Medical billing management and increasing revenue can be a challenge for any practice, but our cloud-based EHR and PM streamlines all these tasks so you can get paid faster and grow your practice.

 

 

Click here for more information on how Criterions Medical Practice Management Software makes delivering patient care easier for you and your staff, or please fill out the form below and a team member will be in touch shortly. 

 

Why you should become FHIR API compliant

Why you should become FHIR API compliant

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What is FHIR API?

As part of the 21st 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 3rd 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 1st, 2023.

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

3) Additional information can be found here.

 

Effective Patient Interaction

Effective Patient Interaction

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Effective patient interaction technologies can enhance the patient experience

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare organizations across the country realized they needed to change their already stressed patient intake processes in order to lower the more immediate danger of transmission. This is when the need to minimize wait times first became apparent. According to data, protracted wait times frequently lead to a negative patient experience, which is something that every healthcare institution wishes to avoid. Many healthcare organizations and medical practices simultaneously were experiencing staffing issues.

Organizations that pivoted using portal automation and engagement tools saw decreases from 30-minute wait times on average to less than 10 minutes. Moreover, patient satisfaction was improving as patients were embracing the notion of participation in their own care, filling out paperwork online and at their convenience and in the comfort of their own homes. Here are just a few simple steps that can help to reduce wait times, help to improve patient satisfaction while at the same time helping to reduce cancellations and no-shows. And, as we know, a reduction in no show visits is also of financial benefit to the practice.

Three easy ways to streamline the patient check-in experience within Criterions:

Automated Appointment Reminders

Criterions’ Text Appointment Reminders act as an integrated tool for confirming appointments and enhancing communication between your office and your patients.

 

Electronic Intake Forms, Questionnaires, and Consent Forms

Criterions’ Patient Engagement Module provides the ability to send patients customized questionnaires, which can be linked to appointment type and sent automatically through the patient portal. Patients can fill out the form and sign for consent prior to their appointments and at their convenience. Completed and signed documents will then be available within the EHR.

 

Automated Check-In

Patients can receive a check-in confirmation text one hour prior to their scheduled appointment allowing them to confirm using their phones, thus starting the visit with your practice.

 

 

If you would like more information on how to set up automations within the Criterions EHR system to assist your office staff, please email SUPPORT HERE or fill out the form below and we'll be in touch shortly.

AI in Healthcare IT

AI in Healthcare IT

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In today's healthcare IT world, predictive models—which learn from past data and generate forecasts or suggestions—are typically mentioned when people talk about artificial intelligence (AI). Machine learning (ML) methods, like those used by the Criterions EHR system, are frequently the driving force behind these models.

There are tremendous opportunities for AI, ML, and similar technologies in the realm of healthcare due to the enormous flexibility that gives ML its power. A model can forecast quite accurate predictions and provide suggestions, and we have seen it change many industries. Read some of the examples below of how AI and ML are affecting the healthcare industry.

Automation Return

The return of an EHR investment is guaranteed with machine learning (ML) and other forms of artificial intelligence (AI). It can automate and improve repetitive tasks to assist office staff, automate processes to help increase communication between patients and providers, and suggest treatments for a better patient experience leading to optimized workflow and increased revenue.

Data Analysis

Another advantage is that AI can sift through vast volumes of data to locate specific points that humans can't find or would take years to uncover. Humans can get previously unattainable insights into diagnosis, care procedures, treatment variability, and patient outcomes because of the potential of learning algorithms to become more exact and accurate as they interact with training data.

Staff Shortage

One of the main difficulties that public health professionals face is the issue of personnel shortages, which has affected healthcare providers for many years now. By taking over some of the diagnostic tasks traditionally assigned to humans, artificial intelligence (AI) could assist to offset the effects of this significant shortage of skilled clinical staff. AI imaging technologies, for instance, may frequently achieve a level of accuracy equivalent to people when screening chest x-rays for indications of tuberculosis. A qualified diagnostic radiologist wouldn't necessarily need to be present if this capability could be implemented efficiently.

 

One of the most interesting future directions for these ground-breaking methods of data analysis and data automation is the use of AI and ML for clinical decision support, risk rating, and early alerting. AI and ML will usher in a new era of clinical excellence and exciting advancements in patient care by powering a new generation of tools and systems that make doctors more aware of nuances, more efficient when providing care, and more likely to get ahead of developing problems.

If you would like more information on how to set up automations within the Criterions EHR system to assist your office staff, please email SUPPORT HERE or fill out the form below and we'll be in touch shortly.

How Does FHIR Improve Patient Care?

How Does FHIR Improve Patient Care?

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Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, or FHIR, is an interoperability rule that will enable on-demand information exchange of clinical records among providers and data systems. FHIR was created by the Health Level Seven International healthcare standards organization (HL7) specifically for healthcare organizations. The goal of FHIR is to assist practices in delivering more value to patients between appointments, so that they can focus on providing the best possible care to patients in the office. This will, in turn, result in more coordinated, cost-efficient care.

Too often, health systems are distracted by the technical or administrative processes that facilitate interoperability in healthcare. This causes providers to lose sight of their top goal: improving patient care by sharing the best information available at the point of care. By adopting the new healthcare data exchange standard, providers can more efficiently share patient data, payers can drive down costs and improve outcomes, and patients can take greater control of their health.

FHIR builds on previous data format standards like HL7, but it is easier to implement because it uses a modern web-based suite of API technology. FHIR makes it easy to provide healthcare information to healthcare providers and individuals on a wide variety of devices including computers, tablets, and cell phones. It also allows third-party application developers to provide medical applications which can be easily integrated into existing systems. FHIR helps Healthcare IT software providers rapidly create new innovative solutions to improve patient care. Because FHIR is a modern architecture solution and scales well, the next generation of applications can utilize FHIR to bring their solutions to market faster, and with greater impact.

Criterions partners with EMR Direct to help your practice improve patient care. EMR Direct can enable data from Criterions EHR at FHIR endpoints, for access to these resources by users you authorize, leveraging patient portal credentials already in place.

For more information on how to set up FHIR, complete the form below:

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