eMDs
Securing EHR through Optimal Encryption Practices

Investment in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) to streamline both operational and management aspects of healthcare sector is becoming more global. EHR has helped the healthcare industry to undergo tremendous positive changes. It has developed number of functionalities that extends the medial boundaries while automating the tasks. However, there are challenges associated with rapidly changing technology requirements and rising IT costs, many of which being enforced by regulatory mandates. e-MDs, an EHR provider, addresses this challenge with their cloud hosting solutions “Our solutions take burden off the client because they offload IT responsibilities to us. We provide a secure solution that eliminates the need to continually update their hardware or software. It saves time and money in the long run,” says Jim Brady, Interim CEO, e-MDs.

Founded in the year 1996, the performance of e-MDs is at par with its tagline ‘Rediscover the joy of practicing.’ It has helped physicians to act according to the newer generation health demands. Most of the e-MDs solutions use a two-fold approach. Firstly, its software gives clinicians real-time information that is actionable where the “rubber meets the road” at the point of care. Secondly, it also lets the physicians understand and act upon population of patients correctly. “Inbuilt customizable registries and patient engagement tools such as ‘Patient Portal’ used by physician communities are examples of how e-MDs has been delivering to our customers. Intersecting both of these is the ability of a system to seamlessly capture rich data which can be used for reporting and other purposes.” asserts Brady.

One of the potential threats being faced during the usage of EHR is the HIPAA violations and security risks that occur while usage of EHR. “It could be something as simple as a patient’s record being left up on a screen in a high-traffic area, or a clinician being called away in an emergency and not having a chance to log out of the system, which leaves it vulnerable to a host of issues,” Brady continues. “By spending a lot of time re-evaluating the multitude of security features, we constantly add features such as encrypted data, best practices for hiding screens, best practices for secure passwords.”

Apart from the advanced security features, e-MDs has much more in its credit that helps it to stay ahead amid huge competition. The features like inter-operability, compliance with government regulations (MU2/3, VBM, PQRS, ICD-10) and business analytics are few areas where e-MDs takes a strong stance.

In an insightful example, Arrowhead Health in Arizona had experienced increased burdens along with the inefficiencies in managing paper charts. Dr. Berg from Arrowhead Health recalls, “We knew the EHR was the right thing to do, not only to help us make our practice more efficient, but to provide a better experience for our patients. After a thorough research we chose e-MDs.” The impact of e-MDs was impressive. Weekly hours devoted to medical records management decreased from 200 hours per week to 20 hours per week. “Since the e-MDs implementation, they were able to increase the number of patient visits per day by 40 percent. With improved coding and billing efficiency, profitability increased by 50 percent at the end of the first year and 100 percent by the second year,” recollects Brady.

By spending a lot of time re-evaluating the multitude of security features, we constantly add features such as encrypted data, best practices for hiding screens, best practices for secure passwords

Moving forward, e-MDs aims to direct their efforts towards easing technology cost, offering industryleading RCM, helping clients prepare for changing reimbursement models. They also look ahead to provide tools to succeed with the increasingly engaged healthcare consumer while also ensuring a smooth transition to ICD-10. “We wish to provide the expertise and the resources to make sure that our clients experience a new world of healthcare,” concludes Brady.