The information in this chapter will enable you to:
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg::::/sites/dl/free/0073401978/585868/arrow.jpg','popWin', 'width=72,height=90,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (1.0K)</a> Understand the ways in which EHR enhances each step of the office visit.
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg::::/sites/dl/free/0073401978/585868/arrow.jpg','popWin', 'width=72,height=90,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (1.0K)</a> Understand how clinical tools, a feature of EHRs, assist physicians in making medical decisions and managing patients with chronic diseases.
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg::::/sites/dl/free/0073401978/585868/arrow.jpg','popWin', 'width=72,height=90,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (1.0K)</a> Understand how electronic documentation leads to more timely reimbursement for the practice.
<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg::::/sites/dl/free/0073401978/585868/arrow.jpg','popWin', 'width=72,height=90,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (1.0K)</a> Understand how using EHR tools to monitor patients' compliance with recommended wellness guidelines can improve the quality of patient care.
Outline
Patient Flow in the Physician Practice
Step 1. Pre-Visit: Appointment Scheduling and Information Collection
Step 2. Patient Check-in and Payment Collection
Step 3. Rooming and Measuring Vital Signs
Patient Examination and Documentation
Step 4. Patient Checkout
Step 5. Post-Visit: Coding and Billing
Post-Visit: Reviewing
Test Results
Coding and Reimbursement in Electronic Health Records
Computer-Assisted Coding
Clinical Tools in the Electronic Health Record
Decision-Support Tools
Tracking and Monitoring Patient Care
Screening for Illness or Disease
Identifying at-Risk Patients
Managing Patients with Chronic Diseases
Improving the Quality and Safety of Patient Care with Evidence-Based Guidelines
E-Prescribing and Electronic Health Records
Keeping Current with Electronic Drug Databases
Increasing Prescription Safety
Saving Time and Money
Learning Outcomes
After completing this chapter, you will be able to define key terms and:
List the five steps of the office visit workflow in a physician office.
Discuss the advantages of pre-visit scheduling and information collection for patients and office staff.
Describe the process of electronic check-in.
Explain how electronic health records make documenting patient exams more efficient.
Explain what occurs during patient checkout.
Explain what two events take place during the post-visit step of the visit workflow.
Describe the advantages of computer-assisted coding.
List three decision-support tools the EHRs contain to provide patients with safe and effective health care.
List four important safety checks that an EHR's e-prescribing feature can perform when a physician selects a new medication for a patient.
