MEDICAL OFFICE WORKFLOW CHAPTER 2

OBJECTIVES Gain brief understanding of medical office workflow systems and their complications Learn about the categories of medical office workflow and their major processes Develop a familiarity with MedTrak’s rules-based methodology for medical office workflow

KEY CONCEPTS Medical office workflow systems Revenue cycle management Clinical staff collaboration Improving communications Automating paperwork Medical processes Detailed clinical step Presenting problems Patient tracking Rules-based Specialized dashboards Screen sequences Clinical objects Evidence based

INTRODUCTION ◦Medical office workflow systems: ◦Lower costs ◦Increase quality of care at every level ◦Increase efficiency ◦Reduce patient throughput time ◦Integrate rules-based problem solving with evidence-based actions ◦Focus on supporting clinical staff ◦Improves collaboration ◦Improves communications ◦Automates paperwork ◦Integrates rules-based problem solving

MEDTRAK Medical office workflow system Enables the clinicians to always complete every step in patient’s care Ensuring patient’s care always meets clinic standards Enables the clinical staff to determine next step in clinical process Reduces stress level by providing up-to- the-second tracking information for each patient in the facility

MEDICAL DISCIPLINES HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE Physician-direct responsibility for patient care Nursing staff-support physician by carrying out their orders Front desk personnel-schedule, register, collect payments Administrative staff-monitor patient charts & outside communications Billing staff-prepare, send out bills and record payments

MEDICAL OFFICE WORKFLOW CATEGORIES Schedule and Appointment Register a patient Treat a Patient Patient Intake Initial contact-Physician Open orders processing Additional orders

MEDICAL OFFICE WORKFLOW CONTINUED Referrals-Physician Diagnosing-Physician History and exam-Physician Prescribing-Physician Aftercare instructions-Physician Evaluation and management-Physician Patient discharge Payment collection Incomplete charting Bill for the encounter Payment posting and collections

RULES-BASED METHODOLOGY Steps for effective clinical workflow: 1. Specialized Dashboards that model clinical workflow 2. Screen Sequences automatically guide users through data capture 3. Functionality attached to clinical objects to complete their characteristics 4. Orders that trigger sequences of questions which enable evidence-based actions

SPECIALIZED DASHBOARDS Clinic status screen Incomplete visit screens-pending chart completion Unbilled charges dashboard Accounts receivable dashboard Referrals dashboard Surgeries needing authorization dashboard

SCREEN SEQUENCES Scheduling appointments Registration processing for private pay- group health Registration processing for workers’ compensation and employee health Payment processing

FUNCTIONALITY Attaching payers with subscriber information to patients Attaching workers’ compensation insurance to companies Attaching initial injury drug screens and physical examinations to companies Building specific care rules for a patient Rates assigned by billing codes to specific procedures

ORDERS Imaging orders (x-rays, MRIs CT scans) Laboratory orders(drug screens, blood tests) Ancillary orders(hearing, eye, pulmonary function tests) Treatments for injuries(surface traumas, orthopedics Treatments for systems(HEENT, cardiology, dermatology) Follow-up treatments)dressing changes, suture removals) Medication treatments(injections, vaccines) Referrals to outside specialists Dispense and prescribe medications Administrative orders (form completion, extra services)

What’s coming up? Chapters 3-6 you will: add patients-use MedTrak Online User Guide attach payers to a patient schedule patients After chapter 6 you will learn: how to use MedTraks clinical workflow system to process patient responsibilities entire revenue cycle process scheduling & registering patients refunding credit payments point-of-care clinical processing that produces charges and appropriate billing codes