With the COVID-19 pandemic throwing even the best laid management plans askew, we are all scrambling to find ways to better manage our patient flows, whether in the office or virtually. Technologies such as telemedicine and widefield fundus photography are becoming mainstays to minimize unnecessary interactions.
But with months of disruption ahead of us, we need to leverage other tools to help keep our practices running smoothly. This issue of Retina Today Business Matters takes a look at three options for reaching that goal: electronic health record (EHR) upgrades, digitized prior authorizations, and search engine optimization (SEO).
Minimizing bottlenecks in your practice is an ever-present issue due to social distancing protocols, personal protective equipment considerations, and new sanitization routines. This is where an efficient EHR system becomes invaluable. Daniel Schroder, MBA, a retina practice administrator in Florida, offers a firsthand account of his practice’s transition to the Modernizing Medicine platform.
Now might be time to tackle a time-consuming aspect of medical care: obtaining prior authorizations. Paul Lucas, MSHA, a retina practice administrator in Atlanta, details the benefits of SamaCare, an online platform that consolidates prior authorization requests, approvals, and rejections onto one website.
Finally, with patient volumes in flux, now is a good time to check out the SEO tips offered by Ifland Crawford, founder and CEO of Messenger Healthcare Marketing, to make sure your site is easy to find for the majority of patients who use Google to find a physician.
Elsewhere in this issue, you will find an implementation checklist for 2021 E/M guidelines, year-end tax tips, and five action items that can help you weather the storm of COVID-19.
Alan Ruby, MD
SECTION Editor
