Cloud-Based EHRs With Integrated Billing Solutions May Save Thousands Of Independent Physicians From Acquisition, Reveals Black Book RCM Study

Nearly ten percent of physician practices are acquiescing to takeover offers from hospitals and larger medical groups, while more autonomous doctors confront the fallout from owning outmoded billing systems and unworkable electronic health records. However, Black Book surveys detect a defiant tipping point from the majority of independent physicians recently shifting to replacement EHRs featuring lower costs, ease in deployment and high RCM usability.

Clearwater, FL (PRWEB) September 03, 2013

In a series of eight research reports on the 2013 State of the Revenue Cycle Management industry, Black Book™ releases comprehensive findings of IT and services users on the trends and directions of hospitals and physician practices. The top ranked vendors in customer satisfaction and client experience among RCM software and outsourcing services providers, as well as RCM transformation consultants are announced.

The first of the eight RCM studies released is the "Top Physician Practice Management & Revenue Cycle Management: Ambulatory EHR Vendors", an analysis of the convergence of the replacement EHR market with the needs of physician practices to upgrade patient billing processes. According to Black Book, the RCM software and services industry recently surpassed the $12 billion in the ambulatory physician practice segment due to demands encountered from reimbursement and payment reforms, accountable care participation, ICD-10 coding challenges, and declining revenues.

In this segmented survey of healthcare financial leaders, over 8,000 respective CFOs, CIOs, administrators and support staff of US hospitals and physician practices contributed their perceptions to Black Book™ between April 2013 and August 2013..

KEY FINDINGS: IMPROVING PRACTICE PERFORMANCE WITH SEAMLESS RCM/EHR

87% of all Physician practices agree their billing and collections systems/processes need upgrading.

42% are considering an upgrade of their RCM software within 6 -12 months.

92% of those seeking an RCM PM upgrade or system change out are only considering an EHR centric applications.

71% of physician practices are considering a combination of new software and outsourcing services to improve their RCM systems.

89% of those state a preference for a single source vendor for all RCM PM and EHR modules.

89% of physicians currently replacing their EHRs are seeking a seamless single source vendor, and prefer vendors that offer software, outsourcing and consulting options in their EHR/RCM/PM transformation.

96% of practices achieving meaningful use 1 attestation and/or highly satisfied with EHR vendor performance agree that fully-integrated practice management/revenue cycle management systems equipped with EHR software is the key to ensuring practice survival and even independence from hospital or large group acquisition.

"As evidenced by the growing number of meaningful use failures and immature EHR systems dropping off the competitive market, far too many EHR’s falsely claimed to integrate seamlessly into practice and revenue cycle management systems," adds Brown. "Fewer systems had evidence of seamless integration across revenue cycle management, clinical communications and analytics solutions."

Users honored an elite group of seamless practice management, EHR, and medical billing software and services vendors for medical groups that are making the grade. Products are connecting providers to their patients and one another through a fully-integrated, digital healthcare ecosystem that can be accessed on any browser or device. "These innovative systems are transforming thousands of physicians increase collections, streamline operations, acclimate to reimbursement reforms, provide productive workflows, and improve patient care, "notes Brown.

The top ranked seamless Ambulatory EHR/Practice Management/Revenue Cycle Management vendor in the 2013 Black Book user survey was Irvine, California based Kareo, Inc.which integrates also with several EHRs and over 20,000 users nationally.

Other top seamless EHR/RCM/PM performers include: Care360/Quest Diagnostics, Care Cloud, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, Vitera, McKesson, Optum, SimplifyMD, Greenway Medical, Practice Fusion, GE Healthcare, Epic, e-MDs, NextGen, Allscripts, ChartLogic, ADP AdvancedMD, and Henry Schein MicroMD.

KEY FINDINGS: STATE OF PHYSICIAN PRACTICE PROFITABILITY, ACQUISITIONS & TECHNOLOGY

72% of physician practices, whether networked, independent or part of a large group or hospital system anticipate declining-to-negative profitability in 2014 due to diminishing reimbursements and underutilized or inefficient billing and records technology.

"Over the past year, the overwhelming desire to keep practices from being acquired or selling out has changed drastically," noted Doug Brown, Managing Partner of Black Book Market Research LLC.

In May 2012, nine out of ten independent physicians wanted to maintain independence from hospital or larger group practice acquisition. "Profit challenges have forced the number of practices actively seeking acquisition to more than to triple until recently, as cloud EHRs with RCM innovations have given independents new hope," adds Brown.

88% of business managers fear that the ramifications of their outdated and/or auto-piloted revenue cycle management systems, particularly those not integrated to EHRs, will force their physician to sell the entire practice operation to a larger physician group or hospital within 12 months or face practice dissolution.

86% of business managers are certain their old practice management and revenue cycle cannot accommodate upcoming regulatory requirements and updates. Nearly 100% state the practice’s financial software and workflows are unprepared for ACO participation.

97% of business managers confirm that an innovative, seamless RCM/PM/EHR system would ensure long term practice independence, and greatly improve productivity and profitability.

88% of Hospitals and 76% of Large Physician Groups procuring independent physician practices find there was little/no useful salvageable technology (EHR, PM, or RCM) in the acquisition of practice assets.

81% of practices acquired in last 12 months had attempted an EHR or upgraded PM implementation.

63% of independent practices believe an attempted technology upgrade or implementation was necessary to improve practice value prior to an acquisition. 98% of independent physicians claim that short sighted IT acquisitions, as part of their practice sell off plans to hospitals and larger clinics, actually devalued their practice’s worth.

About Black Book™
Black Book Rankings, a division of Black Book Market Research LLC, provides healthcare IT users, media, investors, analysts, quality minded vendors, and prospective software system buyers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and other interested sectors of the clinical technology industry with comprehensive comparison data of the industry's top respected and competitively performing technology vendors.

The largest user opinion poll of its kind in healthcare IT, Black Book™ collects over 400,000 viewpoints on information technology and outsourced services vendor performance annually For methodology, auditing, resources, comprehensive research and ranking data see http://www.blackbookrankings.com