Reducing burdens with HIT
Using mobile apps to reduce burdens
Mobile applications are taking medical practice into a new territory. They enable access to medical information in real time for dermatologists and patients alike. This has the potential to reduce clinical documentation and administrative burdens, but it can also present new challenges.
Dermatologist benefits of using mobile apps
Patient benefits of using mobile apps
Your EHR probably has a patient portal application both you and patients can access. Check with your vendor if there are ways to integrate a scheduling or practice management application into the patient portal. Having the patient portal application on your phone allows you easy and secure access to multitask without needing to be in the practice. Learn more about how a patient portal can reduce burdens in your practice.
Apart from the patient portal, your EHR system may offer an app just for physicians. This app enables you to access patient records from any location, at any time, meaning you can update records away from the office if necessary. Ideally, you can complete updates during regular office hours, but if work does run long, you won’t have to be in the office to finish. Check with your EHR vendor to see if they offer this access.
App vendors are generally considered Business Associates (BAs) and should sign a BA agreement. Follow federal and state regulations on information security.
Apps and info blocking
Prompt access to medical information now extends to patients too. For example, patients may receive a notification from the patient portal mobile app the instant lab results are ready. HHS has made it clear through regulations that doctors must allow prompt access to these results. However, physicians have expressed concern that patients who access results without guidance may struggle to interpret the information and suffer needless alarm.
Fortunately, through mobile apps, the dermatologist can receive the same real time notification on patient lab results. They can then send a quick note of explanation or arrange a call if a longer discussion is warranted.
If the dermatologist has guidance and care instructions already prepared for a certain condition, many apps will allow them to send those instructions to the patient simply by clicking a button on their phone. The patient receives a notification and can access the instructions immediately.
If you have a concern that patients who immediately access lab results may draw alarming conclusions, download this customizable template notice (Word). This template can be used to state your concern on the release date of lab results to patients and can be shared with your legal department or risk manager to advocate for more time, flexibility, and a more strategic process.
Learn more about about patient's right to their medical information.
Once you have identified how your practice will use apps, train your office staff on how to use them consistently. Consider developing workflows that can help with the training piece. For example, it is not efficient for the dermatologist to answer every communication, especially those on scheduling or routine refills. This means all staff involved should understand which communications are their responsibility to answer. Learn more about staff integration and engagement tips.
Apps offer more than patient portals and EHR apps. There are several kinds of apps that may be useful to your dermatology practice, including practice management apps, HIPAA-compliant messaging apps, team conferencing, scribe/voice recognition apps, and more. Smart and consistent use of these apps can reduce administrative burdens and make your practice’s operations more efficient.
To view a list of dermatology relevant mobile applications, visit the Useful apps page.
The apps revolution
The technology landscape has changed through long effort by HHS. Most of us are familiar with patient portals now, and many remember Meaningful Use. But in 2015, the government pivoted to a new approach that encouraged use of apps. New technology allowed secure, instantaneous access to medical information. As a result, certified EHR companies have made it easier for patients to access and share their health information through application programming interfaces (APIs), which is a set of standards that manage how software applications work with each other.
Now, with the information blocking rule, the government has made clear that physicians must share electronic information with patients as it becomes available.
Additional Academy resources
See the Academy's resources on best use of your EHR, with tips to save dermatologists time.
Use the Academy's resources to get started or expand your teledermatology practice.
See the Academy's resources to help you manage the business side of your dermatology practice.
