Many physicians, who plan to retire in the next two years, have decided not to adopt an EHR; reasoning, "I will retire by the time the CMS penalties hit, so why bother", or "The penalties will not affect me much...I'll just close my practice". What about your practice? Does it truly make sense to walk away from an established practice just to avoid adopting an EHR? Closing a practice to avoid an EHR is not a good exit plan.
Closing the Doors is Not Simple
Simply walking away from a practice is risky. A lot of thought, planning and strategy goes into closing a practice. It's something that shouldn't be done in less than three to four years. It's something that shouldn't be taken so lightly. Transition strategies on transitioning patients, storing patient records, claim run offs, finalizing the accounts receivables are all major decisions that need to be addressed. The decisions on the transition aren’t so simple. As you look at the asset of your practice, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is closing the practice a viable option?
- What other options are available to me?
ModuleMD had one such case where the Podiatrist planned to close his practice. After meeting with the Podiatrist, the decision was to adopt ModuleMD and then eventually transition the practice to another Podiatrist. After several months of using the EHR, the Podiatrist decided not to retire – that was five years ago. “Having my practice is more meaningful since the attention now is on my patients.” With so many options available to you, don't let the adoption of an EHR become your main reason for retiring or closing your practice.
Optimizing the Sell of Your Practice
If selling your practice is more appealing, think of your practice like selling a house. To get the best price for a house, sellers improve areas in the house to optimize the best selling price. Staging your practice provides the same optimization. Physicians that want to purchase a practice are looking at turn-key operations. Like a house, the better your operational efficiencies are within the practice, the more attractive your practice is to buyers. A web-based integrated EHR increases the optional efficiencies within a practice through:
- Streamlining process workflows and simplifying task that improves productivity.
- Reducing the operational cost of hardware, software, and supported IT infrastructure.
- Improving patient documentation to improve quality patient care.
Even in the worse market conditions the sale price to a physician practice can be optimized by effective operations. ModuleMD assesses the needs of a practice and customizes the EHR that works best in each practice. With a flexible EHR the system is customized to your specialty - no longer are you trying to squeeze your practice into a static EHR.
Creating Value for Your Practice
While optimizing your operations, a web-based, seamless EHR can increase your value. There is very little value these days in a physician practice if you don't optimize your asset. When patients have the opportunity to direct their care, your patient base no longer becomes an asset. The value a web-based seamless EHR brings to the practice is: