Small Practice Saves More than $1,100 a Month and Gets Up and Running Using Integrated Solutions From Misys

There are a myriad of issues to consider when starting a small practice; the amount of paperwork that is required should not be one of them. Luckily, Dr. Michael Casagrande realized this when he started his two-person, Tomball, Texas-based family practice.

Recognizing the fact that he was starting out with a limited number of staff — and wishing to remain a small practice for now — Dr. Casagrande made an early decision to turn to Misys Healthcare Systems in order to automate everything from patient charts to insurance claims, and thereby reduce his need for additional help.

This decision has made Dr. Casagrande's practice more streamlined, and has played a key role in helping him launch a practice in the most efficient manner possible — one that is designed to treat patients and drive revenue, not be hampered by practice start-up and administrative costs.

"Previously, I worked in a practice with nine doctors and five mid-levels, and we were paying two nurses to almost exclusively look for and prepare charts," Dr. Casagrande said. "When I started my own practice, I didn't want and couldn't afford to do that. So I spent four months researching various electronic practice management systems. I looked at four products and chose Misys Healthcare Systems because its offerings were completely and seamlessly integrated."

This integration means total interaction among the Misys Healthcare Systems products that Dr. Casagrande and his staff are using: Misys Tiger, Misys EMR and Misys FastClaim. Misys Tiger is a Windows®-based practice management system that helps improve administrative efficiency and works directly with Misys EMR, a flexible electronic medical records system that expedites record keeping processes and enables physicians to easily access patient data. Misys FastClaim then automates insurance claims processing, ensuring that claims are filed quickly and accurately, with little human intervention.

"I was previously spending $1,100 each month for medical transcription. That amount has been eliminated through use of Misys Healthcare Systems' technology," Dr. Casagrande explained. "It's been an important part of our success since the beginning. I opened the practice in February of 2002 and had one employee the whole year. Using Misys Healthcare Systems saved me from having to hire any more than that. Now, we are able to do our own collections without having to rely on outside billing, and we do not have to maintain or look for charts. In short, using Misys Healthcare Systems has led to great efficiency savings."

Patient care has also become more effective, as have the practice's preparations for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance.

"Misys Healthcare Systems has been very helpful in helping us prepare for HIPAA, in that they have provided highly useful classes and consultation services that enable us to better understand the guidelines for compliance," Dr. Casagrande said. "As for the patients, the technology makes it easier to avoid errors in patient information. Once the patient is in and established, changing their information is very easy. Things like allergy medications are flagged; drugs are noted. The products' summary screens show everything about a patient, which is nice."

Especially since, through Misys EMR, Dr. Casagrande can access this information at the point of care. "I use two wireless devices (pen tablets) when I do direct patient care. With Misys EMR, I can input the patient data directly into the system as I'm speaking to the patient, and as I'm walking out of the room, I know it's done."

With Misys Healthcare Systems, Dr. Casagrande can rest assured that his days of dealing with office inefficiencies are also done.