Cognecy Solutions, LLC is an information management solutions provider focused on providing leading edge services and products to healthcare facilities, medical providers, accounting firms, and legal practice. Netrik Consulting, Inc. is a networking and IT consulting firm based in Spokane, WA. Netrik has established itself as a significant presence in the consulting industry nationwide, particularly in the medical and dental fields. Netrik Consulting, Inc. is a Microsoft Certified Partner.
ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS, MEDICAL OFFICE PRACTICE ENHANCEMENT, EMR
Netrik provides medical offices and clinics with complete solutions, including network infrastructure, cutting-edge electronic medical records (EMR) and practice management solutions, as well as medical office practice enhancement ``coaching`` that can realize return on investment (ROI) figures of a year or less with many clinics. Netrik has recently this for small to medium sized medical offices and clinics nationwide.
Netrik offers complete solutions for medical offices and clinics. We can evaluate your office or clinic and provide you with work flow, human resources and billing consultation, the best electronic medical record and practice management solutions to fit your practice, as well as the best possible network infrastructure to support it all and allow for growth.
ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS, EHR
Netrik Consulting, Inc. has researched available EMRs for several years in an effort to find the most efficient and cost effective solution for the clinics and physicians offices Netrik services. Any medical record that is stored in a digital format may be considered an EMR and many products use this technicality as a selling point that they are providing physicians with a solution that meets the needs of their practice. This is not always true. EMRs may also be referred to as electronic health records (EHR).
DIGITAL DICTATION STORAGE
There is a difference in how digital formats are stored which drastically effects how the data may be utilized. There are basically only three formats in which the EMR data is stored in today`s EMR solutions: image files such as scanned images of charts; text files such as digital dictation storage or text-based EMR solutions; encoded data or codified data which is the next generation of EMR solution (very few EMR solutions utilize this last format exclusively). A select few EMRs utilize combinations of the three.
EMRIMAGING
Image format: Generally scanned images of data and historical patient records. Data is typically accessed by file names of separate images or in the case of eMRimaging, also offered by Cognecy Solutions. LLC. Key search terms and information about the document/patient is embedded directly into a document label. Most image-based systems utilize a database structure with the file images in stored TIFF Image format and the key search terms archived in a separate database. In the case of eMRimaging, files are stored in Adobe PDF format with the key search terms and specific information about the document/patient is embedded directly into the PDF as a document label. This system breaks the shackles of a traditional database structure by completely eliminating the need for it (each file in essence becomes its own database). Documents created with the eMRimaging system are stored in a single document repository and assessed through keyword searching much the same way you would look for information on the internet.
E&M CODING
There is there is no automatic E&M coding available in this solution and there is no way to quantify or analyze data for disease or patient management. eMRimaging, as well as other imaging-based systems are primarily storage solutions that address the paper portion of every practice. Return on investment (ROI) on this type of system is realized primarily through improved office efficiency, re-claimed storage space, and faster EOB turn-around with copies of original documents.
DISEASE MANAGEMENT
Text format: Text format is generally a misnomer, because stored text may only be a part of what the EMR stores. An EMR may utilize an advanced database system to encode and store data such as SQL or Oracle and an advanced program ``front end`` to access the data, but the inclusion of text-based elements, such as digital dictation, precludes the ability to completely encode data for later advanced uses. Due to the limitations of including text-based elements, E&M coding and disease management cannot be aggregated into useful information and the physician must select his or her own code for each visit. Many systems offer a coding assistant based on the number of items selected in a particular category. These systems are easily recognized because a physician must still choose the level of complexity of the visit. Text format systems cannot code based on the narrative -- they can only assist. There may be a ROI with text-based EMRs, depending on the solution selected, but it is minimal; typically savings realized in office efficiency and decreased transcription costs.
MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION, DISEASE MANAGEMENT
Encoded Data: This is the most exciting new development in EMR solutions and definitely the future of fast, efficient EMRs that allow doctors to spend less time on charting and more time with patient care, as well as increasing E&M codes for visits that can increase the income of the clinic dramatically. In this type of EMR solution all data is ``codified`` or encoded in such a way as to be available for computations that include E&M coding (the AMA estimates that approximately 33% of all visits are under-coded by $27 or more); dynamic automated charting which completely eliminates medical transcription; as well as advanced disease management and patient management, research capabilities and diagnostic queuing. With this type of product, the physician`s office can realize a substantial increase in revenue by the elimination of medical transcription, increased E&M coding, and improved office and doctor efficiency. In addition, codified data allows for incredible opportunities in research, data sharing between facilities that preserves patient confidentiality, yet allows for advanced access to patient data.
It is Netrik`s professional opinion based on years of research, development and trial with numerous EMR solutions that any image format or text-based format EMR is a waste of time and money, although solutions in these formats do offer better data storage options than paper charts and can produce a limited return on investment.
