How EHR Platforms Reduce Costs and Improve Value-Based Care Quality

The US is spending a staggering amount, nearly 18% of its GDP, on healthcare. This elevated expenditure doesn’t consistently translate into superior health outcomes. 

The cost is increasing, and the pressure is also growing on both sides: the payers will insist on the quality results being demonstrated, as well as the patients themselves. This is an unsustainable model that is causing a shift in terms of the old system of volume-based that is value-based.

The change in the transition to Value-Based Care, in which the providers receive rewards to improve patient health, decrease the effects of chronic disease, and control costs effectively. 

But in what way does a large complex structure strike this fine balance? The solution is the strategic implementation of the current EHR in terms of value-based care. EHR systems can no longer be described as simply digital filing cabinets, but the operating system necessary to succeed in the new outcomes-based healthcare environment.

The Essentials of EHR in Value-Based Care

Value-based care is based on the ability to have a full, accurate, and accessible picture of the patient so as to provide proactive, preventative, and coordinated treatment. 

The paper-based records and disjointed data systems cannot sustain the requirement. An EHR system converts unprocessed patient information into actionable insight that leads to VBC success.

Volume to Value – The Data Foundation

The VBC model involves the ongoing monitoring of the results of patients in comparison with the set standards of quality, such as blood glucose levels in diabetics, hypertension. This requires effective data capture and analysis.

All-inclusive Data Aggregation

EHRs maintain all patient information, clinical notes, lab findings, medication, and claims in one longitudinal record. This standard perspective is essential in risk stratification, where high-risk patients requiring intensive treatment can be identified with ease by the providers.

Population Health Management

The EHR consolidates the data of the whole population of patients, not just that of an individual. This will enable the health systems to make trends, quantify the level of effectiveness of certain interventions, and handle chronic diseases on a large scale proactively. 

An EHR can identify all diabetic patients who have not recently undergone an eye check, and actively reach them to provide preventive measures. This is one of the major functions of digital tools in value-based care.

EHR-Based Care Coordination

The key cause of waste and poor results in the old model is fragmented care. A patient may meet with several specialists who do not share the perception of the treatment plan, so they can be tested multiple times, receive conflicting prescriptions, or fail to follow up.

Real-Time Interoperability

Current EHRs are interoperable to standards such as FHIR that ensure that the data about a patient abides by their standards, even as they are transferred between the primary care physician and the specialist, to the emergency physician. 

The access that results in real-time allows collaborative coordinated care, greatly enhancing safety and eliminating unnecessary duplication of services.

Alerts and Reminders

The EHR has in-built clinical decision support tools that create automatic alerts when a drug interaction and missing prevention screening may occur, or when a patient is due for a follow-up appointment. 

Research has also demonstrated that the use of integrated EHRs can result in improved outcomes, including the fact that patients with diabetes showed a quantifiable effect in glycemic and lipid control when used in coordinated care teams.

Related: How Cloud-Based EHRs Empower Providers in Value-Based Care Models

Quantifiable Results: Quality Improvement and Cost Savings

Reducing Costs

1. Reduced Hospital Readmissions

EHRs reduce hospital readmission rates by facilitating chronic care management, improving coordination of transitional care, and timely follow-up alerts, ensuring that patients do not have to go back to the hospital within 30 days. 

This is an important area of savings since readmission rates were a key quality indicator and a penalty aspect in VBC.

2. Administrative Efficiency

EHRs not only automate the numerous duties involved in documentation, coding, and submitting claims, but also greatly lessen the administrative load. The resulting efficiencies conserve the time of staff, as well as save time in tracking down lost charts or fixing the coding errors that eventually result in an improved revenue cycle.

3. Removal of Redundant Testing

Once all past lab tests and diagnostic images are available, providers will be able to test again, and the provided system will save the patient and the system money.

Developing Quality and Outcomes

1. Improved Patient Safety

Automated allergy and drug-to-drug interactions warnings will reduce incidences of medication errors. Digital records eliminate the inaccurate sight reading of paper charts that often arises with paper charts.

2. Quality Reporting Automation

EHRs are used to automatically collect and report data on required quality programs like MIPS. It is not only that this quality reporting automation can guarantee compliance and eliminate penalties.

It also shifts the compliance process model not only into a continuous improvement mechanism but real-time performance against quality metrics dashboards.

3. Better Patient Outcomes

Health systems that have managed to deploy their EHR to target VBC efforts have reported commendable performances, including reducing the expenses by a substantial margin and, at the same time, expanding the number of patients accessing preventive services. 

This shows how EHR is used to enhance patient outcomes because it helps to move the emphasis from treating sickness to wellness.

Vozo Cloud EHR for Healthcare Practices

If you are searching for the best EHR system for your healthcare practice, Vozo EHR can be your go-to choice.

Our comprehensive EHR solution lets you focus more on patient care while carrying all the burdens and simplifying it.

• Vozo Cloud EHR’s cost-effective cloud subscription benefits all levels of practice.
• Our feature-rich EHR helps you rectify mistakes efficiently and speed up the process.
• Vozo Specialty EHR resonates with specialty practice needs and requirements.
• Our expert technical team got you covered 24/7 if any needs arise.
• Our EHR System continues to scale as your healthcare practice grows to improve the user experience.

The Vozo Customized EHR solution benefits your healthcare practice by 

• Streamlining the administrative process
• Improving workflow efficiency
• Reducing proneness to errors
• Manages all the patients’ records in one place
• Offers greater efficiency and cost savings across the board.

Our specialty-specific tools, like scheduling, patient portals, lab integration, cloud hosting, and more, meet the specific needs and requirements of your healthcare practice.

“Embrace Vozo EHR to Reduce Your Burdens and Enhance Patient Care”