Practice Fusion Blog

Top 10 reasons to choose Practice Fusion

1. It's Free - Practice Fusion is the only 100% Free EHR system on the market today. 
2. $44,000 - In a very short time Physicians will become eligible to receive up to $44,000 from the Federal Government for adopting and showing meaningful use of a qualified EHR system.
3. Hosted - Being web-based and a hosted "Software as a Service" click here to learn more, Practice Fusion relieves you of the cost and burden of having and maintaining your own servers, network, security, etc.  All you need are internet connected PC's and you're ready to go!
4. Data Security - All data in the Practice Fusion system belongs to you.  We can export the information for you at any time.  Practice Fusion uses the latest technology to keep your data safe and secure.  To learn more about the security benefits built into Practice Fusion please click here.
5. Simplicity - Our engineers have made Practice Fusion one of the easiest to use EHR packages in the industry.  Log into your Practice Fusion account and see for yourself.  See something that needs improvement?  Send us an email and we'll incorporate your feedback.  At Practice Fusion we're committed to being the best EHR system on the market.
6. Community - From the moment you start using Practice Fusion you'll be able use and share templates with other Physicians in your area of expertise.  Our plan, philosophy and product are built around the idea that the community matters.  We're planning on leveraging the community to help you and your practice grow and connect with important resources when you need them.
7. Training - When you join the Practice Fusion community we make a commitment to fully train you and your staff.  We offer free, live trainings for as long as you use our product.  Whether you have a new employee, need to take a refresher course or just want to get caught up on the latest features, we're always there to help out.
8. ePrescribe and electronic labs - We've been listening to your feedback and we've heard you loud and clear: ePrescribe and Electronic Lab results are on the way!
9. Data imports - Do you have a spreadsheet with all your patient data?  Maybe you have an old legacy system with your patient information and/or you have it all stored in your billing software?  If you have demographic data on your patients then starting and using Practice Fusion just got a whole lot easier.  We import the data for you and get you setup within 24 hours so that you can hit the ground running.
10.  A lifetime of free upgrades - We add new features to our product every week.  Most of our work in improving the system comes directly from our user community.  You'll never have to pay more with Practice Fusion to use the latest software!

To log into your account click here.

 

If you have misplaced you login information please email support@practicefusion.com and we will be happy to assist you.

 

 Thank you!

The Practice Fusion Support Team
support@practicefusion.com

“Meaningful use” and what it means to physicians

The Obama administration’s massive stimulus package (known as ARRA) contains a section pertaining to the adoption of electronic health records (known as HITECH), and earmarks substantial money (up to $44K per physician over the next 5 years) for physicians who can demonstrate “meaningful use of certified EHRs.” Defining what exactly is meant by “meaningful use” has been the focus of intensive debate as the newly-created government bodies charged with oversight of this have begun deliberation. The exact definition of “meaningful use” should be hammered out by the end of 2009, with incentives beginning to become available to physicians in the subsequent years.

 

“Certification” has similarly been a subject of much debate. Traditionally, CCHIT has been the sole certifying body for EHRs, emerging as a non-profit agency spun off from a government-industry collaborative. Many have assumed that CCHIT will remain as the going-forward certification body, but others have questioned this and propose that alternatives to certification are appropriate. They argue that, besides the $30K certification price tag, CCHIT developed its criteria in an era when large, self-contained client/server EHR systems were emerging, and that such criteria lose relevance in a web-based, distributed, cloud-oriented environment – such as the one that Practice Fusion has emerged in. CCHIT wants to modernize its criteria, but it may lag behind technological innovation.

 

Regardless of how certification will emerge, it is clear that “certified EHR” and “meaningful use” will be closely linked. In order to qualify for “meaningful use,” an EHR should be able to do the following:

1.     Electronic prescribing, both out-bound e-prescribing of new, de novo prescriptions, as well as responding to prescription refill requests originated by pharmacies

2.     Achieve interoperability, meaning that summary data (diagnoses, medications, allergies, etc.) can be easily exchanged with others using different EHRs. There is a standard type of document, called a Continuity of Care Document (CCD) which needs to be able to be created and exported, as well as imported.

3.     Generate quality reporting and metrics. The criteria set has yet to be determined, but is likely to be either the HEDIS set of metrics (used by insurers in the private domain) or the larger PQRI set (used by Medicare, and which encompasses the HEDIS criteria plus many more)

4.     Point of care decision support. This will be a technology that evolves, starting with simple things like prompting for wellness and chronic-disease management prompts, but evolving into presenting physicians with evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis at-hand.

5.     Routine, secure, electronic communications between patients and caregivers. This can include prevention and screening reminders, and numerous other ways of supporting patients in their own management of their own health.

 

The specifics of all of this, of course, will be hammered out in the debate process this year. Practice Fusion is keeping a very close eye on all of this, and is rapidly building features in each of these categories. Our goal is to offer physicians a robust EHR that is not only free to use, but also will qualify everyone for “meaningful use” as this definition becomes clearer. Whether CCHIT remains the sole certifying channel, or whether it becomes one of several avenues towards certification, Practice Fusion intends to achieve “certification” as ultimately is defined by HITECH.

 

Robert Rowley, MD

Chief Medical Officer

Practice Fusion, Inc.

Follow us on Twitter: #practicefusion

The Practice Fusion Help Center

This week we are excited to announce the release of the Practice Fusion Help Center, a brand new feature whose purpose is to provide an easy way to access context sensitive help.

How do I access the Help Center?

When you log into Practice Fusion you will notice a new vertical button on the right hand side of the application. It is orange and labeled ‘Help Center’. Clicking on it will launch the Help Center for the section you are currently looking at.

Note: main components are numbered in the screen shot, please read on to find out more about each one.

Feature Highlights:

1. Choose a topic or section you would like to explore, FAQ's for that section will appear on the screen.
2. Video tutorials are listed for your chosen topic (#2 above). Clicking on a tutorial will launch a new internet browser tab or window. The video should begin playing automatically.
3. All feedback and questions can now be directed to Practice Fusion Support through the Help Center. Simply bring up the Help Center and click ‘Send us Feedback’. 
4. Last but not least, users can now sign up for training through the Help Center. Simply click ‘Schedule a Training’ and choose a date and time that works for you.

Note:  if you have a pop-up blocker running, it may appear that clicking on a video does nothing. Please add PracticeFusion.com to your accepted pop-up list to avoid this problem.

The videos come complete with sound, so please make sure you have headphones handy, or speakers plugged in.

Thanks!

Practice Fusion Support Team

New features released!

Here's a summary of the new features we released yesterday:

A new and improved help center.  We'll go into more detail in our next post.  It's the yellow button on each screen:

Now you can toggle back and forth from US to the Metric system in charts:

We've simplified the process of starting a new Patient Note:

and then...

We've added a new mechanism for searching patients and locating duplicates:

Lastly, when you log in, we've added a feature to help keep you informed about any site downtime for maintenance.

We hope you enjoy the new features.  As always your feedback is welcome and very important to the continued evolution of Practice Fusion.

Thanks,

The Practice Fusion Support Team

Become a certified Practice Fusion partner!

Do you have a business providing IT services to the healthcare industry? 

Do you work as a consultant to Medical Practices and Physicians?

If the answer is yes then you might want to take a look at the Practice Fusion partner program. 
Practice Fusion enables you to extend your clients current capabilities and provide a world-class solution to new potential clients in the healthcare market. 

Click here to download information about the program. 

Feel free to contact us at support@practicefusion.com to find out more.

Enjoy!

People are talking and they're saying...

We've been busy improving our software and word is getting around.  A big THANK YOU to everyone who has provided us with feedback lately.  Word on the street is:

Your service is outstanding -
Dr. Askew 5/13/2009

I love your product- the recent updates are awesome. 
Dr. Wolff 5/12/2009

You guys have some really great ideas. I like the intuitive nature and almost endless customization I can make.  You guys rock!  
Dr. Saunders 5/5/2009

I am really excited about Practice Fusion.  I think you guys have a really exciting, innovative product.  Our practice's second physician (out of four) has just started using PF, and she thinks it's a great idea that is working for her.  We'll be getting our exam rooms wired soon as well as faster computers, which will allow us to better utilize PF's potential.
Dr. Sukachevin 4/29/09

I've been using various EHR's for 15 years, from Cerner to Amazing Charts. Your web based application can compete with products that I've spent 1000's of dollars on. The superiority of web based EHR's can't be underestimated (assuming the necessary security and privacy measures are in place) for small physician groups; besides the ability to easily and safely share pertinent patient data at the point of contact, it eliminates the need to have separate servers, back up systems, installation of application updates, and significantly reduces the need for IT support. As a self professed "early adapter" I would caution physicians exploring ANY EHR system to have patience with the software/applications. All products require a certain time investment and learning curve in the beginning; think about only using it for a couple of patients a day as you and your staff get familiar with the program, and to allow you to develop your personalized templates to fit your style. The initial entering of patients data and template customization is time intensive, but the real efficiency is seen on return visits when the patients medical data is all entered and can be accessed simply with clicks of templates. Practice Fusion is where all EHR's should be headed.
Dr. Wolff 4/8/2009

You guys are really first class!  Many thanks!
Dr. Waisbren 3/29/2009

By the way, my office is thrilled with your product in our beginning stages of "checking it out".
Dr. Clawson 3/10/2009

You guys are " da bomb"!!!!! thanks.
Dr. Beckner 3/6/2009

Thanks for listening and working on this, very user friendly so far and easy to set up.
Dr. McCallum 3/4/2009

Practice Fusion participates in the Free! Summit 2009

Practice Fusion was one of several participants in the Free! Summit, which looked at different examples and business models around offering free products and services. Unlike many such businesses which offer a free "basic" or "introductory" product, and monetize by driving customers to purchase "premium" upgrades (sometimes referred to as a "freemium" model), Practice Fusion offers a free, fully-functional, high-end SaaS-based (software-as-a-service) EHR to all physician end-users, subsidized by alternative revenue streams.

A review of this conference can be found here.

Follow Practice Fusion on Twitter: #practicefusion

Interview with our CEO - Ryan Howard by David Williams of Med Pharma

Our CEO Ryan Howard was recently interviewed by David Williams co founder of Med Pharma Partners:

http://www.healthbusinessblog.com/?p=2252

Enjoy!

Practice Fusion Support Team

Practice Fusion illustrates the advantage of a SaaS-based EHR

Practice Fusion just released a collection of 25+ enhancements to its EHR. Many of these enhancements were part of the roadmap towards adding the features needed to allow physicians to make use of an EHR that provides “meaningful use” and thus become eligible for ARRA stimulus moneys. Many other of these enhancements were in response to feature requests from the user community – 67 different users had made feature requests that were addressed in this release. A few points deserve to be underscored here:

 

1). There are several major feature-sets that are being developed concurrently which are part of the pathway towards becoming a “certified EHR” (the definition of which is evolving – more on that subject in a later blog post). However, Practice Fusion also continues to collect input and suggestions from the user community. This not only makes product-development responsive and organic, but also helps create an EHR that is more-and-more usable. EHRs need to be excellent products that enhance (not hinder) in-office workflows – we have championed the criteria for selection of an EHR as “Usability, Interoperability, Affordability.” This sort of user-driven enhancement process allows Practice Fusion to evolve into the kind of tool that maximizes usability, based on “in the field” experience.

 

2). Practice Fusion is able make product improvements and upgrades that benefit everyone, all-at-once, by virtue of being a web-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) product. It does not require new downloads or upgrades in order to implement. Upgrades do not involve additional costs, or the need for on-site consultants. The whole issue (often a nightmare) of “version control” – i.e., making sure everyone is using the same, newest version of a product – is not an issue with a web-based product. The kind of seamless feature-set enhancement deployed this week illustrates the intrinsic superiority of a SaaS-based product over something locally installed.

 

Robert Rowley, MD

Chief Medical Officer

Practice Fusion, Inc.

On Twitter: #practicefusion

New features released

Hello Practice Fusion User community! 

We've updated the system to create one unified and flexible way to manage your patients' diagnoses and medications and we have also changed the printing functions, giving you more flexible and customizable options.  So far the feedback on these two significant changes have been very positive.  Let us know what you think. 

We've also added two new training videos to show you how these work:

Direct management of a patients diagnosis list

Direct management of a patients medication list

There are many other smaller features that we have added and fixed based on your feedback.  If you see something that you have a question or concern about please don't hesitate to contact us at support@practicefusion.com