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A Virtual Receptionist can Help Providers Integrate Health Information Technology into Their Business System

Article by Loraine D.

Healthcare providers make up a large percentage of the U.S. health care delivery system. This division also carries the greatest costs — hospitals and other providers continue to incur an increase in expenses, especially when it comes to the organization and management of patient information. With the cut of healthcare funding affecting so many departments, providers are more frequently left to absorb burgeoning management costs themselves. The challenge of many providers is to continue to provide quality health care in spite of massive budget cuts. Health information technology (health IT) has been found a cost-effective way to help providers efficiently process patient information. It also has the potential to improve the quality of health care for patients. A virtual receptionist can help providers integrate health IT into their business system. What is Health IT and How a Virtual Receptionist Can HelpHealth IT is the area of information technology that involves the development and use of information systems for the healthcare industry. These information systems have the potential of improving efficiency while lowering costs of information management. Healthcare information systems also provide better patient service. Health IT utilizes computer applications to formulate these information systems. It is basically the electronic management of medical care. Applications may include computerized systems for the ordering of tests or medications, support systems for clinical diagnosis, or electronic medical prescriptions. These applications are designed to help the organizational structure of a provider’s business. They can also reduce the time and cost of information management. A virtual receptionist can be used to implement Health IT, allowing providers to focus on other important aspects of their businesses. This type of receptionist can also be instrumental in the virtual answering of patient inquiries concerning health IT.The Benefits of Implementing Health IT into Business SystemsThe Department of Managed Health Care recognizes that information plays a vital role in health care. Whether it is billing by providers, the handling of claims by health care service plans and their providers, or the processing of patient data, information is an essential component of the health care delivery system. A virtual receptionist benefits healthcare providers by a virtual answering of the need to implement health IT into the provider’s business system. Health IT can be useful in the following ways:

Eliminating paper medical recordsAvoiding inappropriate or duplicate diagnostic testsEncouraging the use of cost-effective drugsReducing medical errors Increasing the productivity of physicians and nursesLowering administrative costsA virtual receptionist works along with the provider to bring the benefits of health IT into fruition.

According to John Doerr, a partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, America’s health care spending is “twice what it was 10 years ago, and it’s forecasted to grow in an unaffordable way for the country.” Hospitals and other healthcare providers generate the greatest expense with healthcare suppliers carrying selling, general, and administrative costs that nearly double those of other industries. Implementing health IT is an expense in itself. A virtual receptionist, however, can help health providers by eliminating administrative expenses and overhead costs. Their quality service, which does not require benefits or compensations as would a personnel assistant or office receptionist, can help providers integrate health information technology into their business system in a cost-effective manner.