Author Archives: Arnav Mathur

About Arnav Mathur

Arnav Mathur is a Marketing Associate at Patagonia Health. He conducts market research regarding electronic health records and reaches out to clinics across the United States to see what Patagonia Health can provide for them. He also writes content for public and behavioral health while combining his business skill sets and customer focus to help push healthcare IT forward.

Patagonia Health Connects to Multiple State-Run Immunization Registries

Patagonia Health has connected to multiple state-run Immunization Registries (IRs) nationwide. We have connected to as many as 24 of these state registries across the United States, with over 130 current clients, and more connections pending in those states.

We started connecting to these state-run Immunization Registries via our Immunization App after our customers began to request the feature in 2014. We started out in North Carolina, then we branched into Maryland and continued to expand.

Just in the last 12 months, we have connected to the following:

State-run immunization registries each have their own regulations and standards. We ensure that Patagonia Health’s EHR complies with all standards necessary to provide our clients with accessible and secure data from these state-run registries.

“As a primary program of most Public Health departments, immunization can be a high-volume service. At Patagonia Health, our Immunization App significantly improves the efficiency of the workflow and accuracy of the data collection. Efficient workflow allows nurses to see more patients and accurate data collection allows the information to be shared with greater ease. Providing timely and accurate data to State Immunization Registries helps guide Public Health actions within our communities. At Patagonia Health, we have a successful track record of connecting to and sharing data with many state IZ registries across the nation.”
Don Sargent, VP of Customer Experience at Patagonia Health

By connecting our EHR with multiple state-run immunization registries, we help our customers in Public Health obtain the information they need to serve their patients as quickly and efficiently as possible. We strive to serve those who serve others with our solutions. Making our EHR interoperable with more of these registries is just one more way Patagonia Health is pushing to meet our clients’ needs.

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About Patagonia Health, Inc.

Patagonia Health is a living Electronic Health Record (EHR) software designed to meet the complex needs and desired health outcomes of Public Health and Behavioral Health organizations. Their federally certified, easy-to-learn platform includes integrated practice management and billing software so clients get one end-to-end solution. Employee-owned and organically grown, their mission is to support their client’s businesses with software and service that allows them to provide their patients with the care they deserve. For more information, visit Patagonia Health’s solutions, visit https://patagoniahealth.com.

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Inflation and the Need for Telehealth Access

Telehealth access was the safest access to care in the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as COVID-19 vaccination rates and hospitalizations improve, telehealth is not going away. Rising inflation and gas prices due to the pandemic have created limitations on access to care. Let us show you how telehealth access can resolve these current challenges.

How Telehealth Access Mitigates General Inflation

General inflation has had an increase of almost 8% since the start of 2021. The increase in housing prices (renting and buying) and groceries, has jumped dramatically along with it. According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, home prices increased in 2021 by 18.8%. This is the biggest increase in 34 years. Grocery costs are already up and expected to rise another 6% over the course of 2022.

Telehealth access is a solution to the inflation that has been sweeping the United States. Telehealth visits are often less expensive than in-person visits. Lower prices in healthcare prevent more people from getting priced out of care.

How Telehealth Access Mitigates Rising Gas Prices

Gas prices are currently at an all-time high. The national average price for gas was around $2.796 one year ago, and as of March 2022, it was about $4.252. With rising gas prices spreading throughout the country, it makes a drive into the clinic more costly. Your clients and clinicians who live in rural areas will likely be hit the hardest by this.

Clinicians having the opportunity to work remotely can help with employee retention. If your staff’s salaries are not being adjusted in the immediate term due to rising gas prices, you can at least help them save money.

Telehealth access allows your staff and clients to stay home for any care that can be provided remotely. This allows you to continue access to care that would have been strained or eliminated on either the patient or the clinician side due to rising prices.

How Telehealth Pays for Itself

Rising inflation and gas prices have a negative effect on everybody’s wallets. Having telehealth access allows clients to be billed at a lower rate than an in-person visit. Your clients and clinicians save money on gas, and the money that would’ve been used for gas can be used for other expenses like groceries and housing. Telehealth access definitely helps save money. But how can telehealth access help you net more income?

With telehealth access available, more clients are likely to book appointments, which results in more billing (even if it is at a lower rate). This allows there to be more funding for operations at your clinic which, in turn, allows you to provide care to more of your community members.

What Telehealth Solution is Best for You

Get a telehealth solution that is embedded in your EHR. An integrated telehealth app streamlines your workflow and eliminates juggling another piece of tech. When your telehealth tool and EHR are synced, you can eliminate duplicate entry for encounter notes. Furthermore, a telehealth tool within a HIPAA-compliant EHR will be secure and compliant with the latest standards and requirements. It is often less expensive to have an integrated solution also.

Ask your EHR vendor if they have a telehealth access app for their EHR solution.

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About Patagonia Health, Inc.

Patagonia Health is a living Electronic Health Record (EHR) software designed to meet the complex needs and desired health outcomes of Public Health and Behavioral Health organizations. Our federally certified, the easy-to-learn platform includes integrated practice management and billing software so you get one end-to-end solution. Employee-owned and organically grown, our mission is to support your business with software and service that allows you to provide your patients with the care they deserve. If you’d like more information about our solutions, contact us today.

Blog | EHR Evaluation and Shopping

EHR Total Cost of Ownership: Pricing You can Trust

The EHR Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is a significant factor to think about when looking for a new EHR. You need to know how much money you’ll pay for your solution. Are you tired of vendors who are are not upfront about the costs you may pay over the life of your contract?

We’ve broken down why not having the Total Cost of Ownership upfront leaves room for unwelcome surprises, and how you can find a vendor you can trust.

What is Total Cost of Ownership?

An EHR Total Cost of Ownership is a quote for the total amount you will be paying throughout the contract with your software provider, including the technology and services. It includes the initial software, implementation costs, annual maintenance, possible upgrade fees, and support costs. These costs are what you will pay to put in place, operate, maintain, and support your new EHR system.

The EHR Total Cost of Ownership takes the following costs into account:

Long-term costs
Short-term costs
Direct costs
Indirect costs

What varies in EHR Total Cost of Ownership quotes?

The EHR Total Cost of Ownership will vary by license fees. The price range quoted is based upon your organization’s size, number of patients, number of claims, number of staff, etc. EHR modules may also have separate fees, or they may be included in the total cost as part of your base solution. All of these will be clearly outlined in your TCO quote.

Why is not having an EHR Total Cost of Ownership bad?

Have you ever been victim to hidden costs, surprise fees, and “nickel and diming”? If a vendor is not providing your EHR Total Cost of Ownership upfront, you may end up paying some hidden fees for things such as:

Implementation help
Training your staff
Workflow redesign
Security
Customization
Upgrades/Add-ons
3rd party software

A vendor who is trustworthy will provide the TCO so that you are not left with surprises that put you out of budget. Customer-focused EHR vendors understand the need for excellent customer service and fiscal “bookends.” Make sure any vendors you are considering will ensure their EHR solution price and include things like unlimited support, unlimited report assistance, and no additional transaction fees.

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About Patagonia Health, Inc.

Patagonia Health is a living Electronic Health Record (EHR) software designed to meet the complex needs and desired health outcomes of Public Health and Behavioral Health organizations. Our federally certified, easy-to-learn platform includes integrated practice management and billing software so you get one end-to-end solution. Employee-owned and organically grown, our mission is to support your business with software and service that allows you to provide your patients with the care they deserve. If you’d like more information about our solutions, contact us today.

Blog | EHR Evaluation and Shopping

Pediatric Mental Health: Fund Integration with Primary Care

The COVID 19 pandemic has taken tolls on many people’s mental health, but pediatric mental health has been especially affected. There has been a rising call for policy makers to fund behavioral health integration in children’s primary care clinics. As healthcare providers, you can help with these initiatives by being informed of policy developments and urging your local, state and government agencies to support this funding.

Why is this Funding Needed?

Funding behavioral health integration for children is a topic that has come up only in the last year or so, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has had such a negative impact on pediatric mental health, that the American Academy of Pediatrics has declared a national state of emergency in child and adolescent mental health.

No state in this country has enough children psychiatrists, and some have an extreme shortage.

Even though there has been effective treatment, there is a shortage of child trained behavioral health specialists. Due to this, many children who have psychiatric disorders either receive no treatment, or receive treatment in schools and primary care, where the level of behavioral health expertise is limited.

The state Legislature’s Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group wrote and published what they recommend to legislation that began in January 2022. Having funds provided for behavioral health integration at primary care clinics is their top priority.

The funding is meant to train more pediatric healthcare providers in behavioral health services. If pediatricians are able to provide their young patients with proper behavioral health treatment, they are expanding their abilities, and providing a great service that many children need, especially considering the circumstances right now. This funding also can increase the level of expertise of behavioral health, which can be provided at sites other than primary care clinics, such as schools.

How serious is this?

The shortage of pediatric mental health care providers is very serious. According to Boston’s Children’s Hospital, behavioral health disorders are estimated to occur in 15 million children and adolescents in the U.S, and the annual treatment costs approximately $40 billion. And as long as they don’t get the proper treatment that they need (and deserve), this problem is only going to get worse. Child psychiatric disorders can get worse as they get older, and if they’re not treated properly or not treated at all, their social, educational, and economic abilities will suffer quite a bit.

What can pediatricians do?

As a pediatrician, here are some things you can do to help your patients. Push for policies to get funding for these initiatives. Implement training programs in your clinics to support pediatric mental health. Partner with behavioral health professionals in your communities. Consider hiring a behavioral health specialist at your primary care clinic as well.

Funding for pediatric mental health is absolutely necessary if you want to help young children who are suffering from psychiatric issues. The level of expertise will rise among pediatricians, and proper care can be given to your patients. Also, with the proper funding, schools can also hire behavioral health specialists who can give treatment, so the children do not always have to go to a primary care clinic.

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About Patagonia Health

Patagonia Health is a living Electronic Health Record (EHR) software designed to meet the complex needs and desired health outcomes of Public Health and Behavioral Health organizations. Our federally certified, easy-to-learn platform includes integrated practice management and billing software so you get one end-to-end solution. Employee-owned and organically grown, our mission is to support your business with software and service that allows you to provide your patients with the care they deserve. If you’d like more information about our solutions, contact us today.

Behavioral Health | Blog | Legal

EHR Apps Study Spells the Future of Healthcare

EHR apps are not new yet since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of apps integrating with Electronic Health Record systems (EHRs) has increased significantly. A study on apps integrating with EHRs was conducted from December 2019 to December 2020 by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The study showed that the number of apps that had integrated with EHRs had increased from 600 to 734 (roughly a 20% increase) over the course of 2020.

Type of apps integrating with EHRs

There were several types of EHR apps that integrated with EHRs during the height of the pandemic. Administrative apps that handled scheduling, check in, and billing made up 42% of available apps. Clinical apps were also common, making up 38% of apps. These apps can perform automated tasks, population health, telehealth, and clinical decision support. Other apps focused on care management, patient engagement, and research. Those three combined categories made up about 56% of apps.

Reason for study

The goal of the study about EHR apps was to set a guideline for the app market before the ONC Cures Act Final Rule was implemented. The final rule, which was published in March 2020, and was effective as of April 2021, and set several conditions to promote transparent and competitive business practices. Those practices would ease the adoption and use of application programming interfaces by third party app developers.

What study results mean for the future of EHR Apps

In this study, the data showed that there is still room for growth and variation in the EHR apps available. Updates to the ONC Health IT Certification Program (which resulted from the ONC Cures Act Final Rule) are meant to support a more powerful system of third party apps.

By the end of 2022, It will be mandatory for health IT developers to support FHIR based APIs for patients (and the general public). They will also have to follow the new conditions and maintenance of certification to promote and practice business.

The ONC will continue to conduct such research in the future to see what changes may need policy changes, which could help increase the speed of data change.

What healthcare professionals should watch out for

These apps more easily provide accessible data between patients and other healthcare professionals. They allow patients more accessibility to you and their medical records. They ease your billing and claims processes. They integrate with your external devices like patient scanners and fax machines.

This study and any new resulting guidelines or policy changes help push the future of your healthcare forward from a technology perspective. It also sets standards to hold health IT developers and third party app providers to, so that you can be ensured you have the best tools available to treat your patients.

Continue to track these ONC studies and standards set for EHR apps.

If you are shopping for a new Electronic Health Records solution, ensure vendors only integrate with reputable third party apps vendors which are ahead of the curve on following these standards. Or, look out for EHR companies that develop their own apps and are an ONC certified solution so that you can ensure you have the most up to date technology that can best serve you and your patients.

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About Patagonia Health

Patagonia Health is a living Electronic Health Record (EHR) software designed to meet the complex needs and desired health outcomes of Public Health and Behavioral Health organizations. Our federally certified, easy-to-learn platform includes integrated practice management and billing software so you get one end-to-end solution. Employee-owned and organically grown, our mission is to support your business with software and service that allows you to provide your patients with the care they deserve. If you’d like more information about our solutions, contact us today.

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