Case Study – Triangle Physicians P.C. Cuts Costs and Improves Efficiencies

Triangle Physicians P.C. Cuts Costs and Increases Efficiencies With Patagonia Health EHR

BACKGROUND
Triangle Physicians P.C., based in Cary, N.C., is a comprehensive family care practice offering primary care to teens and adults. The solo practice is led by Dr. Rupa Varadarajan and employs a small office staff. Triangle Physicians P.C. emphasizes a holistic patient-centered approach to medicine and the highest quality of patient care.

Triangle Physicians P.C. needed an efficient, cost-effective and easy to use EHR solution to organize patient records. The practice was bogged down by paperwork–some from patient records that dated back 15 or more years, which was proving nearly impossible to access pertinent patient information in a quick manner. Dr. Varadarajan also knew there were certain features an EHR system needed to include, such as electronic fax and other intuitive document management capabilities. In addition, the practice needed a way to keep overhead costs low. They needed a simple, easy-to-use and affordable system that required no up-front cost for hardware. After actively searching for an EHR solution that fit the practice’s needs, Triangle Physicians P.C. found Patagonia Health EHR.

SOLUTION
Patagonia Health is a web-based EHR solution that focuses chiefly on the needs of small primary care physician practices. Since November 2009, Patagonia Health has served as Triangle Physicians P.C.’s EHR solution. Unlike ASP models or in-house hosting solutions, Patagonia Health is completely web-based and requires no hardware installation or maintenance. In fact, the practice was able to have Patagonia Health’s EHR solution up and running in less than a day after sign-up. The solution’s intuitive, user-friendly features and capabilities also require no formal training of staff or technical expertise. The solution is not intimidating at all. It’s so easy to use and navigate, said Dr. Rupa Varadarajan. The staff looked at it the first time and immediately understood how the system worked. Once they learned it completely, it was even fun. The EHR solution has also provided a myriad of other benefits to the practice, including e-prescriptions, the ability to upload photos, the ability to monitor patient appointments, record sharing, personalization and customization capabilities and a format that adopts to the physician’s workflow. Compared to other EHR models, Patagonia is technologically a lot better, plus it requires almost no expertise on my part and therefore does not stress me out, said Dr. Varadarajan. That is a critical component of a good EHR solution.

PROCESS
Since adapting Patagonia Health’s web-based EHR solution, Triangle Physicians P.C. has cut costs and increased efficiencies. Now, Dr. Varadarajan and her staff are more organized and better able to multitask, resulting in a more streamlined practice. Triangle Physicians P.C. has also been able to keep overhead costs low while maximizing staff productivity. The EHR solution’s anywhere, anytime access even saves time and increases efficiencies. Before, I’m sure I would have spent roughly 2 to 3 hours on the weekend just looking at faxes and identifying what needed to be done on Monday, said Dr. Varadarajan. Now my weekends are free. I’m even saving 1 to 2 hours a day during the week. The whole system just makes things so much easier for me. Not only does the solution save time, it helps streamline the physician’s workflow and reduces the amount of paperwork piled up, especially over the weekend. The solution has allowed the practice to uphold their standard of patient care and maintain positive relationships with their patients.

“Compared to other EHR models, Patagonia is technologically a lot better, plus it requires almost no expertise on my part and therefore does not stress me out”

BENEFITS

Rupa Varadarajan, MD
President at Triangle Physicians P.C.