There has been considerable debate in the healthcare universe about cloud technologies. A few years ago, electronic medical records (EMR) vendors like athenahealth created their own industry disruption, by heavily leveraging cloud services. There is still debate today, a decade later, as to whether cloud computing violates HIPAA, and whether the Internet is safe enough to convey private patient information.

With MACRA coming, many of the small, independent practices still in the marketplace realize that they are simply not ready for the new reimbursement realities. According to HealthcareDIVE, a lack of IT expertise is only part of their trouble, as time and a tighter fiscal bottom line will prevent many providers from making a successful transition to value-based care.

But there is a solution for these small practices. The answer, many believe, is cloud solutions for small business.

Cloud Solutions for Small Business Improve the Practice Bottom Line

Healthcare Informatics surveyed more than 2,000 healthcare providers in practices of 15 docs and less. They found that 80% said they were simply not ready for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, or MACRA.  

MACRA is set to fundamentally change how physician practices and hospitals are reimbursed for Medicare patients. MACRA will eliminate old methodologies of financial reimbursement based on care volume and replace it with payment based on the effectiveness and quality of the treatment.

Under these new models, it is likely that reimbursement will decline further in many practices forced to adjust to this new, complicated payment structure. Cloud solutions for small business are one way to lessen the costs associated with hardware and maintaining on-premise equipment, including some of the more traditional EMR vendor relationships.

MACRA has a number of requirements that medical practices must meet in order to receive reimbursement:

• Being able to document improved coordination of care is a key tenet of MACRA reimbursement. One of the ways small practices can achieve MACRA compliance in this area is through a Health Information Exchange (HIE). HIEs electronically link medical practices in a statewide network of healthcare providers, improving care coordination.
• Another tenet is that medical practices must work to inform and educate patients in order to proactively affect their health, instead of reactively treating disease after it has occurred. This is called population health, and it’s crucial that patients have access to information that can help them make better choices about their healthcare. Telehealth, which offers patients the options of virtual or online healthcare is just one option offered through the cloud. Insurance carriers offer patient portals, which are personalized websites to help educate the healthcare consumer. The small medical practice also has a way to offer this service, with the cloud as a backbone. From these portals, patients can access test results, educational information, and even schedule appointments.

There is no way the typical small medical practice could offer these digitally focused services without cloud technology. Cloud solutions for small business allow small medical practices to have low-cost access to the same technologies larger providers have, with one lower cost subscription service.

There are a plethora of vendors now offering cloud-based technologies, from EMR, practice management, and patient portal vendors to billing and collections. There are cloud-based managed service providers that can handle all of these technology vendors, along with security and compliance. Cloud software-as-a-service (SaaS)  gives medical practices the option to remain compliant, while cutting costs, and making the transition to new MACRA requirements. Prepare to meet the challenges of MACRA – request a quote on managed services today.