The fact that the U.S. Healthcare Industry, worth more than $1.5 trillion dollars, has been in deep trouble for some time, with regards to patient safety and cost, may not exactly be breaking news. But any event which might be a harbinger of good things to come can indeed be refreshing news, serving as a silver lining of sorts over the dark clouds of spiralling healthcare costs. The UIC – IPSE seven pillars program, which recently received a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), is indeed one such ray of hope.
The beginnings of the seven pillars program are now steeped in legend. In 2006 when a patient at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago (UIMCC) was lost due to an avoidable medical error, the hospital authorities did not seek the advice of any King of Torts to shield them against an impending medical lawsuit. Instead they took a path unheard of before, but which incidentally is in keeping with the Hippocratic oath. They apologized with sincerity to the family of the deceased, provided adequate compensation, and later took steps to ensure that such an adverse or near adverse event does not claim more patient lives. The WHO claims that the ratios of lives lost to medical errors versus that to air accidents are 1:300 vs 1: 10,000,000.
One of the 7 pillars as formulated by UIMCC is “bridging systemic loopholes that contribute to adverse events”. Now, it is apparent that enabling such a cure requires that all data critical to patient safety is handled in ways that are safe, efficient, and error-proof. An immediate tool that comes to mind is the EHR, especially its various new avatars, which really is converting mere databases of disparate data into intelligent systems, empowering one and all with meaningful information. Also, other functions in which critical (although non-adverse) errors may arise, like medical coding and medical billing can be handled with utmost efficiency and accuracy via the EHR route.
TranscriptionStar and its offshoot, BillingParadise have been in the thick of things when it comes to aiding clinics fulfill their sacred obligations to patients, in the form of medical transcription, Medical Coding and billing services via the EHR. We are proud to say that our policies regarding the carrying out of these tasks have mirrored, in our own small way, the 7 pillars concept.
Victor Hugo once said “Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come”. Call BillingParadise on the toll-free at 1-(888)-571-9069 or email steve@billingparadise.com and become a torchbearer of this wonderful idea.
