Posts by Joseph Sameh

Smart Devices and Messaging

  I’ve seen the future and I love it. Rumor has it that FitBit (www.fitbit.com) is coming out with a new device. Fitbit, for those not in the know, makes a pedometer, accelerometer, altimeter combination device complete with social networking.  It measures the number of steps I take per day, the number of miles walked, flights of stairs climbed, calories burned, and overall activity...

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Part 2 – Essentials for Successful Patient Portal Adoption

Regarding portal use, how do you educate your patients?  Or perhaps the question can be phrased; where do you educate your patients?  I ask the question with this twist to make a point.  A touch point if you will allow me.  Patient education is something you do at touch points – every touch point you can think of. Let’s first examine what I mean by touch points.  A touch point is a...

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Part 1 – Essentials for Successful Patient Portal Adoption

Stage 2 is coming.  Soon enough you’ll have an opportunity. No, you’ll have a responsibility to get your patients to communicate with you through your portal.  Some of you are already using a portal successfully.  Others, not so much.  Let’s look at some of the success factors behind successful adoption and why you should pay attention. The first reason to pay attention is money. ...

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Intelligent Routing

The message began, “Hello, this is Mrs. John Andrews and I’m calling for Dr. Nicholas.” The message continues, “I was in the shower when my cat came in to the bathroom”.  As an answering service owner, you know by now that nothing good could possibly come from this call. “When the cat jumped on the sink and with her tail, she knocked my prescription off the sink and some fell into...

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Portals Benefit Practices Too!

Portals Benefit Practices Too!

When we discuss patient portals, emphasis is frequently placed on the patient benefit. For a change, let’s discuss the potential benefit to a healthcare practice. Incoming phone calls force staff to either drop what they are doing or allow the call to go to voice mail. Voice mail forces the user to retrieve the message – a time consuming prospect. This process may take as long, or often, even...

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