How can hospitalists work with full disclosure? “The general advice most institutions give is that when you want to disclose a medical error, first get your risk-management and patient-safety officers involved. They can help during every step of the process of investigating the event and disclosing,” Dr. Kachalia explains. “Assure patients that you are going to look into their concerns. Then make sure that a thorough investigation is done.”—LB

Practice Management

AMA-MGMA Toolkit Sorts Transitional-Care Software Options

HM practices with physicians in outpatient settings—be they discharge clinics or transitional-care centers—don’t always know how to determine the most useful practice-management software for their needs. So for those not helped by informatics staff, consider the new “Practice Management System Software Directory” from AMA and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA).

The online repository, which launched in May, is a companion to the “Selecting a Practice Management System” toolkit the joint venture unveiled last fall. While the system is geared toward ambulatory-care settings, Robert Tennant, a senior policy advisor with MGMA, says any HM group with practitioners working on transitional care would find it useful.

Overall, the directory’s goal is to guide providers on how to navigate the increasingly complex world of practice-management options as new guidelines for “meaningful use” are defined, as well as new rules governing electronic claims processing. A new claims standard, known as HIPAA version 5010, is going live Jan. 1, 2012, so Tennant believes the directory is timely.

“It’s very difficult, whether in a practice or a hospital, to know the best software to pick,” he says. “There are plenty of vendors out there telling you they’re the best. There’s no easy way to comparison-shop.”

Now physicians can use the toolkit to measure basic functions. The directory, which will be updated on a rolling basis, will catalogue price range (excluding implementation costs), the number of installed customers, the target market for the product, what year the software was first offered, and whether the vendor also offers an electronic health record (EHR) system. That last point is of particular note to hospitalists as a link between practice management and medical records can help make a practice more efficient, Tennant says.

“What we’ve seen,” he adds, “is those that have that seamless integration between practice-management systems and EHR have higher productivity and higher levels of satisfaction.” —RQ

By The Numbers

$131,564

The average amount of money HM groups received in support per full-time equivalent (FTE) in fiscal year 2010, according to new SHM-MGMA survey data. The data point—the so-called “subsidy”—was first revealed at HM11 in Dallas.

After several years of leveling off at roughly $100,000, some hospitalists say they were surprised to see the figure rise so quickly. The report also shows that 19% of hospitalist practices receive no support, a finding that prompted new SHM President Joseph Li, MD, SFHM, to ask: “Are we looking at two business models or two care models?”—RQ