Another advantage of electronic patient records is the vast amount information they provide to medical researchers about patients and drug interactions and effects.

A study in Nature Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics presented the power of electronic records and what they offer the medical community.

The study applied analytics to electronic health records on a large scale and monitored information from doctors, pharmacists, insurance claims, lab tests and medical codes. The study gathered more than 10 million clinical notes from 1.8 million patients.

Using their data (15 years of research) researchers were able to test nine drugs and found adverse effects to six of them, two year’s before the FDA’s alert.

As more medical practices incorporate electronic patient records more people will see the overwhelming advantages of the electronic systems. Contact JASE EPR to update your electronic patient record system in your practice.

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image credit: by JASE Group on Flickr

For many, it’s time to get rid of the layer of winter fat and get back that summer body. If you are are guilty of the summer body challenge, your body may start experiencing the pains of sore muscles as you increase your workout regiment.

While treating yourself to a spa massage seems like the best thing to do, a new study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, shows that you can save money and add light exercise to your cool down.

“It’s a common belief that massage is better, but it isn’t better. Massage and exercise had the same benefits,” said Lars Andersen, the lead author of the study and a professor at the National Research Center for the Working Environment in Copenhagen according to a recent article.

The study used a group of 20 women who had completed the same shoulder exercise. Days after the shoulder exercise when the women were experiencing muscle soreness they came in to receive a massage on one shoulder and conduct a light exercise on the other.

The research showed that compared to a shoulder that received no attention, the shoulders that received a massage or exercise had a diminished amount of muscle soreness.

As you prepare for any new workout regiment make sure to alert your physician. Ask your doctor for methods to reduce soreness and incidents that may hurt your body.

Incorporate a healthy diet and healthy amount of exercise in your life throughout to fight disease and to keep that summer body year-round. Continue to follow the JASE EPR blog for health news. 

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The latest study on a group of men and women that suffer from kidney stones found that there was no need for a dietary calcium restriction for kidney stones.

The recommendation for those affected by kidney stones is to eat calcium-rich foods, not calcium supplements, to slow the formation of the stones.

Kidney stones are solid masses that form in the kidney as a result of high levels of substances in the urine. Kidney stones can vary in size and can remain in the kidney or travel down the urinary track. Depending on the size, kidney stones can be painful as the pass through the urinary track.

 Risk Factors for Kidney Stones:

• Family history: You are more likely to develop kidney stones if you have family members that suffer from stones. Also, once you have developed stones you are more likely to develop them again.
• Age: People 40 years and older develop kidney stones more often than children.
• Sex: Men develop kidney stones more often than women.
• Dehydration: People that don’t drink enough water who live in warm climates are more likely to become dehydrated makiing them at higher risk for kidney stones.
• Diet: A high sodium diet can you at a higher risk for developing kidney stones.

Be aware of the risk factors and manage your diet accordingly. Pain in your side and back that spreads to your lower abdomen and groin may be symptoms of kidney stones.

Contact your medical physician at the onset of these or similar symptoms. Follow the JASE EPR Blog for additional health news. 

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According to the AAN, more than one million athletes experience a concussion a year in the United States. The updated guidelines serve as a replacement for the 1997 AAN guidelines for sports concussions.

“We’ve moved away from the concussion grading systems we first established in 1997,” stated Christopher C. Giza, MD, co-lead guideline author with the David Geffen School of Medicine and Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA, in a statement. “We are now recommending concussion and return to play be assessed in each athlete individually. There is no set timeline for safe return to play.”

The guidelines also provided additional information about sports concussions.

• Risk of concussion is greatest in football, rugby, hockey and soccer in that order.
• Risk of concussion for young women and girls is greatest in soccer and basketball.
• An athlete with a history of concussions is at greater risk of having another concussion.
• The first 10 days after a concussion is the period of greatest risk to getting another concussion.

As the spring and summer approach more children will be involved in contact sports. Take heed of the new guidelines and “if in doubt, sit it out,” as stated by a member of the AAN.

Share the new guidelines with your patients and local area coaches and recreation centers. For additional health news continue to follow the JASE EPR Blog. 

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The mobile app provides decision chart that helps parents find a match for their sympton and a corresponding action. The app also provides immediat connection to medical help such as 911 and nearby doctors. If doctor assistance is not needed the app also provides home remedies.

In addition, the app provides parents with a medicine dosage table, addressing a major issue in pediactric medicine, and illustrations to help with first aid, rashes, bites, stings and more.

JASE EPR can help your practice provide patients with online health support at all times. 

Creating an online presence for your practice gives patients the opportunity to go online through multiple devices, phone, tablet, laptop or desktop; and view information that you make available to your patients.

You know your patients and you know your practice. You can provide your patients with information that is important to them and answer questions for them online through a healthcare blog or a question and answer web page. Your online presence is available all the time so your patients don’t have to wait until your office opens.

Information on over the counter drugs, post operation instructions, rules to fasting before blood test, what to expect with common procedures in the office and so much more can be made available on your website.

For additional information on ways to provide your patients with useful information through a healthcare website, contact JASE EPR. The latest technology in healthcare isn’t complicated, it’s as simple as a providing online support to your patients. 

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Timing for Maximum Social Media Impact

This can be specific to your particular type of practice or can follow general guidelines of when the most people are using social media platforms, i.e. twitter, facebook, linked in. It may take some thinking on you part and putting yourself into the shoes of your patients or your audience. Bitly, a free web link shortening service, compiled data for twitter and facebook  telling us when the most optimal times are for you to place your post. As you may have expected weekends are not the best time to put up any new information and will be washed away by the time the peak time hits during the week. Bitly says, and this is a good rule to live by, to post midday between the hours of 1pm-3pm, Monday through Thursday. For a deeper understanding and a great infographic, this article illustrates the science of social timing.

Social Sharing For Medical Prevention Research 

Researchers are looking to focus on ‘critical groups’ or those in the public that are in contact with large amounts of the public everyday like teachers and airport personnel. Focusing on reaching that group with a message through social media could suppress infectious disease spreading such as the flu.

One thing being discussed is what source should the communication come from in order to have the most value perceived. For example if you have your message and you want to send it out, would it be better received from your university president or a friend because the message is coming from a personal connection OR is the more effective method to have the message sent from the authority on the subject such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention? That is the question trying to be answered in a Kansas-State University study on social media timing and effectiveness.

As the ways in which you communicate with your patients and the general public continues to change we are beginning to understand the implications of having access to high volumes of people across multiple social platforms 24/7 and what that means for the medical community and infectious disease control.

JASE can be a valuable resource as you explore these new tools for your practice. Sign up now to the JASE EPR blog so you can stay informed and follow the JASE Group on twitter!

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Keep it simple. While JASE EPR and JASE healthcare websites offer many technological advances such as being built in the cloud and the SaaS hosted electronic patient records system; sometimes the simple details speak for themselves.

Below is a list of reasons why your medical practice may need a technological update from JASE EPR and JASE Health care websites.

• Most people go online to check out a new medical practice before making an appointment. Don’t leave your patients in the dark about what your practice offers.
• Siri on iphone is widely used and can look up the nearest doctor for you and place the call based on the websites available to the software.
• For many consumers, not having an online presence is almost like your business does not exist.
• People on the go use their smartphones for everything. A JASE EPR patient portal that complements your website will allow your patients to make appointments and request prescription renewals.
• Your office receptionist is not available 24/7.  JASE EPR patient portal and your website will allow your patients to get quick information about your practice.
• Baby Boomers are the fastest growing segment of social media users. Being available through an online presence including social media will help increase the exposure of your practice.

There are many more reasons to step-up your online presence. If your colleagues need more examples contact JASE EPR to speak with a member of the JASE EPR Team. Get a better understanding of what your medical practice’s customized website and EPR can look like with JASE EPR.

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JASE EPR can help you brand your medical practice better with the creation of a healthcare website with a professional design, easy to use content manager and useful application plugins that allow you to better interact with your patients.

If you need ideas on what to feature on your website, the JASE EPR team is always available to help you out.

Many medical practice websites are finding great success with featuring their doctors on their website. Beyond the simple bio of what they do and where they received their multiple degrees, a true showcase will feature quotes, credentials, and the expertise of your doctors.

The right elements on the doctors page will engage patients and interest them in receiving care at your practice.

Here are a few tips from JASE EPR to help you showcase your doctors:

• Add Pictures: On the profile of your doctor add a picture of the doctor engaging with patients. The best pictures will show a confident, experienced and reassuring image of your doctors helping their patients.
• Add quotes: Use the words of the doctor to give patients a better idea of who they are dealing with. Quotes can be about why they went into their area of expertise, something about doctor and patient care or something that truly highlights the doctors character.
• Add video: Create a video of the doctor explaining a common technical procedure that is regularly used in your practice. Not only will it feature the doctor’s expertise but it may also some of the frequent questions your patients have about the procedure.
• Add articles: If your doctor has been featured in any journals or articles provide links or excerpts from the articles. This will show what work the doctor does outside the office to share his expertise with the industry and the community.

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The newest study shows that the relationship between alcohol and cancer is strong and outweighs any of the benefits alcohol offers to other diseases such as heart disease.

While previous research has shown a connection between alcohol and cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and liver; the most recent research shows that alcohol also increases risk of cancer in the colon, rectum and female breast.

The National Cancer Institute, the Alcohol Research Group, Public Health Institute and the Toronto-based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health examined recent data on alcohol consumption and cancer mortality. They found that alcohol resulted in approximately 20,000 cancer deaths annually, accounting for about 3.5 percent of all cancer deaths in the U.S.

Researchers discovered that although higher levels of alcohol consumption led to a higher cancer risk, average consumption of 1.5 drinks per day or less accounted for 30 percent of all alcohol-attributable cancer deaths.

While the new study presents scary information for those that consume alcohol it is important to be aware of the most recent research available on cancer.

Stay updated on medical news and tips by following the JASE EPR Blog. Check in with your physician if you have any questions about your health and additional cancer risks.

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Similar to teaching older generations of patients and doctors about smart-phones, iPads and other similar technology, it may take time to teach your older counterparts how to use electronic patient records.

Fear not, the technology is there to make life easier for everyone affiliated with the practice.

• Patient Portal allows patients to fill out medical forms before their visits, helping keep appointments on schedule.
• The Clinical Portal provides your staff with the ability to maintain patient records, track & prescribe medication, run diagnostic and treatment assessments, communicate with patients, view compliance progress and send lab results, all from a laptop or iPad.
• The Front Office Portal provides your staff and patients with easy check-in and check-out technology; electronic patient records, current insurance information authorization & filing, electronic bill payments, a comprehensive billing system, appointment scheduling and inner office messaging are tools available to guarantee an increase in productivity and profitability.

Here are a few tips from the JASE EPR Team that will help everyone in your practice feel comfortable with new technology.

• Pair new technology users with staff well versed in the new systems.
• Offer older patients help from your staff in the patient portal until they feel comfortable with the ease of the new system.
• Focus on learning styles rather than age when helping others learn how to use new technologies in your office. Some of your older patients may catch on to the system and you don’t want to demean your patients.

Don’t allow the fear of technology to setback the growth of your practice. Contact JASE EPR to create a system in your office that will provide your patients and staff with a more productive system of care.

image credit: by by Valeri Pizhanski on Flickr