From the Founder: Our profession, down but not out


A recent survey of 1,000 physicians, part of the soon to be released Physician Sentiment Index (PSI) done on Sermo, confirms what many of us already know; we as physicians have remarkably little insight into the business underpinnings of our profession, and even less optimism about the future of our profession. While 82% of physicians state that they have a "clear" or "vague" understanding of what cash flow is, only 25% of respondents could select the correct definition from a list of options. Perhaps most striking, a disturbing 70% of MDs surveyed believe their financial situation will be the same or worse next year. While this isn't surprising, after all we went to medical school, not accounting school, it is certainly not encouraging and makes me wonder if these trends are linked.

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As physicians, the loss of control of our financial fate is inseparable from the gradual demise of our profession.

By any measure, doctors find themselves in an increasingly untenable position. Payers have long had intrinsic advantages over physicians and even shifting to fee-for-service introduces unique challenges to physician owned and managed practices. I have discussed these challenges for over a year now, and even predicted that companies or technologies would come along that help address inefficiencies and the information imbalance that exists between payers and physicians. This week, Sermo will announce a partnership between Sermo and athenahealth. Positioned between the doctor and the payer, athenahealth pools the collective experience of thousands of physicians' claims data into something called a rules engine to help even the playing field between physicians and insurers. In key metrics, such as claims rejection rate, accounts receivable, and yes cash flow, athenahealth has shown that technology can help physicians directly benefit from one another.

I believe the appeal of companies like athenahealth and Sermo is their unique ability to allow individual physicians to leverage many of the same technologies and strength in numbers that the insurance companies have long benefitted from. For the healthcare industry, it is the opportunity to help level the playing field. For physicians, it is the opportunity to turn the billing process into a strategic advantage, increasing the ability for us to stay in practice and provide the best possible care to our patients.

So, the discussion for the community…..do you think EMR, EHR, and/or billing technologies can be used to improve the financial independence of physicians?

Daniel Palestrant, MD

Founder & CEO

Sermo, Inc.

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