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Eye M.D. of Niceville Decided Upon the ModMed® Ophthalmology Suite to Help Provide a Better Patient Experience

Published Date
Author Aaron Stoklosa

 

Case Study

The Goals

  • Implement a paper-free ophthalmology practice
  • Easy to use EHR with superior customer support
  • Mobility to save time while updating and reviewing patient charts
  • Improve efficiency to provide better service to patients

Key Benefits Experienced

  • Helped eliminate paperwork using data integration from all-in-one system
  • Improved billing and operations
  • Streamlined workflow and saved time using custom protocols
  • Improved team coordination reducing patient waiting time

Practice administrator shares the practice’s ophthalmology software success story.

 
 

“Before opening the new practice we looked for EHR demos online and EMA was by far the best. Dr. Nathaniel Ruttig was very impressed with the system, and that’s no easy feat.”

‒ MARIA RUTTIG, PRACTICE ADMINISTRATOR

 

Located in Florida’s Panhandle, Eye M.D. of Niceville focuses on general ophthalmology bringing advanced medical and surgical eye care to about 40 patients per day in the community. Maria Ruttig, practice administrator, shared their experience in using Modernizing Medicine’s ophthalmology electronic health record (EHR) system, EMA™, with Merit Based Incentive Payment (MIPS) reporting, and Practice Management (PM). A user-friendly system coupled with a responsive support team helped set the practice up for success.

Why EMA?

Before making a decision, we looked at several different options and realized that there are a lot of good choices out there. We see about 40 patients a day plus perform 20 cataract surgeries a week, so we needed a system that wouldn’t slow us down.The deciding factor in selecting EMA was the ease of use, the mobility it provides and the possibility to run a paperless practice. Our ophthalmologist, Dr. Nathaniel Ruttig, was very impressed with the system, and that’s no easy feat.

Favorite Ophthalmology Software Features

We decided to implement Modernizing Medicine’s PM system after experiencing much success with EMA. By using the all-in-one system, our practice increased efficiency and reduced costs. EMA and PM’s cloud-based design has helped us be practically paper-free, and we really value not having to store paper records or maintain an expensive server.

From my experience, the billing and coding capability is one of the biggest advantages. The ophthalmology EHR system documents everything based upon your input and suggests the right code based upon what you have documented.

One of the unique advantages of EMA was the ability to make custom changes to the system to help us improve efficiency and save time for both patients and Dr. Ruttig and staff. When we first started using Protocols, it took some effort to customize and set them up, but now it has become a big time saver, added to the convenience of features like ePrescribing.

Our patients are impressed with not having to fill out paperwork, since our technicians update their medical history and current medications while the patients are dilating. Having both the iPad and web applications adds more flexibility to integrate the staff work. We primarily use EMA’s native iPad application, but the web version is equally easy to use. I am personally more comfortable with the web version, but Dr. Ruttig is so used to the iPad that he is not happy if he doesn’t have the iPad at home to review and finalize any notes or check next days’ appointments.

The Power of EMA + Practice Management + MIPS

Our previous system was confusing and required us to scroll through a lot of data. EMA and PM together make everything faster, easier and more reliable. I like receiving reports that I can quickly customize and the ability to easily view copays.

The MIPS platform is very helpful. Our Modernizing Medicine advisor walked us through the steps needed. It only took about 10 minutes to review and submit everything, which was super easy. We also have the ability to check our performance periodically.

Having an all-in-one system has allowed us to complete patient check-in and checkout quickly, also having a timer available on the system for each of the patients helps us coach the team to improve efficiency. That is important because Dr. Ruttig doesn’t like to make patients wait. He worked at another practice before where patients waited sometimes for one or two hours, so he knows how patients can become upset with long delays. One of the main reasons we are continuously working to improve our workflow is to keep the schedule on time and let patients know that the doctor is accessible.

The Value of Client Feedback and Support 

The best part about working with Modernizing Medicine is that they’re very responsive to client feedback and they’ve made it easy to provide feedback through various outlets, whether it’s through modmed Central, phone calls or help tickets. We’ve greatly enjoyed using modmed Central and it provides a helpful resource for our staff to look up answers to common questions. I have also used printable reference guides to help train new staff members and continue education on the products we use in the practice.

I attended the company’s annual users conference, MOMENTUM, in 2017 and was thoroughly impressed with the company’s sincere interest in user feedback to constantly improve their products. Also, the support team is very knowledgeable and responds quickly to questions. Knowing that the company has a visionary perspective, listens to their clients and works to improve the products in every update, makes us feel comfortable that we made the right decision by selecting Modernizing Medicine.

I would definitely recommend Modernizing Medicine to a anyone looking for a new ophthalmology EMR or PM system. We recommended them to a nearby colleague who choose EMA among other options, and they are also experiencing great customer service.

 

 
 
Maria Ruttig

Maria Ruttig

Practice Administrator at Eye M.D. of Niceville