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12 ASC MANAGEMENT 5 Financial Thoughts for Mid-Career Physicians By Megan Wood W hat should physicians hitting the mid- point in their careers focus on, finan- cially? Physician's Money Digest offers some considerations. Here are five things to note: 1. By the time you hit your forties, you may want to remedy any financial faux-pas you made in your younger years. Whether it was making an investment mistake or purchasing a bad life insurance policy, now is the time to right the wrong. Meet with a financial advisor to correct the issue — the money it takes now will likely save an immense amount in the long run. 2. Pay off your mortgage. At this point in your career, you have a grasp on your earnings and you've likely been in your house for at least a few years. Figure out how to pay your mortgage off early, as it will enhance your retirement savings. 3. Take another look at the college fund, and ana- lyze the current tuition. Figure out whether state schools are more in your range, or if you can help with private school tuition. Paying for your child's college will arrive before you retire, and it is a good financial test-run of your ability to establish a financial plan and follow it. 4. Consider your past advisory decisions, and decide if it's time for a new advisor or new ne- gotiation on advisory fees. Make sure you are receiving solid advice at a fair price. 5. Check your spending and whether you are saving enough. Shoot for allotting 20 percent of your gross income to your retirement fund. n 5 Key Trends in Ambulatory EHR By Laura Dyrda There are ambulatory EHR vendors experiencing success on both coasts, according to a new article in TechTarget. Here are five key trends: 1. There are several big players dominating the EHR market, but am- bulatory EHR vendors are positioned to do business with lower cost systems. 2. Amazing Charts, based in Rhode Island, uses cloud-based EHRs de- signed for small physician practices. On the other side of the country Practice Fusion uses the cloud-based approach but has made EHRs "es- sentially free" to customers and targets larger practices. 3. The small practice EHR companies are able to keep costs low be- cause there aren't costs associated with labs, pharmacies and imag- ing centers as there are for the larger facilities and health systems, according to the report. 4. Massachusetts is home to two other significant players in the am- bulatory EHR market; athenahealth and eClinicalWorks. The ambula- tory EHRs were featured recently on the HIT Squad podcast. The most widely-used EHR at physician practices, based on the Medscape EHR Report 2016: Physicians Rate Top EHRs, were: • eClinicalWorks: 12 percent • Practice Fusion: 8 percent • NextGen: 8 percent • Allscripts Professional: 6 percent • Greenway: 6 percent • athenahealth: 5 percent • Centricity: 4 percent • Epic: 4 percent • E-MDs: 2 percent • Amazing Charts: 2 percent • MEDENT: 2 percent 5. The Medscape report found 91 percent of physicians are cur- rently using EHRs and 33 percent report they are in an independent practice with its own EHR system; 63 percent worked in a hospital or health system with an EHR. n 7. Shifting healthcare landscape. ASCs will see a new operating landscape as payers continue creating narrow provider networks. In 2017, the industry will likely witness increasing premiums with greater patient cost shares, a shi toward private health insurance exchanges and heavy consolidation among health plans. Mr. Hancock recom- mends ASCs practice flexibility and engage in strategic alignment to thrive. 8. 2017 will see increased M&A activity. Next year will likely be filled with a flurry of mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Tanner suspects the industry will witness more differentiation among ASC companies, as they highlight their quality and performance in a value-based world. Mr. Hancock also mentions successful ASCs will try out innumer- able alternative payment models to maintain a competitive edge in the market. 9. The emergence of price transparency. Built from a lower cost structure and efficiency, an ASC is "uniquely positioned" to lever- age price transparency to back its "value proposition as a high-quality, lower-cost care option for surgery," says Mr. Hancock. As price transpar- ency continues to catch on in the coming year, patients will garner more control and healthcare consumerism will grow stronger. 10. GI/endoscopy will remain strong in ASCs. GI ASCs will prove crucial in delivering quality and cost-effective care. Early detec- tion and CRC screening will continue to be a huge cost-saver for the U.S. healthcare industry. "Having GI physicians directly and meaningfully involved in all as- pects of the delivery of GI care within the ASC setting results in a value proposition to patients, insurers and physicians that is going to continue to drive freestanding ASCs as the location of choice for GI procedure care," adds Mr. Tanner. n