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| Issue 3. August, 2006 |
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Could Saying "Sorry" Reduce Malpractice Suits? Two differing stances concerning apologies in healthcare are being proposed in an effort to reduce tort claims and malpractice insurance costs. An Arkansas legislator is pursuing legislation allowing doctors to apologize to patients without admitting negligence or having it used in court proceedings. Little Rock attorney, David Williams, commented, "I think if people get an explanation of why things go wrong and get an apology, the chances they would ever go see a lawyer go down 100 percent." On the other hand, a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests the more prominent reason for the current level of medical apologies is fear of the uncomfortable situation. Though no significant studies have been performed, anecdotal evidence suggests malpractice insurance companies have saved money using early disclosure, apologies and compensation policies. Thomas Gallagher, lead author of the study, states, "It's clear that patients really value an apology."Only time will tell whether being able to say "sorry" could reduce malpractice lawsuits and insurance premiums, but it seems it would be nice to have the option. Resources Legislator Sees Need For More Tort Reform Software as a Service Ready for Widespread Adoption Imagine having the latest software to perform your work, on the latest computer technology without having to go out and buy it. Now imagine having access to this software from anywhere – work, home, or on the road. These great features no longer need to be imagined because Software as a Service (SaaS) is becoming rapidly adopted in a number of software applications. SaaS is web-based software that can be used from any computer with high-speed Internet access. The applications are diverse, ranging from customer retention management (CRM) programs like NetSuite, sales process management like salesforce.com, to document management like Infostreet and medical billing software like AdvancedMD. Barriers to Adoption If SaaS is so great, why has it grown slowly until now? Three reasons come to mind immediately: lower levels of high speed connections, fear of web-based applications and a lack of web-native products. While many SaaS products have been available since the late 90’s, Internet adoption in homes and businesses did not often match the capability of the services. For instance, in 1999, less than 10% of households had high-speed Internet. By 2004, that number had climbed exponentially to 45%. Businesses, especially small business/home office, have adopted high-speed Internet at a 77% rate. This greater rate of web access in businesses has allowed the SaaS model to prosper. The second reason SaaS has begun to flourish is less fear of the Internet by those using it. Many people are fearful of new technology and won’t begin to consider it until enough “early adopters” come on board. It’s the Beta versus VHS battle all over again. The Internet is also a scary place with spammers, scammers and identity thieves lurking everywhere. But SaaS has had a friend to help with adoption – Internet banking. So many people have used Internet banking with success the fear of being robbed online has decreased significantly. If sensitive personal financial information is trusted online, why wouldn’t a personal schedule or even medical records be? The third reason for low SaaS adoption relates to the second. Besides fearing new technology, early versions of SaaS software didn’t work very well. Those applications were slow and clunky because they were essentially web versions of regular installed software. Technology advances and a change in methodology have resulted in “web-native” designed SaaS offering software that operates as smoothly as it would installed on the local machine. SaaS Advantages SaaS software is of particular advantage to small to medium sized businesses that don’t possess the IT infrastructure of large corporations. These businesses can leverage the economies of scale by outsourcing the computer hardware, maintenance and upgrade costs to a SaaS provider for a regular monthly fee. Some people argue that owning software is better than “renting” it. However, software is a rapidly depreciating tool. Before it’s even purchased, the company’s engineers are figuring out ways to make improvements and upgrades. The new, upgraded version usually requires upgraded hardware to run properly. The SaaS model allows businesses to run the latest software without having to pay for upgrades or new hardware. The biggest benefit to SaaS has to be access. By using a web-based platform, users can access their data and programs from any computer with Internet access. This is a drastic improvement over installed software which needs to be loaded on each machine in the office. SaaS software in the medical records space have an additional benefit: HIPAA security compliance. AdvancedMD’s SaaS software addresses 32 of HIPAA’s 47 requirements just by turning it on. Traditional client/server software only tackle 9. SaaS Future The future of SaaS is quite bright. As more consumers and business warm to the idea of performing their work on the Internet, a larger variety of software will become available. Imagine being able to create or edit graphics and pictures using an online version of PhotoShop, or writing a letter or using a spreadsheet with online versions of Word or Excel. Some software analysts predict the adoption rate of SaaS will approach 50% by 2008 and revenue in that segment will reach 10 billion by 2009. Those are certainly numbers that are hard to ignore. SaaS applications are bound to become better, more popular and less costly as the segment grows over the next few years. Resources US Broadband Penetration Jumps to 45.2% |
Quotable Quote "Satisfaction of one's curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life.” —Linus Pauling
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Events Watch AMBA - October 19-20 - Adams Mark Hotel, Dallas - Come visit us at the American Medical Billing Association conference. AMBA is a trade association for smaller billing services. Visit their site for additional details.
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