Another tool used by the information systems gurus at MedPartners, the World Wide Web browser, can also be used by just about any computer with a modern operating system. In the coming months, physicians in MedPartners' independent practice association will be able to view eligibility data and submit referral information using any Web browser, whether they're connected over the Internet or the company's network. Though you may do just fine without a multimillion-dollar clinical information system, you will need to put the computers you have through their paces if you want to be competitive. The information your practice already compiles using existing computers, such as claims histories or encounter data, could be more valuable than a raft of new Pentiums. In the meantime, they shouldn't discount the use of the claims data base.
Physicians tend to undervalue their claims data base.
Not only will these data help you manage your own costs and study your own care patterns, but they will also help you handle differences with health plans in a professional way, notes Beth Israel's Sands, who serves as a senior associate with the hospital's Center for Clinical Computing. You should be able to say to a managed care company that their data are all wrong, if in fact they are wrong. It's absurd to think that the managed care company is going to know more clinical information about patients than you do. It's also vital to begin shipping those data to health plans in electronic form. Even a stripped-down PC can make the connection, over a telephone line.