LOUISIANA FAMILY MEDICINE
A new kind of doctor's office
Special Advertising Section
With the rapid growth of the digital age, physicians are faced with the challenge of improving care outcomes and cost efficiency while keeping up with meaningful use of new technology. Recent federal government regulations (Health Information Technology of Economic Clinical Health, or the HITECH Act) mandate that by 2014 all doctors’ offices must switch to electronic health records while still maintaining HIPPA compliance with the secure storage and transmission of patients’ medical records, which will be a challenge for offices that have yet to adapt to digital records.
Since opening in its current location in 2012, Louisiana Family Medicine has not only embraced the exclusive use of electronic medical records, but also made it easier for their patients to have access to their records digitally. The free online patient portal they offer every patient allows for direct electronic messaging with the doctor and easy online appointment scheduling, as well as providing a fast way to receive lab test results electronically as soon as they are available and have been interpreted by the doctor. All of this information can be easily accessed from a smartphone application or through any Web browser.
Always mindful of the patient encounter, Dr. L. Lee Montgomery, the physician-owner of Louisiana Family Medicine, and his care-team employ creative tactics with technology to be able to spend optimal time with patients, while remaining mindful of those who are still waiting in the lobby to be seen. Dr. Montgomery’s goal is for every patient to be seen and cared for within 45 minutes of their appointment time. This is made possible by using software in the practice to keep track of appointments and digitally remind patients of upcoming visits in order to maximize efficiencies for both the patient and the doctor, all of which bodes well for patient engagement and better communication between Dr. Montgomery and his patients before, during and even after the office visit.
At Louisiana Family Medicine, care-team members use iPads instead of laptops or desktops in visits with patients to take notes, log data and look up patient records so that they can direct their full attention to the patient and set a friendly and courteous tone for the visit. Dr. Montgomery also embraces the value afforded by free video chat platforms and offers 5- to 10-minute Skype and Facetime visits for his existing patients to discuss their ongoing care and for those times when an in-person office visit is not necessary or possible.
The consumer experience plays a role
A big driver of the growth of technology in health care is simply its universal presence in the lives of consumers. In a day and age when a mobile device can be used remotely to play music, record a favorite television show, manage a security monitoring system, or even control the lighting in a home or office, it seems likely that consumers’ growing comfort-level with the widespread use of technology would lead to a demand to discover efficiencies in other aspects of their daily lives, including a doctor’s office visit.
Over the past few years, online reviews have become a mainstay for savvy consumers to help boost their confidence with purchasing decisions for everything from where to dine, what movie to see, or where to go on vacation, to buying the latest in gadgets, books and even music.
But increasingly they are doing their digital due diligence when it comes to purchasing decisions in other areas of their daily lives, including important assessments about expenditures on health care. As a result, dentists, massage therapists, chiropractic clinics and even primary care physicians are all seeing the value in making their way onto online consumer review services like Yelp.com, Angie’s List, CitySearch and more. Through these online platforms, patients can easily share valuable information about their experiences for others to consider when choosing health care practitioners, which allows for better informed decisions when it comes to spending their hard-earned dollars, whether they rely on health insurance to defray health care costs or not.
Louisiana Family Medicine is committed to helping people get the quality health care they need in the most affordable way possible. By closely monitoring and engaging with the community via the online review sites, they have become well-informed on what is important to the community-at-large when it comes to care outcomes. Assisted by his wife Phyllis and their gracious and professional care-team in their new building, Dr. Montgomery creates a relaxed and comfortable environment in which to address patients’ health concerns. In so doing, he instills trust, reduces anxiety and creates happy, satisfied patients who become loyal advocates and refer new business to his practice.