ELECTRONIC RECORDS

Electronic record keeping is much in the news in the healthcare industry, as is the issue of measuring healthcare "quality" and the two seem to intersect. There is little disagreement that moving in this direction is good for the health of the nation. By having electronic records, it is thought that effective metrics can be developed that can allow healthcare consumers to evaluate alternative services, hospitals, etc. By having electronic records, the ability to diagnose and treat patients from remote locations is enhanced, which can mean providing better healthcare to rural cities and locations which may not have the local availability of a wide spectrum of healthcare services, specialists. etc. And by going digital, perhaps we can cut down on the errors caused by illegible prescripitions issued by doctors.

The question is how and who is going to pay for this. The big hospitals with access to multiple sources of capital will have a much easier time in finding the funding resources for implementing government as well as non government mandated electronic records. But with so many smaller and rural hospitals struggling fiscally, the additional capital burden of upgrading their existing technology could become onerous.

Coupling this scenario with the liquidity crunch and tightening of credit by the traditional lending sources, the use of MAR [medical accounts receivable] funding as an additional tool in the financial arsenal of healthcare executives is becoming increasingly important. More and more are turning to funding sources such as Sun Capital HealthCare Inc. to solve their cash flow problems. Debt-free, virtually immediate availability of funds, no funding caps and unrestricted use of funds are just some of the reasons that healthcare providers and suppliers are taking advantage of this financial tool. They are discovering that it is not just for organizations in financial trouble but that it is an effective tool for funding growth and expansion as well.

If your healthcare organization is facing the question as to how to fund the requirements of implementing and/or upgrading an electronic medical records capability, MAR funding could well be a solution.