140 characters, it may not seem like much, but time and time again, people and companies manage to blemish their reputations using 140 characters or less. There are many ways they can do it, but the main medium this happens on is Twitter. While having a Twitter account is useful for many small businesses, they should be aware of ways they can damage their reputation simply by tweeting the wrong thing.

Here are five types of tweets that can seriously damage your reputation.

1. The making things up tweet. Beyond the obvious moral reasons, it’s never good for a business to tweet something that’s made up. Be it false sales, achievements or facts, you can guarantee that someone will know and call you on it which could create a PR nightmare. Always be sure that what you tweet is true and can be backed up.
2. The denying allegations tweet. There’s a pretty high chance that users will take to Twitter when they have something negative to say about your company. When this happens, one of the worst things you could do is deny the allegations, even if you’re right. Doing so will only result in more negative tweets, all of which are very public. If you do get a negative tweet, the best thing to do is encourage the tweeter to contact you privately.
3. The mad as heck tweet. Doing anything when you’re angry is never a good idea, especially when using a medium as public as Twitter. If your first reaction is to be angry at a tweet, it’s best to step back for a bit and think about what made you angry. If you’re still angry, get an employee or friend to read the tweet and talk about what actions you should take.
4. The inflammatory tweet. It’s best to not tweet anything that could make your followers angry or upset. Remember your Twitter account represents another way for your customers to interact with you. If they’re upset about something, the chances of you getting their business again are slim. If you’re not sure if something is inflammatory or not, try asking your employees or a friend, or just don’t tweet it.
5. The negativity tweet. Negativity in the workplace is something that could cause a business to go under quickly. The same goes for a negative tweet, it is a sure fire way to tarnish your reputation. As a rule, don’t publish anything negative.

Twitter, when used correctly, is an extremely useful communication tool for small businesses. When businesses mishandle their tweets, they could create publicity issues that could irreparably harm a business. If you would like some more tips on, or need help managing, your tweets, please contact us.

One of the most asked for features in today’s electronic medical record (EMR) technology is a secure built-in messaging system. This is an important feature and many providers are integrating this feature. One project aims to make that easier, Direct Project.

When today’s health-care providers exchange information, they're likely sending paper through the mail or fax. But, a growing number of patients are asking for electronic communication, mainly email. Many clinics are happy to oblige, however, secure communications is important, because Meaningful Use Stage 2 requires a HIPAA-compliant secure messaging - HIPAA is the standard for protecting secure information in the health industry.

Yet, currently, many physicians who want to use secure messaging to communicate with patients may have to purchase a third-party vendor’s software to do so. This involves an additional service agreement as well as monthly fees. There is an option that your existing vendor may be able to use.

That option is the Direct Project. While not the only one out there, this is an interesting program. Its concept is simple: In the projects' own words, “Direct Project specifies a simple, secure, stable, standards-based way for participants to send authenticated, encrypted information directly to known, trusted recipients over the Internet.”

Essentially, each provider has a direct address that he or she can use to send and receive messages. Because these messages are secure, they can be used to send patient information to colleagues who need it for care.

A number of existing products already support the Direct Project specifications and allow for the secure delivery of messages. Visit Who’s Fueling Direct? to see if your vendor is one of them.

More information is available here.

When it comes to mobile devices like tablets and smartphones, there is an abundance of technical terms and jargon thrown around, often confusing average users. A common term seen on many blogs and mobile carriers’ websites in relation to tablets is tethering. If you have an Android tablet, do you know what tethering is?

Here is an overview of tethering. It focuses on Android tablets, but this process be applied to almost any Android device.

What exactly is tethering? You've probably seen this term mentioned in marketing collateral or contracts from your mobile provider, or heard users talk about it. In the most basic sense, tethering is sharing one device's Internet or data connection with another. The most common type of tethering you will see is someone using their smartphone's data connection to surf the Internet on their computer or tablet.

When it comes to tethering on Android devices, there are three main options:

• Portable Wi-Fi hotspot - Turns your device into a Wi-Fi router, allowing it to share its data connection with up to five other devices.
• Bluetooth - Shares the device's data connection with one device over Bluetooth.
• USB - Shares the device's data connection with one device, usually a computer.

A word of warning: As you share connections, the speed of the data will be diminished. Some devices are also data hungry, and if you have a set amount of data each month, you will likely use it up. If you go over the amount, you may be in for a bit of a shock when you see your next bill.

Can I tether on my tablet? Technically all Android tablets and devices can share their connection as long as they can connect to mobile data. The ability to tether actually hinges on the provider of the data connection - some allow it, others don't while some will apply extra charges. Before you try to tether any device, you should check with your device's data/mobile provider to ensure tethering is allowed. As a rule of thumb: If you are already paying for a data connection with a set amount of bandwidth (e.g., 2GB a month), tethering is likely ok.

Because many Android tablets don't have a mobile data connection, most users will likely share their smartphone's connection with their tablet. If you have a smartphone with a data plan, tethering will depend on your phone as the tablet just sees an Internet connection.

How do I share my data connection? If you have a smartphone with a data connection and would like to share it with your tablet, you have a couple of options:

For iPhone/iPad (with a data connection) users

1. Open Settings on your phone.
2. Tap on General followed by Network.
3. Select Personal Hotspot followed by Wi-Fi Password.
4. Set the Wi-Fi password and select Done.
5. Slide the button beside Personal Hotspot from Off to On.
6. On your Android device, open the Wi-Fi settings and look for the network with the iPhone's name. Tap on it and enter the password you set above. It should connect within a few seconds.

For Android users

1. Open your phone's Settings app.
2. Press More under Wireless & Networks (Android 4.2)
3. Tap on Tethering & portable hotspot.
4. Select Set up Wi-Fi hotspot and enter a network name under Network SSID.
5. Enter a password under the Password section and press Save.
6. Select Portable Wi-Fi hotspot and the device will create a wireless network.
7. On your tablet, open the Wi-Fi settings and look for the name you have set in the Network SSID field above. By default it's Android AP.

It would be a good idea to use a password when setting up tethering to ensure that no one will be able to connect to your network without your permission.

If you are looking for more ways to get your Android tablet online or wondering how a tablet can help you, contact us today.

The earlier you familiarize yourself with ICD-10-CM, the easier the transition will be - so you may want to start now.

To recap, the ICD-9 code sets, which were used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures, will be replaced by ICD-10 code sets. ICD-10 is more robust and descriptive than ICD-9, which is 30 years old, and has many outdated and obsolete terms.

You may ask why ICD-10 is any different from the annual code changes that already take place. The answer: ICD-10 codes have a completely different structure from ICD-9 codes. ICD-9 codes are mostly numeric and have three to five digits. ICD-10 codes are alphanumeric and contain three to seven characters. Like ICD-9 codes, however, ICD-10 codes will be updated every year.

Does the switch to ICD-10 affect you? More than likely. Everyone covered by HIPAA must transition to ICD-10 - including providers and payers who do not deal with Medicare claims. it's important to remember that all activity that happens in a doctor’s office will be covered. This is a big deal that will impact every doctor and those who aren’t prepared will experience significant loss of revenue.

The deadline for the transition is October 1, 2014. To help you make the transition, a widget for setting up a timeline for the switch to ICD-10 can be found here.

Year-end brings some important tax planning implications for physicians, because both the Tax Relief Act of 2010 and the Jobs Act of 2010 affected Section 179 of the tax code in a positive way. You can basically write off 100% of up to $139,000 of equipment and software you purchase this year. If you haven't taken advantage of this yet, there's still time!

Here's how it works:

First, you can purchase up to $560,000 worth of equipment and software (which would have been only $200,000 prior to the new legislation.)

Also, the deduction limit, after adjustment for inflation, has increased to $139,000 (which would have been only $25,000 prior to the new legislation).

The new law also allows 50% bonus depreciation on qualified assets placed in service during 2012.

When applying these provisions, Section 179 is generally taken first, followed by the bonus depreciation (unless the business has no taxable profit in 2012).

That’s a lot to digest, so let’s look at an example. Say you buy $150,000 worth of equipment and software - including an electronic medical record (EMR) this year. The calculation below shows how much it actually costs you after tax incentives.

Equipment Purchase = $150,000 First-year (2012) writeoff = $139,000 50% bonus first-year depreciation (150,000-139,000)X 50% = $5,500 Normal first-year depreciation (20% in each of five years on remaining amount) = $1,100 Total first-year deduction (139,000+5,500+1,100) = $145,600 Tax savings (145,600 X 36% tax rate) = $50,960 Cost of equipment after tax (15,000 less all tax deductions) = $99,040

To take advantage of this deduction, your equipment or software must be in place on or before December 31, 2012 - so don’t delay.

Remember, successful businesses take advantage of tax incentives to help lower their operating costs. The Section 179 gives businesses such as yours an incentive to invest in themselves by adding capital equipment, and it’s easy to use.

Busy medical professionals often struggle to stay on top of it all: managing the business and handling billing often cuts into patient-care time. One solution: Get help from someone who can guide you through the process of using your technology the right way.

It’s one thing to have the technology you need; it’s another to maximize it. An information technology (IT) professional or firm should be able to work with you to provide tangible solutions to your technological challenges. They can speak with you and your staff, try to understand the issues, then make suggestions. That might involve achieving meaningful use. It might involve increasing efficiencies. It might involve cutting costs. Whatever the case, however, you’ll maximize your revenue potential.

Looking for technological assistance? We can provide that service. We will help ensure you’re using your electronic medical record (EMR) and other technology effectively; will work to understand what challenges you’re encountering and inspire you with new ideas to improve your practice's operations; in some cases, we can even help you keep abreast of regulatory trends and guidelines.

Buying quality hardware, hiring external assistance, and getting buy-in from practice staff are key steps to a successful electronic medical record (EMR) system implementation, according to primary care physicians.

That information comes from a recent Medical Economics survey, in which 30 doctors were asked to identify what helped them prepare for EMR implementation.

Other tips were hiring a scribe to help with data-gathering and template-creation; identifying one main resource to guide the implementation process; establishing a timeline to complete online training each week before implementation; and setting up weekly telephone conference calls with your vendor.

According to the survey, almost half of participants hired an information technology (IT) professional or firm, 12% hired some other outside assistance, and 8% paid for assistance from a regional extension center.

The good news: Most of the doctors surveyed said they were making progress with their EMR implementations. A full 82% were e-prescribing and 74% were maintaining an active medication list. But, there was room for improvement: 19% of doctors have implemented one clinical decision support rule, and just 7% were electronically exchanging key clinical information with other entities.

The outcome of the presidential election is not expected to change the strength of the health-care IT sector, according to a new study by Mercom Capital Group.

Because health-care IT touches virtually everybody in some way, it's become a large market that piqued the interest of investors, and significant funding is flowing into private companies.

According to the study, conducted in the third quarter of 2012, health information management companies received $101 million of funding in 20 deals, followed by mobile health companies with $39 million in seven deals and social health network companies with $26 million in four deals. Another funded deal this quarter was $25.5 million raised by Telcare, a mobile health company that uses cellular machine-to-machine technology for diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

The reason for the strength: Federal programs such as the HITECH Act of 2009, which made greater amounts of health data available for use. This has made applications possible.

This is good news for health-care providers, because it ensures that innovative applications are available to help them pursue their goals of increased efficiency and patient safety.

Cloud computing is still a relatively new information technology concept, but it's already beginning to be relevant in health care - because it utilizes economies of scale to provide massive computing power and storage to users who sign up for the service. Here are five ways cloud competing is transforming health care.

Easy access - Cloud-based service providers have pushed open formats - any one can access and edit the code or format - instead of closed formats - only qualified experts can access and edit the code or format -, which makes adopting a cloud system as a replacement for a localized one easy and cheap. This is mainly because most cloud services can support multiple formats, which means you likely won't have to convert documents, images, files or folders.

Resiliency - Economies of scale allow cloud-based service providers to build large redundant data centers that emphasize backup and uptime for lower costs. This means your data will be available as long as you have an Internet connection.

Privacy - The level of security the cloud offers is much higher than what you see in a local IT department. Security in a hospital's server room may be as simple as keeping the door locked, usually with a lock that can be picked or hacked with relative ease. Data on many cloud servers is an encrypted blob of bits that most cloud providers don't have access to.

Innovation - Cloud-based service providers can improve their services rapidly, cheaply and with minimal interruption to service. The upside to this is that it frees up local IT staff for value-added tasks.

Mobility - By storing all computing power and data and in the cloud, health-care providers can provide staff access to that information anywhere, anytime - and that’s a boon for mobile applications.

If you're interested in learning more about how cloud services can help make your organization more efficient, please contact us.

Doctors, it’s time to catch up: consumers are increasingly willing to interact with health information technology, according to a new survey.

The survey, conducted by Optum Institute and Harris Interactive, polled 4,270 physicians, patients and hospital executives.

According to the survey, patients are ready to use technology with health care: eighty-four percent would like online prescription refills; 75 percent would like to receive test results and access their medical records online; and 60 percent want to communicate with their doctors via email.

And that’s the case not just for younger generations, but for older ones as well. More than half of seniors surveyed are willing to go online to communicate with their physicians and manage their medical records.

Unfortunately, technology already in place and used by doctors lags behind a bit. While 70 percent of physicians have basic electronic medical records (EMRs), only 40 percent of physicians can engage with patients via email or provide patients with access to their health records.

Email has been widespread for nearly two decades, yet most patients still can’t reach out to their physicians through email. This shows that physicians should look into using email to communicate with patients.

“This research underlines the need for health information systems that can talk to each other, and that allow patients to access their own health information,” says Simon Stevens, chairman of the Optum Institute.