Posted by: Atlas MD

March 16, 2022

Help Employer Groups Put Employees First With Atlas Consult

It’s no secret that employers can save enormous amounts of money by shifting their employee healthcare away from the fee-for-service model and towards direct primary care.

Since traditional providers get paid for every patient they see, it’s in their financial interest to manage chronic conditions rather than curing them. Not to mention that when they do see patients, the appointments are rushed, with symptom management being the primary concern rather than diagnosing the root cause of a condition.

In fact, primary care doctors actually avoid addressing root causes and often refer patients to specialists to protect them from liability claims.

These specialists, it goes without saying, are prohibitively expensive, all of which funnels back into a company’s bottom line, driving up healthcare costs and driving down profits.

But what if there was a system that allows an employer to get the best of both worlds for their employees? Preventative, direct primary care with a physician, and affordable access to specialists when they require an outside consultation?

Save more with Consult

That was exactly our thought when we built Atlas Consult. We wanted to create a way for doctors to consult specialists whenever they need a second opinion about a diagnosis that requires expert advice – but without the exorbitant price tag.

Deployed at scale, the increased savings for employer groups, over and above the savings from switching to DPC, are huge. It means that employers can keep their workforces healthy at a fraction of the cost of traditional healthcare and that employees have access to specialist medicine and healthcare when they need it – prioritizing prevention, rather than intervention.

The best part about Consult is that it’s a continually expanding database that gets more powerful with each new specialist that enrolls. It’s constantly growing, meaning that access to specialist knowledge increases every day.

It’s beneficial for all parties involved – doctors who want a second opinion, specialists who get paid for remote consultations, patients who receive better care and better outcomes, and employers who save massively while putting the health of their employees first.

What’s New in Atlas.md? A Peek Under the Hood.

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Atlas.md is growing. Fast. To keep up with all the movement, we like to spend some extra time behind the scenes to make sure the features you use the most are in tip-top shape. So even though most of the feature improvements you’ll read about below aren’t visible up front, you can rest easy knowing things are humming right along beneath the surface. Let’s go.

Database Optimization
We’re always maintaining database optimization, but this time we took an extra long peek under the hood. As databases get bigger (read: more patient, drugs and general metadata is stored) they also tend to get sluggish from having to crunch all thatDATABASE additional info. Two things become super important to maintain a smooth ride at that point: targeted indexing and efficient querying. Don’t worry, you don’t need to know what those things mean to understand how we improved them: we found all the spots that could possibly act as a bottleneck and we set out to prevent slowness from happening in the first place.

This was fairly simple in most cases – we just stepped outside the box and approached things from a different angle. But it wasn’t all fun and games. Imagine a set of data likened to a tired and cranky five year old. This data required special attention from a dedicated server to make it happy. So we obliged. And once it got its desired one-on-one attention it performed beautifully, smiling and giving instantaneous results in most cases. So there you have it. The most crucial searchable data in Atlas.md now have their own special room with their own special toys where they happily sit and wait to be used by you.

A Brighter Future for Mailboxes
mailboxA few years ago when we developed the Mailbox integration (reminder: that thing where you connect your mailbox to Atlas.md so it can smartly read your relevant emails and effortlessly keep you connected to your patients) we had no idea if it would be a hit or not. So we took a leap of faith, and we’re glad we did – it’s one of the most widely-used features of Atlas.md. Fast forward to today, and it’s time to future-proof the process, which means going back to the drawing board and finding a new and better way to connect, fetch and parse data given the Mailbox’s blatant popularity. This is a tall order, so we broke it up into smaller pieces. To kick things off in Phase One, we’re making sure everyone’s mailboxes are checked and messages are fetched more regularly and consistently. Plus, it’s taking less effort from our server to do so. Now that’s what we call setting a strong foundation.

Outgoing Emails Get Some Attention, Too
checkboxesWe’ve always relied on Amazon Web Services SES to help deliver your emails to patients. It’s a really big part of why Atlas works in reaching so many people every day. Remember when you had to verify your email address before it would work? We’ve integrated Amazon Web Services even deeper into the EMR so you don’t have to prove you’re you anymore… we’ll just know. Bonus: this makes us even more compliant with anti-spam rules. If you’re all about the details, that means all emails sent out by Atlas are now fully SPF (no, not the sunscreen), DKIM and DMARC (do these sound like entertainers to anyone else?) compatible. This alphabet soup tastes like the three most important spam control protocols in effect for modern emailing, and we think that’s delicious.

Don’t Forget The Stuff You Can See!
So far we’ve talked about invisible updates, but there are a couple you’ll notice on the front end, too. For example, Atlas.md now supports multiple credit cards for companies whereas before only patients were graced with this feature. Oh, and now you can send your patients a welcome email even if you enroll them manually. We’re not leaving anyone out!

More Than a Million Bucks in Savings. Horn, Tooted.

Saving patients money is a huge part of what Direct Care’s all about. There are all kinds of ways DPC is geared to do it: low monthly subscription fees instead of outrageous insurance premiums, the reassuring mentality that patients only pay for what they need, and last but certainly not least is that DPC offers wholesale prescription prices – something that immediately (and very visibly) helps ease the pressure on bank accounts everywhere.

On that note, Atlas.md is having a really proud moment to the tune of more than a million dollars…

MillionDollarsAtlas.md was created by DPC docs who are literally on the front line of the Direct Care movement. They thought of everything, and their EMR is how they walk the walk. From fully supporting in-house pharmacies so it’s easier to offer wholesale prescriptions to pointing out GoodRx coupons when they’re applicable, Atlas.md helps its docs save their patients money on the regular. But just how much are we talking? This EMR has saved patients who belong to a DPC practice using it upwards of one million dollars.

The best part? That number continues to grow every single day. Just like support for Direct Care.

 

Posted by: AtlasMD

February 29, 2016

Two Step Authentication

Have you been wondering how to activate or deactivate two step authentication on the Atlas.md EMR? We just launched a new video that will help you with the process, and you can read more about it in the help section or shoot us an email at hello@atlas.md if you have any questions.

While some clinics prefer to activate two step authentication, it’s all about your personal preference. What do you choose to do? Feel free to follow up in the comments or check out the forum or leave a comment below to discuss and explore with other DPC physicians.

ACH Is Here and It’s Easier Than Ever To Accept Payments

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There’s a new way to accept payments through Atlas, and it’s going to make things even better for you and your patients. We’re excited to announce the launch of Atlas.md’s ACH acceptance.

Here’s the scoop. By now you know that you can accept credit and debit payments. And that’s been great. But ACH is a way for you to accept payments directly from your customers’ bank accounts. If you remember, back in November, we lowered your transaction payments from 2.5% to 2.1%, but this new addition makes it even cheaper to accept payments from your patients.

The cool thing about ACH (besides the convenience) is that the charge per transaction is only going to be 25¢, which is less than the current 2.1% + 30¢ per transaction for credit/debit card payments. While it does take about 7 days for your patients’ funds to go through, this can add a bit more flexibility to your payment acceptance options.

Accept Multiple Types of Payment

ACH acceptance is a win-win: it lets your patients send money directly from their bank, so they have less to worry about, and it allows your clinic to accept payments without paying high transaction fees. And it’s a win-win that includes no learning curve.

To accept ACH payments, just follow some simple instructions:

  • Go to the patient billing page, and then add a new bank account.
  • Enter your patient’s name, account number, and routing number.
  • You’ll receive a confirmation message that the bank account has been added and needs to be verified.
  • The customer will get an email with details about the process and a link that they can use to complete the verification.

That’s it! Go ahead and get set up with ACH today or read some more specifics about how ACH works here.

Announcing the Atlas Direct Care Curriculum!

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Announcing the Launch of a Tool that Teaches Everything about DPC.

We’re big believers in doing things the right way, which is why we’ve put together a comprehensive curriculum teaching about Direct Care. And since we don’t think you should have to pay for doing your homework, we’re offering the curriculum completely free of charge – just like our consulting services!

Okay, so let’s dive in. What’s this curriculum all about anyway? It covers all the most important aspects anyone considering DPC would wonder about:

• What is Direct Care?
• What Does it Mean to Cut Out the Middleman?
• Is Direct Care Right for You?
• How Much Will it Cost to Start a DPC Practice?
• What Technology Will I Need to Run a Smooth Practice?
• The Ins and Outs of Insurance in the Direct Care Model.
• Charging and Billing for Direct Care Services.
• Running an In-House Pharmacy.
• Making the Transition: How to Approach Patients About Your Decision to Switch to DPC.
• Marketing Your Direct Care Practice.
• Creating Value for Your Patients.
• Staffing Your Direct Care Clinic.

Additional Resources Galore.

Each lesson features additional resource links so you can continue your education if you so choose. Plus, we’re including our starter packet, stuffed full of templates and real life examples you can actually put to use in your Direct Care practice. We’re talking things like price comparison, Medicare agreements, conversion letters to patients, labs pricing spreadsheets and more.

Who Do You Know?

So, who do you know who might be interested in Direct Care? This curriculum covers multiple angles, including someone starting their practice right out the residency gate and someone transitioning from a long career in traditional healthcare. Send them to the curriculum where they can learn everything there is to know about Direct Care – at your own pace. All the information is available online, or you can have lessons delivered weekly to your inbox.

Less Talk. More Action!

Alright, now that you know the curriculum exists it’s time to check it out. Delve into it yourself, or pass it on to a colleague you think would benefit from Direct Care. Go, go, go!

Visit the Atlas Direct Care Curriculum. >

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 24, 2014

The Right People are Asking the Right Questions.

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It’s a great time in healthcare.

Not only because more and more Direct Primary Care practices are popping up all over the country. Not only because patients are spreading the word about how DPC is working for them. And not only because now more than ever, doctors actually want to practice medicine.

There’s another reason why it’s such a great time to be in healthcare amid swirling chaos in the form of health insurance, doctor burnout and misinformation.

Medical students are asking for DPC training. 

And what’s better, the DPC community is willing to teach it.  Read more

THE HILL: The Pinch of the Primary Care Bottleneck

“According to a 2013 study by the Commonwealth Fund, 26 percent of 2,000 Americans surveyed said they waited six days or more for a doctor’s appointment when they were sick or needed care.”

If that snippet isn’t enough to convince you DPC is the way to go (you know, the whole same day scheduling, home visit thing), then maybe nothing will.

But in a world where a traditional primary care physician has 2,000 patient charts on her desk and must spend 17.4 hours per day to provide them with adequate care, the truth is that the fluidity of DPC is better for everyone. In a nutshell, physicians are doing what they love (caring for patients and as a result loving their jobs) and patients are getting what they deserve (quality healthcare in an available, comfortable format).

Plus, did you know DPC integrates with the ACA

“…the ACA allows DPC practices to offer coverage in the health insurance exchanges when combined with a wraparound catastrophic insurance policy provided by a qualified health plan (QHP). The QHP is used for hospitalization, specialty care and other more costly services. To date, there are no DPC practices operating in the federally facilitated exchanges, but the first DPC offering paired with a QHP will be available in the Washington state exchange in January 2015.”

Bottleneck, busted.

Posted by: AtlasMD

September 17, 2014

Atlas MD Podcast 20 – Answering the Why.

Atlas MD Podcast 20 – Answering the Why.

STREAM EPISODE 20 OF THE ATLAS MD PODCAST ON iTUNES >

Direct Care is expanding! More and more clinics are opening their doors using the Direct Care model, including specialty practices like endocrinology, and psychiatry clinics. The chiropractic community has also been listening lately, some of them adopting a monthly membership model themselves. Lending to a busy upcoming travel schedule, the Atlas MD team is working hard to not only dispel the myths of Direct Care, but continue to answer questions and educate those who want to learn more about this model of healthcare.

In this Podcast: Answering the Why.

Derived from a talk on behavioral economics, Drs. Josh and Doug explore how people make decisions based on their financial situation. The method of explaining how a $50 monthly is better than a $20 copay can be phrased different ways to get different responses – and being able to explain those situations comes from knowing why you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place.

Listen in to find out how Direct Care medical professionals have the best “Why” ever.

STREAM EPISODE 20 OF THE ATLAS MD PODCAST ON iTUNES >

VIDEO: Direct Care Explained in 10 Minutes.

If you’ve been looking for an elevator pitch to make a case for this healthcare model, search no longer. Dr. Josh had the pleasure of speaking at the Louisville Airport Crowne Plaza for the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. In a short time allotment of 10 minutes, Dr. Josh lays out the premise of Direct Care.

Direct Care clinics are laying down roots all over the country. Don’t believe us? See for yourself over at iwantdirectcare.com. Patients have expressed their interest, docs know exactly where they’re wanted. Don’t forget to put yourself on the map while you’re there!