The $3 trillion spent annually on U.S. healthcare is expected to grow to an estimated 18% of the gross domestic product by 2018.(1) Increasing demands placed on physicians and their non-clinical personnel are expected to grow along with this. As political debates rage in Congress that will affect the future of American healthcare’s changing insurance laws, regulations and finances, the question for a successful medical practice is not whether its non-clinical staff will keep up with the complex business environment of medicine, but rather, how. Practice Management Institute points to what has proven to be the most effective and efficient means for training administrative staff.

“It’s imperative that offices be staffed with well-trained professionals so that the physician can focus on the main mission at hand: the health of his or her patients,” said David Womack, president and CEO of Practice Management Institute (www.pmimd.com/) (PMI). “Access to training resources that protect providers from risks is imperative in today’s highly regulated healthcare environment.”

Shiftelearning.com cites a Brandon Hall study which found that eLearning requires approximately 40% to 60% less employee time than studying the same material with an instructor in a classroom setting. It can be done asynchronously, when the student needs it, in a way that doesn’t interrupt workflow.(2) Self-scheduled training can be controlled according to the demands of an individual employee who is dealing with high levels of stress and a long workday.

“In the last few years it has become more difficult for medical office staff to get away from the office to attend training,” said Womack. “But with big changes in physician reimbursement models and potential for healthcare breaches and billing audits, the need for training is more important than ever. That’s why earlier this year, we adapted much of our medical coding and billing, and office management curriculum to an eLearning format.”

In an Ambient Insight report on the 2012-2017 mobile learning market, a whopping 42% of the companies studied said that eLearning had led to increased revenues.(3) For medical groups, increased efficiency and profitability were shown to lead to upgraded clinical facilities, which then helped them to compete in attracting more qualified doctors, nurses and technicians. The net result was improved patient care.

“Traditional classroom learning is still a big part of what we do,” said Womack. “Bringing our curriculum Online (www.pmimd.com/onlinetraining/ meets the needs of more professionals in places where we don’t teach, or to provide an opportunity to train when it’s convenient for the student. Whether taught in a classroom or via PMI’s Online Training Center, our faculty and curriculum are focused on helping medical office professionals improve individual job performance and overall practice productivity and compliance.”

Online training certificates offered by PMI include certification for medical coding billing, management, and compliance professionals. Training is applicable to a wide spectrum of specialties. For more information on PMI’s certifications and training programs, please visit http://www.pmiMD.com.