Industry Group Wants To Get Docs WiredIndustry Group Wants To Get Docs Wired

A new grass roots organization for doctors and dentists is trying to beef up its membership and get IT-laggard health care providers wired at the same time.

And while they're at it, the organization also has high hopes to change the health care system so that doctors and dentists get reimbursed for the free care they provide uninsured patients.

Among other perks for its annual $1,899 membership fee, the International Association of Dental and Medical Disciplines is offering health care providers hosted, customizable Web sites that support a number of electronic processes, including encrypted credit card billing, prescription renewals, and e-mailing.

"One side of the organization is focused on the technology," helping doctors and dentists, as well as chiropractors and other care providers, use the Internet for billing, purchasing, and communicating with patients, says Dr. John Ryan, an East Hampstead, N.H., dentist and founder of the organization.

But the larger mission of the organization is to push for industry and legislative changes in the health care system -- and technology can help there, too, he says.

Tech tools that will be available via IADMD can assist health care providers in tracking and accounting for the free care they provide to under-insured and uninsured patients.

For starters, Ryan says there aren't enough doctors and dentists in the United States who participate in local community health services programs that provide free care. So, often that patient load is divided among the few doctors who do participate. IADMD wants to get more doctors nationally to participate in those programs so that the patient load is more fairly balanced. However, "we don't get reimbursed" for a lot of care provided to patients, he says.

But by having doctors electronically tracking those services, Ryan hopes that IADMD can gather data that puts pressure on legislators and insurers to make changes to the health care system. That could include giving doctors, dentists, and other health care providers new tax credits for the free care they provide, he says.

"Right now, all we get is a 'thanks a lot,' " he says.

As for the Web tools that IADMD is making available to members, the organization also is considering ways to provide small doctors' offices with access to electronic medical records systems to replace paper-based files. Ryan says Microsoft's unveiling last week of free personal health records for consumers also could offer an alternative way for doctors to access digitized records of patients.