855-455-5035 www.azcomp.com
NOVEMBER 2020
Empowering Small Practices to Deliver the Best Care
EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR BUSINESS AND YOUR PATIENTS
One of my passions here at AZCOMP is helping practices stay up to date with their technology. I love seeing our clients discover how putting careful thought into the way they use technology can make all the difference in providing truly great patient care. After six years of doing what I do, I’ve seen that happen time and again. But that also means I’ve seen professionals shy away from adapting to the newest technologies because they’re accustomed to the systems they’ve developed or feel that trying to grasp changing technology is just too daunting. In a profession where the health of your patients should take center stage, wanting to be a doctor first and an IT expert far from second is entirely understandable. But when you have the right tools in your belt and are trained to utilize them to their fullest, you’ll actually find that doing the medical part of your job is much more feasible, too. Technology in this space moves fast. Just 10 years ago, so many of the automated systems we have today were in their infancy. Appointment reminders meant someone on staff had to call each individual number to remind patients to come to their appointment. To get your patients to pay their bills, they either had to be prepared to write a check in person on the day of their appointment, or you had to wait weeks — sometimes months — to receive their payment in the mail. Before things like electronic health records, patient portal access, and even telehealth, patients couldn’t be nearly as connected with or proactive about their own health care. Today, technology makes all these actions as easy as pushing a button, and our health care system is better for it. With automated appointment reminders, people are showing up for their appointments more reliably. With a variety of ways to send electronic statements, patients can be much quicker and more secure when they pay their bills. As a result, medical practices are not only getting more revenue, but they’re also receiving it faster than ever before. The right technology can make your business better, which means you have an even higher capacity to serve your patients the way you want to and the way they deserve. The world we live in demands technological upkeep. In 2020 alone, many practices were forced to shut down because they couldn’t have people in their offices and didn’t have the technology
in place that allowed them to do their work from home. Those practices didn’t have any automated processes, no health record access, and no telehealth services. This year may have been an unpredictable outlier, but it’s a shining example of just how critical technology has become to the work you want to provide. Medical expertise is incredible, but if your practice isn’t backed by the right technology, you’ll end up with no way to provide the services you have to offer. If you want your business to thrive by giving your patients the best experience and care possible, the right technology can make that happen. AZCOMP can help you install the software and systems
you need, then train you and your staff on how to use them. We can walk you through how technology can bring business back into your office, generate revenue, and make patients happy. Change may be scary, but embracing it is much better for your practice and your patients. Let’s embrace it together.
–Erica Cluff Sales Account Manager
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.TheNewsletterPro.com
855-455-5035 AZCOMP Technologies www.azcomp.com • 1
THINK YOUR PASSWORD IS SECURE?
In 2014, nearly half of Americans had their personal information exposed by hackers. But choosing a complex or obscure password and changing it often can keep your data secure, even when your information is stolen. Here are some important realities to consider when choosing your next password. SIZE MATTERS Adding a single character to a password boosts its security exponentially. A password cracker utilizes a list of common passwords to discern the right one, so simply adding a single character can make that effort much more difficult. Here’s how adding just one character can increase the time it takes to crack a password:
CONSIDER CHARACTER TYPES Combining several types of characters (letters, numbers, cases, and special characters) is an effective way to make your password more cryptic. For example, the password “Password” can be cracked in just under the time it would take lightning to strike. But the password “P@ssw0rD” would take 14 years to crack. UPDATE OFTEN As technology evolves and hackers become increasingly proficient, passwords weaken. A password that was considered strong just a couple years ago likely isn’t nearly as effective today. That’s why it’s so important to update your passwords at least every few months. For example, when looking at how long it takes to crack the password “security1,” in the year 2000, it would have taken 3 years and 10 months, whereas in the year 2016, it took only 3 months. You can take just a few easy steps to exponentially minimize the risk of a password breach. Size is most important, so use at least 12 characters. Add a mix of characters and change your passwords every few months. Also be sure to steer clear of commonly used passwords, dictionary words, and popular terms. And don’t repeat passwords — come up with a new one for every account. These simple steps can give you so much more security and peace of mind. MEDISOFT, LYTEC, NEXTGEN, & APRIMA SUPPORT PLANS FOR HOSTING, BACKUP, AND MORE
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“abcdefg” (7 characters) = .29 milliseconds
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“abcdefgh” (8 characters) = 5 hours
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“abcdefghi” (9 characters) = 5 days
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“abcdefghij” (10 characters) = 4 months
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“abcdefghijk” (11 characters) = 1 decade
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“abcdefghijkl” (12 characters) = 2 centuries
SPOTLIGHT ON JUSTIN HENINGER
Justin has been an IT engineer with AZCOMP for five years and is excited about the shifting focus on the important role
Need Support? Call 480-497-7480 if you have a support contract. Don’t Have Support? Plans start at just $99 a month. Call us at 855-455-5035 to get started with support, training, electronic claims, electronic health records (EHR), hosting, backup, and more. We have so many tools and services to help your business become more efficient, keep its network protected, and remain a thriving independent practice. We want to help your practice perform at the highest possible level by providing services that help you get the most out of your software. Be sure to check our website often at azcomp.com/events to learn about upcoming trainings and other events we host. DON’T FORGET TO UPGRADE YOUR SOFTWARE!
users play in their own security with technology. “We always educate and train our clients on best practices for their systems,” Justin says. “These days, there’s a lot we can do from a security standpoint, but without proper team training and measures in place, great security really doesn’t matter. Hackers can trick their way in, especially via email.” Innovation and
improvement are the names of the game, but even engineers like Justin know there’s a point at which technology must bow to the end user. “I always like to recommend that businesses host yearly security awareness training for their employees to stay up to date with changes,” he says. “Also, remind your team not to mix personal accounts into their work. It’s just another way for harmful junk to get through.” AZCOMP prides itself on being at the forefront of good technology and good practices. People like Justin are the ones who get us there.
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You read that right — this handy little device is called a Turkey Cannon, and it’s an infusion roaster guaranteed to help you cook the most succulent turkey you’ve ever had and truly impress your family during this year’s Thanksgiving feast. It might look odd, but it has a basic concept some might recognize. Just like beer can chicken, the Turkey Cannon sits inside your bird, sending hot, flavorful steam directly into the interior so that it cooks from the inside and the outside at the same time. Its design also holds the bird at an angle so it can still fit inside nearly any oven. COOK THE PERFECT BIRD With the Camp Chef Sante Turkey Cannon
At the place where health care and advanced technology collide, one company is making strides that other major players still haven’t been able to grasp. While companies like Amazon are still working out the logistics of how to deliver basic items by drone to an impatiently waiting public, Zipline has spent the last four years narrowing their focus to one specific need in one part of the world: They’ve pioneered the delivery of crucial medical supplies to a network of hospitals in Africa. Launched in Rwanda in 2016, the San Francisco-based company now transports 75% of the country’s blood supply outside its capital city. In May 2019, Zipline moved their services into Ghana, as well, and in less than one year, they reached 2,000 hospitals and over 12 million people. Co-founder and CEO Keller Rinaudo knew that building a direct connection with the country’s civil aviation regulator, integrating with public health care supply chains, and developing and controlling all the company’s own technology were the keys to making such a feat happen. Through the use of carefully manned distribution centers that operate fleets of 30 drones and carry about 150 different medical supplies, including blood products and vaccines, Zipline can fulfill a hospital’s text message order within a 40-minute window. Zipline is now beginning to branch out and apply its experience and knowledge around the world. The company launched in India this year and is now looking to start bringing medical supplies to areas in North Carolina. This type of successfully orchestrated drone delivery service has thousands of consumer uses that millions are eager to utilize, and that could be what has made regular drone delivery still seem like a luxury of the future. Because Zipline has focused on serving a specific pool with specific needs, they’ve already been able to start mastering the process. It goes to show that finding a way to care for others first can lead to extraordinary success. DELIVERING CARE LIKE NEVER BEFORE Zipline’s Drones Help Save Lives
With the cannon, turkey cooks faster while staying juicier, as it absorbs the flavors from the liquid you’ve loaded into the cannon. And because the turkey is lifted up off the roasting pan, air circulates around it for even cooking and crisp skin, while built-in side forks keep it stable so it doesn’t tip. Best of all, the Turkey Cannon can also be used on chickens as small as four pounds, so you can take advantage of this ingenious kitchen tool any time of year.
The professional relationships we forge are the most important asset we have when it comes to growing our businesses. This concept is referred to as “networking,” but in today’s hyperconnected world, taking advantage of our existing relationships rather than focusing on forging new ones is the most high-return route to more business. “Success Is in Your Sphere: Leverage the Power of Relationships to Achieve Your Business Goals” by Zvi Band is an essential guide to doing just that. Band is the cofounder and CEO of Contactually, a top CRM platform for relationship-oriented business. The company has millions in venture backing and thousands of customers, including 8 of the top 20 real estate brokerages in the country. Band’s guidebook shows readers how to deepen their personal connections to achieve professional goals using his proprietary CAPITAL strategy: • Consistency: Develop good habits to form stronger relationships. • Aggregate: Build a database of professional contacts. • Prioritize: Order your network based on who can help. • Investigate: Collect intelligence on the most important people. • Timely Engagement: Create a steady cadence with your outreach. • Adding Value: Offer more than follow-up. • Leverage: Execute more effectively. The tools found in “Success Is in Your Sphere” can help you strengthen the connections you already have and use them to drive your business forward. It’s all about recognizing that you already have the right people on your side. Build Connections and Drive Business ‘SUCCESS IS IN YOUR SPHERE’
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How Better Technology Leads to Better Care PAGE 1 Is Your Password as Secure as You Think? AZCOMP Employee Spotlight PAGE 2 Delivering Care, One Drone at a Time A Tool to Help You Cook the Perfect Turkey AZCOMP Leadership Library PAGE 3 You Can Never Care Too Much PAGE 4
By Liz KINDNESS SHOULD BE BLIND D oodle4Google is an annual competition held by Google in various countries around the world. It features art from children who send in themed submissions to potentially be featured on the local Google homepage as a doodle. Students in kindergarten through 12th grade submit their doodle drawings according to the yearly theme, and 2020’s theme was “I show kindness by …” Of the thousands of drawings submitted from across the nation, this year’s winner was Sharon Kaur Sara of Frisco, Texas, from the 4th–5th grade group. She told Google, “I show kindness by sticking together with my friends in tough times. I drew people coming together and not thinking about the outside by being together because of their personality.” This message speaks volumes to the work we do here at AZCOMP both for our customers and for each other, and that’s best characterized by our core value “We Care About the One.” By caring about the one, we show kindness and empathy to those who need us the most. Whether that’s a frustrated voice on the other end of the phone calling to our support team or a coworker who needs to cry in our office after going through some tough
moments, we all care about the one without “thinking about the outside,” as Sharon put it.
Taking care of someone, in whatever capacity you can find a way to help, is one of the most noble things you can aspire to do. So always be the one who cares more. You can never care too much. It’s truly one of the most useful and valuable things we can do for ourselves and for others.
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.TheNewsletterPro.com
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