The best EHR Software offers a mechanism to keep track of the typical medical (and clinical) information gathered about a patient. By streamlining many of the tasks essential to running your clinic, clinic management software can help you increase revenue. The Best Free EHR software programs support clinicians and HCPs in maintaining HIPAA compliance while also performing at their highest levels of effectiveness and patient care.
However, if you do not use specialized EHR solutions for your specialty clinical or medical practice (for example, occupational medicine; rehab therapy, which includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology; wound care; urgent care), you are missing out on the advantages a top EMR platform offers, freeing up resources so you can concentrate on giving your patients high-quality care.
There are several features that can be include in the healthcare software that is use to offer you EHR solutions. Here are some of the most typical EHR system characteristics that the clinical management software you are using or contemplating should include.
Benefits of EHR Software
Simple Patient Scheduling
Appointment-setting features in a complete EHR should make it simple for office personnel to book patients, register them, and select a reason for their visit.
This EHR automatically texts or emails patients to remind them of their appointments to help increase collections and decrease no-shows.
Take notes more easily
EHR systems frequently come with medical speech-to-text features that make taking notes easier. These technologies enable you to focus on providing direct patient care while letting the EHR record your talks.
Simpler access to the charts and notes
Your days of sifting through crammed file drawers are past thanks to EHR technology. Instead, you can easily access a digital interface that makes finding and retrieving charts and notes much faster. Higher-quality patient care results from this expanded access. According to HIPAA laws, medical software stores patient records.
Increased knowledge of harmful medication interactions
If you prescribe medicines that might interact dangerously with one another, the majority of EHR systems will notify you. It is impossible to implement this proactive safety feature using manual charting and note-taking techniques.
Improved interaction with other professionals
EHR system interoperability guarantees the speedy transfer of patient information from one party to another, whether it is inside or outside of your Free Practice Management Software. By doing this, you can make sure that no medical personnel will have any difficulties providing treatment for your patient.
Intelligent Workflows for Patients
To maximize efficiency, it’s essential to understand how patients travel through your office.
In order to remove bottlenecks, the most effective EHRs continuously monitor patient workflows. A clean examination room should always be available in a practice, therefore patients should never be made to wait there.
Strengths in task management
Make certain that your EHR can assist you in managing the auxiliary, boring chores that fill your everyday agenda. A good system will prompt you to sign documents, examine test findings, approve prescriptions, and respond to patient messages.
You won’t waste time waiting at the fax machine, seeking lost patient information, or looking for misplaced charts since you’ll have a clear picture of all that has to be done.
Streamline Patient Interactions
We are all aware that one of the main goals of implementing an EHR is to speed up the patient charting procedure so you can see more patients each day.
Your EHR should make it simple to retrieve patient records, including information on drugs, allergies, pre-existing conditions, vaccines, and other crucial details.
The most effective EHRs allow you to swiftly capture clinical material so you can document normal conditions and abnormalities with a few easy mouse clicks, ultimately cutting down on transcribing time and expense.
Models and Sets of Order
How frequently do you treat various individuals with the same ailment each week? You can create order sets and templates while you treat patients using a workable method. Reusing these order sets later, when you visit patients with comparable diagnoses, will significantly cut down on time spent and expedite the clinical encounter.
Comprehensive Meaningful Use Reporting
Big data and analytics are prevalent today. Real-time access to clinical and financial data should be provided by an EHR, allowing you to make the best choices for your practice.
Another crucial component of an EHR is the capability to produce in-depth reports that demonstrate your progress toward Meaningful Use across core and menu criteria. This will give you insight into the areas on which you should concentrate in order to attest to those much-desired government benefits.
User Interface That Is Easy to Use and Beautiful
The EHR should be made to feel natural and easy on the eyes because doctors spend one-third of their time using it.
You’ll just need to utilize a few mouse clicks to navigate the system thanks to drag-and-drop functionality and small screen openings.
The finest EHRs save time and effort by capturing all of the healthcare information throughout an interaction on a single screen without refreshing any pages.
Continual Access on Any Device
Verify again that your EHR is usable on both Mac and PC. You can never be sure which machine will be using the software when you access it.
Web-based solutions must be compatible with Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari if you’re looking at them. A physician of today must be able to use technologies with ease. Also necessary is constant access to patient records.
Avoid Being Legally Surprised
And finally, be prepare to sign a contract with any seller. Have a plan in place for when the contract expires and be aware of how long it will last. Make sure the following is cover as you review the contract:
Improvements
How frequently are new versions of the EHR software released, and are there any additional fees involved?
Instruction and Assignment
How many training hours are offered? Is the instruction in-person or online? Will there be an additional fee for the training as well as the travel expenses?
Encourage
Is support offer around the clock? Are the only available methods of communication emails and cases, or may you call someone for phone support?
Add-on expenses
Many EHRs are not integrate systems. As a result, extra fees apply to the features of the program you saw in the presentation, such as the patient portal, appointment reminders, and telemedicine. Your contract will contain details on both this info and the added expenses.
Duration of Contract
Will the agreement be renewed in one year or five years? Can you terminate the agreement at any time?
Accessing data
Is it specified in the agreement who will have access to your data?
Data Transfer
Will you be able to retrieve your data and will the vendor help with this process if you decide to terminate the contract and transfer to another EHR?