These are digital versions of a patient’s paper medical chart that can be utilized for a specific diagnosis and course of treatment and are maintained by one provider. It contains the medical background, prescriptions taken in the past and present, diagnoses, allergies, and more. Electronic Health Record or EHR is the digital version of records focusing on the patient’s total health going beyond standard clinical data collected. One of an EHR’s main advantages is that it is collaborative, allowing for sharing of acquired data with other healthcare professionals. It enables one to keep track of all the critical clinical data relevant to the patient’s supplementary information, including insurance, lab results, demographics, treatment progress notes, and more. EMRs and EHRs are frequently interchangeable and relatively similar as these are digital versions of patients’ health records.
Benefits of using EHR/EMR Software
Today, electronic health records software is in high demand since it has significantly enhanced record-keeping processes. To achieve the best outcomes and productivity, many hospitals and healthcare organizations are using this software and integrating it into their systems. It is an essential step in digitizing the healthcare industry and enhancing patient data management. The benefits of using this software are given below:
Giving patients complete, accurate, and up-to-date records The health data is more precise and complete, meaning proper diagnoses Making patient data easily accessible for more coordinated, effective care Sharing electronic data with patients and other physicians in a secure manner Assisting healthcare professionals in safer care delivery, medical error reduction, and improved patient diagnosis Improving convenience for patients and providers as well as interactions between the two. Safer, more reliable prescribing is made possible. Accurate, streamlined coding and invoicing are also encouraged. Patients’ health records or data security and privacy are improved. Providers’ productivity and work-life balance are aided. Reducing expenses through decreased paperwork, decreased duplication of testing, and improved health.
How does EHR/EMR Software improve the healthcare industry for patients?
Effectiveness and Convenience Any administrative or medical team that works with physical papers and records may find that sorting through such papers is a regular part of their job duties. This is laborious and slow, wastes time that one’s team could use elsewhere, and reduces production. On digital systems, finding the required information is considerably simpler and typically requires a few keystrokes, saving you time and effort. Simplified access to patients for patients, accessing their medical records regarding prescriptions, disease, or more becomes relatively easy with this software. The online patient portal offered by an electronic health record system allows patients to view their medical records whenever and wherever they choose. Improved Care Coordination To provide better care, clinicians from many specialties and disciplines work together on patient outcomes. Using digital records, clinicians can more readily coordinate and monitor patient care across practices and facilities. To coordinate and schedule services throughout a single visit rather than requiring numerous time-consuming visits, the Mayo Clinic2, for instance, offers a “one-stop care” system that brings all of the services a patient requires—office visits, testing, surgery, and hospital visits—under one roof. Sharing or Transfer of Records Better and quicker decisions can be made, especially in urgent situations, thanks to the capacity to disseminate information among disciplines, specializations, pharmacies, hospitals, and emergency response teams, as well as having on-demand access to charts via mobile devices. Enhanced Security Suppose you leave paper records unattended, or your physical storage area isn’t as well guarded as it should be. In that case, they are easy to lose, easy to destroy accidentally, and possibly simple to steal. Since they are stored in a database that you need the proper login information to access, online EHR solutions can be significantly safer.
Major features of EHR/EMR software
Software for electronic health records provides a variety of functionalities. Listed below are seven critical features of EHR software:
Portal of patients: Medical records, immunization records, information on allergies, medications, and more. Patient record management: Clinical history, medical records, previous appointments, medications, and more. Medical history: Past medical conditions, specific medical problems, past treatments, etc. Reminders: A feature beneficial to both doctors and patients. It will notify them when to receive medicine refills, schedule checks, examine patient records, and more so they don’t miss their appointments. Charting: Doctors and nurses work extra hours after their shifts to complete the paperwork and prepare the charts, as charting requires a lot of time. Due to speech recognition integration, customized charting templates, and other features of EHR software, this process is made much more accessible. Payment management: Better payment and billing systems can be created with EHR/EMR software. It can save information about previous invoices, outstanding payments, projected expenses, and more directly in the patient’s medical records. E-prescribing: The e-prescribing feature of EHR software allows medical specialists to send prescriptions to patients electronically. In this method, the prescriptions can also be periodically saved in the medical files so that the patients and doctors can readily find them in the future.
Other essential features in the software of EMRs/ EHRs include – Lab analytics, Communication, Customised templates, Task management, and more. Some of the top software of EHR/ EMRs that are used worldwide are given below:
athenahealth
To maximize hospitals’ capacity to deliver high-quality healthcare, athenahealth offers network-enabled services, mobile apps, and data-driven insights. It creates custom cloud-based software solutions that facilitate clinicians’ work. It has helped healthcare organizations maximize productivity and efficiency by handling repetitive and time-consuming tasks. The comprehensive toolset from athenahealth connects doctors with patients and partners so that practitioners can concentrate on their patients’ health. It adds capabilities for patient interaction, revenue cycle management, and electronic health records that provide anytime, anywhere access, improving both financial and health outcomes. Some other features include hand-free documentation, patient engagement, mobile app, care coordination, and telehealth, to name a few.
AdvancedMD
AdvancedMD has over 20 years of experience integrating healthcare systems and optimizing workflow using cloud solutions. It is a fully integrated, cloud-based software platform for electronic health records, invoicing for medical services, and patient engagement. To automate and streamline your EHR, scheduling, billing, and patient communication, use AdvancedMD’s comprehensive toolkit. It was developed for all types and sizes of outpatient offices. The software helps you build your own set of services or a custom suite, suitable for all practices of any size or scope. Though designed for mobile devices like tablets and phones, this EHR software is simple to install on any desktop. It enables an organization to boost practice traffic and revenue without compromising patient care quality.
SimplePractice
SimplePractice is the only practice management system that enables one to operate entirely online, on-site, or anywhere in between. It offers telehealth integration (i.e., the provision of healthcare remotely using telecommunications technology), electronic appointment booking, paperless intakes, and more. The company creates software that makes the administrative part of private practice simpler. In simple terms, they provide practitioners the tools they need to succeed as business owners and as service providers. The user can manage and even expand their business if they have more clarity and control over it, and the software created by SimplePractice provides the same. Some of the top features provided are telehealth, client portal, scheduling, documentation, billing, and insurance, to mention a few.
Practice Fusion
Considered the biggest electronic health records (EHR) cloud platform in the United States, Practice Fusion is dedicated to providing small, independent medical practices with intuitive and simple-to-use health IT solutions. Presently, it is helping 30,000 medical offices and is providing 5 million patients with improved care each month. Additionally, Practice Fusion provides services that benefit all stakeholders in the healthcare system, including clinical laboratories, pharmacies, imaging facilities, health systems, and other players in the industry. These partners make use of the Practice Fusion platform to coordinate care and create cutting-edge initiatives that enhance the patient experience, lower costs, and improve healthcare outcomes. Some of the top features offered are: streamlining charting, prescribing seamlessly, connecting the healthcare sector efficiently, managing billing, and more.
RXNT
Healthcare professionals must combine providing for patients with their administrative responsibilities, and without the proper equipment, completing truckloads of paperwork can take important time away from patients. Switching to an RXNT software solution can make administrative chores easier and more accurate to execute. With its reasonably priced cloud-based healthcare software, healthcare professionals and their teams can devote more time to providing patient care, which is what one does best. And for healthcare professionals, RXNT provides a variety of electronic solutions, such as Practice Management, Electronic Health Records, and Electronic Prescribing software. Their integrated systems simplify administrative procedures while upholding compliance, which generates more money and makes patients happier. Some top features of this software are electronic prescribing, keeping electronic health records, practice management, telehealth, and more.
TheraNest
Built especially for mental health practitioners, TheraNest is a one-stop solution to streamline assessment, treatment, scheduling, and billing. TheraNest features:
Unlimited therapy notes indicating progress, treating plans, etc. Note co-signing Search and select DSM codes Electronic Claims & ERA files Multiple credit cards processing Generate invoices, receipts, and HCFA forms Client self-scheduling Appointment reminders and attendance tracking Android & iOS apps
Besides, this HIPAA-complaint software has fantastic customer support guiding you through its implementation in your clinical practice. What’s more? A free 21-day no-credit-card trial to experience all the goodness hands-on.
TheraPlatform
TheraPlatform is another mental health EHR that brings everything under a single hood. The software helps you efficiently manage scheduling, therapy notes, payment, treatment progress, billing, etc. You can place a booking widget on your website, syncing with Google calendar. Besides, this has text and email appointment reminders. TheraPlatform also features a separate client portal for secure messaging. Moreover, HIPAA-compliant video conferencing paves the way for productive teletherapy sessions. TheraPlatform has an excellent library of therapy notes that you can customize or build entirely new from scratch. There is more to it, including the built-in insurance console, Wiley Treatment Planners Integration, etc., that you can check out with its 30-day free trial.
Summing Up
Electronic health record-keeping will enhance patient care when used to its most significant potential. Healthcare professionals will have more time to focus on patient care rather than maintaining records. They will be able to share information and identify patterns in ways that were not feasible thanks to the use of electronic health records, which could result in quicker and more efficient treatments. You may also look at some of the best healthcare CRM solutions.
