Medical people are not very tech savvy and they are often daunted by the software terminology and technology. The task of understanding the IT technology is made complicated due to the inherent culture of software people in inventing new terms at a faster pace than anyone can comprehend.
The research shows, medical people are often a late adopter of IT technology, be it social media or software to enhance practice. In practice management, it all started with various billing software that continued to add features for medical practice. Thus the early software of medical practice management were born. Soon many doctors adopted the electronic medical record (EMR) systems, shifting most of the paper information on electronic media, with some added features to manage patient scheduling, integration with billing, helping to monitor patient care, easy access to patient’s health history.
From EMR to EHR
The early EMR systems did help to manage the practice more efficiently, though they were not always easy to learn and had limited advantage over the traditional paper format. In fact, some of the doctors found them even slower than paper work. Thus leaving a bad taste in the mouth of some medical professionals.
But as the technology evolved, software improved at a quick pace, taking advantage of a better understanding of needs, improved connectivity. Modern practice management software understands the need of involving the patient and other healthcare partners, this gave birth to similarly sounding, yet much feature rich concept called electronic health record (EHR).
EHR is the big brother of EMR, and if a doctor is using EMR then there are serious reasons to upgrade. As the cell-phones have become smarter in a last decade or so, so have the practice management software. Now most of them would take the advantage of cloud technology, easy sharing of data between departments and locations. The patients also have access and control of their medical records. Integration with partners mean that results of lab tests can be directly added into the medical record of the patient by the lab. Use of connectivity means, better scheduling, reminding, information sharing. Newer practice management software is a completely new concept, thus not implementing the latest EHR is similar to refusing from the usage of the smart phone.
Basics of EHR
Good EHR does not have to be expensive
Cost is the first thing that comes to our mind whether we are implementing the EHR or looking for an upgrade. But things have changed a lot in last five years. These days EHR systems are not expensive, with many offering trial periods or even free versions to start with. You mostly pay for the premium features, and they will surely result in cost saving for you in the long run.
Know the platform
It is important that the solution must be available for use on the maximum number of the platform, on your computers and laptops, mobile phones. These days cloud based solutions are quite common, meaning that they are not dependent on the platform or location, and data sharing is also easier. So you will have your EHR system available even if you are on your tab or phone and attending the conference. With every technology do come to some challenges. With cloud based platforms it is very important to know about the security and data privacy. Some of the companies offering cheaper or free service may be making money by selling the patient’s data.
Know the scope of EMR for your practice
One size does not fit all, each EMR is made by keeping in mind different categories of users. Some systems are better for hospitals while other for ambulatory conditions. Size of practice also matters a lot, some systems are made for large teams, while other are better suited for the individual independent practitioner.
Most sought after EMR features
Below is the list of features that most practitioners find useful, this it is important that good EMR system should include each of them;
- E-prescribing
- Easy access to patient information
- Allow other team members to access and edit patient information
- Allow for drug interaction and allergy check
- Incorporation of data from clinical lab test results
- Provide clinical summaries of visits to the patients
- Billing system integration
- Auto-reminders
- Document scanning
- Medication tracking
What to know before buying or changing your EMR/EHR
Below is the list of things you must know and ask yourself and the vendor before you choose a EHR system for your practice or institution, these questions are based on the recommendation of American Medical Association;
1. What are your exact needs?
It is you who have to identify the exact needs and expectations from the EHR, you should have a clear understanding of problems that you expect EHR system to solve. You need to carefully analyze your workflow, know the needs of integration of EHR with pre-existing systems being used in billing, lab, colleagues.
2. Does EMR offer all the functions for your needs?
Know about the features, and ask about the customization options and costs related to it.
3. How will you transfer your existing data to the new platform?
Does the vendor provide such services, or it can be done easily and automatically, or all have to be transferred manually?
4. Does vendor provide fully functional trial?
This will help you to test the features in real life conditions, after testing you can identify the missing features.
5. What is vendor’s experience in providing such services?
For how much time vendor has been in business? who are the important clients who could recommend their product? Who are the clients of the vendor (hospitals, private practitioners, their specializations)?
6. Are real costs of the product understood?
Pay special attention to the hidden cost, like product may not be expensive but customization may be very expensive. Per user license fee, maintenance costs, costs of future upgrades.
7. Is training cost included in the products?
8. Where does your data reside, and as per agreement who has the access to the data?
9. What happens if the system fails or you are not satisfied?
10. What are the warranties?
So before attending the sales call from any vendor, you must do your own research and be prepared with the questions and information so that nothing is missed.
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