Electronic Medical Records or EMR solutions in healthcare software provides you with a way to maintain the standard medical (and clinical) data that is gathered about a patient. Having clinic management software can help you streamline many of the functions integral to running your practice as well as improving your bottom line. But, if you are not using specialized EMR solutions for your specialty medical or clinical practice (e.g. occupational medicine; rehab therapy, that includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology; wound care; urgent care), you may not be experiencing the maximum efficiency these systems provide, freeing you and your staff up to focus on providing quality health services to your patients.
Healthcare software that is used to provide you with EMR solutions can come with a variety of features. Here is a look at some of the commonly requested EMR features that should be a part of the clinical management software that you are currently using or are considering. These features include interfaces and systems integration, medical document scanning, medication tracking, e-Prescriptions, appointment reminders, and marketing support.
1. Interfaces and Systems Integration (including Billing & Hospital Information Systems)
Integration is one of the most important aspects of any Electronic Medical Records solution and is accomplished via interfaces that push or pull data between systems—in real time and on demand. Two common points of integration are an HIS or hospital information system, (if your practice is affiliated with a larger institutional network) and a billing system. Billing integration provides you with a way to streamline the billing process for your patients. It also improves the efficiency of your front office staff, and assists with the reduction of coding errors that can result in payment delays, costing you both time and money to correct. Reimbursements can happen at a faster rate, electronically, through the integration of the billing system within EMR solutions used by your medical or clinical practice.
This type of feature is in high demand for EMR solutions because of the way it reduces the time required to enter patient information each time a billing cycle occurs. Once your bulky patient files are initially loaded into the system, this data is quickly matched and can be sent electronically to an outside billing service or prepared in house. You are free to devote more time to patient care and efficiency of your operations.
2. Document Scanning
Document scanning is an important feature within specialized EMR solutions, allowing you to create custom workflows tailored to your clinic’s unique needs. With a document-scanning feature built into your EMR solutions, you have the ability to direct necessary supporting documentation to your in-house or external billing clerks, who in turn forward the completed submission for reimbursement. This eliminates the need to obtain, copy and fax documents and reduces the potential for missing paperwork or billing delays.
3. Medication Tracking
You can easily track medications prescribed to your patients and have information available at your fingertips with the medication-tracking feature as part of EMR solutions. One of the true values of medication tracking is the ability to determine if a prescribed medication interacts with other medications being taken by the patient. It can also be a useful and powerful tool for identifying allergic reactions and keep your patients safe from any potential, harmful effects.
Medication tracking features within EMR solutions can give you any warnings that may have been issued about a prescribed medication and suggest alternatives that may be equally effective in meeting the care needs of your patients.
4. E-Prescriptions
With e-Prescriptions, you no longer have to give your patients scripts with poorly written handwriting, hoping the receiving pharmacy correctly fills the order. e-Prescriptions provides your practice with the ability to electronically write prescriptions and either give a legible printout to the patient or direct the order directly to the patient’s pharmacy of choice. Strong EMR solutions also offer providers a secure portal for electronic prescription of controlled substances which is a highly regulated procedure based on state and Federal requirements.
5. Appointment Reminders
Being electronically connected through email via mobile devices, tablet computers and laptops means your ability to stay in contact with your patients is constant. An appointment reminder feature allows you to take advantage of this level of connectivity by sending reminders of appointments made. The EMR solutions will integrate with your scheduler and direct messages to patients, based on the frequency or amount of advance time you establish within the system. Patients can be given initial notification of an impending appointment, a reminder seven days in advance and 24 hours before the scheduled appointment. Automating this work is shown to result in both a significant time savings for the clinic and a decrease in missed appointments.
6. Marketing Support
Don’t forget, while you’re collecting data about your patients’ insides, an EMR system could be building a comprehensive view of your client base and performance output. Some specialized EMR systems provide you an opportunity to benchmark your team against current national performance. Knowing how you compare gives you the ability to better market your clinic. Are you in the top of your region for outcomes? Let everyone know what sets you apart! An EMR should have ways to easily access and report this information. You can then share the data with the community of doctors that refer to your clinic or leverage the stats to your success through public facing marketing.
When it comes to your EMR, it’s all about finding the right fit for your practice. Make sure all of your unique needs are being catered to by choosing the specialized EMR systems from Net Health. Our EMR systems steer clear of the standard ‘one size fits all’ approach taken by other EMR solutions, focusing on finding just the right fit to provide fast and agile solutions to your occupational medicine, rehab therapy, wound care, or urgent care clinic’s needs. Discover for yourself what makes Net Health the leader in specialized software solutions for outpatient care, and contact us today.