There has been much debate over whether electronic medical record (EMR) software will protect or eliminate a patient’s right to privacy. Although the fears surrounding such unprecedented access to medical information may be understandable, in reality a quality EMR software system, combined with proper staff training protocols, can protect the integrity of medical records much more easily and thoroughly than paper filing systems.

In order to alleviate privacy concerns, it is important to ensure that your EMR software system is set up to store medical records in a legally correct manner. In fact, according to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), electronic records that do not meet certain Federal and State requirements can be challenged as legally invalid, claims may be denied and litigation can ensue. To avoid this, make sure you can easily demonstrate procedures that will prove your electronic medical records have not been altered.

A good system will combine the needs of your practice (including the need to correct mistakes and make changes from time to time), with preventative measures that exist solely to protect the legal integrity of the records and the privacy of your patients. For example, will your system keep track of who entered what data? Does it have an effective yet realistic “time-out” feature that will limit the amount of time that a record can be altered after it is created, before “locking” it for good? How frequently does the system require you to update and change passwords? Is each entry automatically time-stamped? These are just a few of the features that can help to prove the integrity of a facility’s EMR system, and they can also work to alleviate privacy concerns among patients.

While it may be natural on some level to fear the added control that seems inherent to centralizing records of just about anything, when it comes to our medical records we simply can’t afford to maintain the status quo. Paper recordkeeping systems are fast becoming a thing of the past, and the new digital recordkeeping era promises to provide us with unprecedented access to vital information so physicians from all backgrounds can begin to gain new insight into the human condition.

Once a medical facility has decided to implement a new electronic medical records system (EMR), it’s essential to become familiar with the various software and hardware requirements that exist. The capabilities of EMR software systems are virtually limitless, and costs increase with the number of features a system has. For this reason, smaller practices can often get by with a less complicated, and therefore less expensive, EMR software system than a larger hospital or medical facility.

In order to determine your facility’s software requirements, it is helpful to perform a cost-benefit analysis that will help you choose between various available systems. In order to avoid costly purchasing errors, it is essential to choose a system that fits your budget and your needs prior to implementation. In general, it is typically best to look for EMR software that meets every current need but can also easily be scaled to meet future requirements.

When conducting a cost-benefit analysis for EMR software, begin by having a clear understanding of what you will need the software to do. For example, systems can often produce data regarding your facilities’ staff to physician ratio, the average number of calls you receive in a given time period and the patient capacity of the center, to name only a few.

It is also important to gauge the amount of training your staff will require, and to determine whether or not that service is included with the price of the software package. Inevitably, there will be a learning curve as everyone gets used to the interface and various features of the software, and any resulting hurdles are much more easily overcome when training is provided during the implementation process.

In addition to providing the software, providers will also configure all hardware to meet the needs of your facility. In many cases, practices will find they must purchase a significant amount of new hardware in order to meet the needs of running a digital recordkeeping system. Since it is essential to provide the proper support for the infrastructure of your new system, the price of things like new server stations, printers and computers should also be figured into the cost-benefit analysis. It is also prudent to consider the longevity of new equipment, so be sure to work with a reputable dealer who will provide direction, support and maintenance if necessary.

While all of this may seem a bit overwhelming at first, healthcare facilities and physicians can ultimately save time and money by doing extra legwork on the front end of the project. EMRs are beginning to revolutionize the way we provide healthcare, so be sure to ask the right questions and consult with an EMR expert before choosing a software system for your facility.

In a new report from Scientia Advisors, health IT is named as the one area of the global healthcare products market that is growing the fastest. Although established electronic medical record (EMR) vendors who offer pre-packaged systems that are guaranteed to comply with “meaningful use” criteria (set by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) are still expected to gain a large percentage of this market share, the research firm also states that free and open source software could grow significantly in popularity and drive down the cost for healthcare facilities.

This new report comes after the Health IT Advisory Committee – a group that advises the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – approved the certification of open source medical software. Open source software utilizes code that is already written and is therefore readily available for anyone to use (non-proprietary). Subsequently, it also often happens to cost much less than other software systems that do contain proprietary code. Perhaps the best-known example of open source medical software can be found in the VA’s Vista EHR, which has been made accessible to software developers for some time.

For many medical practitioners, the issue of cost and questions about certification lie at the center of this discussion. If less expensive, open source software systems are indeed eligible for government aid, it is much more likely that the overall price of medical software systems will be brought down. In addition, the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has agreed to certify EMR software using the exact guidelines that are set forth by HHS, and the Health IT Advisory Committee has claimed that perhaps the guidelines previously set forth by CCHIT for medical software certification have been too specific. Some experts are predicting this shift will also help to pave the way for increased open source utilization.

All of this information bodes well for open source software users, especially for the doctors and healthcare facilities that stand to save substantially as a result of its allowance. In order to continue to make strides and convince physicians everywhere to adopt EMRs, it is essential that such innovative, effective options continue to be recognized as viable avenues to creating digital recordkeeping systems for medical providers.

Information technology (IT) plays an enormous role in helping medical facilities reduce errors and improve patient care – by making it possible for them to easily and efficiently adopt electronic medical record (EMR) software. Thanks to effective IT solutions, hospitals and other healthcare facilities have an easier time adopting EMR software, which allows them to benefit from the many improvements that digital recordkeeping systems have proven to bring in. The result is high-quality patient care and proper billing services.

For one thing, IT advancements have made it possible for a wide range of medical practitioners and facilities to save on the amount of money they would otherwise have to spend paying staff members to complete cumbersome manual administrative tasks. Today, EMR software allows facilities to centralize medical records digitally instead, while also giving authorized individuals universal access to important information that is stored in a standardized format.

Furthermore, IT developments in EMR software have helped to reduce the number of errors experienced by patients, insurance companies and healthcare facilities, since manual input and handling of sensitive patient data is greatly reduced. In addition, the administrative workers who are responsible for entering the data initially into the EMR software system often have more time to focus on accuracy, since other administrative tasks are eliminated entirely.

There is little doubt that IT improvements have had an immeasurable impact on EMR software by providing a safer, easier way to manage data faster, more efficiently, and more quickly than paper methods have ever allowed. EMR software also helps to prevent the threat of legal allegations and claims that can result from lost medical records in the event that a family practitioner dies or retires. No matter what the scenario, EMR software seems to help medical professionals focus more attention on patients by providing comprehensive data solutions that result in fewer errors and greater efficiency.

Certified medical software can help doctors increase profit and improve patient care. But how do you know if software is “certified”, and why does it matter?? For one thing, if medical records are going to go digital, it’s essential for state and federal governments to develop sensible, well-defined regulations.

The idea is ostensibly to encourage the adoption of electronic medical record (EMR) software systems that provide highly reliable, efficient recordkeeping, and which also protect patient safety and privacy – all the while eliminating sub-standard systems that could compromise the integrity of healthcare facilities by violating a patient’s right to privacy.

Certified EMR adoption is encouraged in part by provisions in the stimulus law that call for Medicaid penalties – that is, cuts in reimbursements for healthcare facilities that choose not to adopt a certified EMR software system. A recent report from the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute predicts that these Medicaid penalties could ultimately do more to encourage physicians to adopt certified EMRs than other incentives, including cash for purchasing and implementation.

Medicare and Medicaid are also offering maximum bonuses of $44,000 and $63,750, respectively, to help individual healthcare facilities adopt certified EMRs. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is responsible for choosing the criteria that will separate qualified EMR software systems from those that will not be eligible to receive incentives, and they have already announced that there will be multiple certification bodies, but each one will be required to certify EMRs using criteria specified by the HHS.

Although the development of the exact criteria is still part of an ongoing process, the Health IT Advisory Committee – a group responsible for advising the HHS – has announced that they will ‘grandfather in’ vendors that obtained certification for software systems in 2008 from the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT). Ultimately, it seems that physicians will be able to move ahead with confidence to implement new digital recordkeeping systems – as long as they take the time to ask the tough questions and understand all of the rules before jumping into the game.