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.

Medicalsoftware.com, the nation’s premier Medical Billing outsourcing company has partnered with MedAppz to cross-promote their services and products. MedAppz is one of the best CCHIT certified EHR software companies out there.

“This partnership will help medical practitioners to make a stress free transition as medicalsoftware.com will integrate and customize MedAppz EMR Software into existing medical practices. Medicalsoftware.com provides the preloaded EMR software free with 60 hours of training.” says Marc Haberman, CEO, Medicalsoftware.com.
Electronic medical record software has revolutionized medical practices, rapidly becoming a necessity rather than a luxury. After intense research, Medicalsoftware.com has teamed up with MedAppz to provide medical practitioners with this unique offer that will translate into huge savings. MedAppz is a user-friendly and intuitive system created by physicians who understand the challenges and day-to-day operations. This software is easily available through any internet connection and browser.
The average doctor spends approximately $25,000 when switching to EMR Software. They could save all that money with this valuable offer and pocket the government stimulus money as well!!

This partnership will complement the U.S Government’s policy to add 2% to Medicare payments if the medical practitioner makes the transition to EMR and demonstrates meaningful use. As the electronic healthcare movement accelerates, this encourages hospitals and doctors to make the switch now, computerizing all medical records and billing when they can still take advantage of government stimulus benefits.

To learn more about the partnership and get free CCHIT certified EHR software, with implementation and customization, visit www.medicalsoftware.com or call 1-800-966-9270.

Electronic medical record (EMR) software is quickly becoming a necessity rather than a luxury in the field of medicine. In fact, President Obama recently asserted his intention to completely digitize all medical records in the nation over the next five years; practices that fail to do so will be penalized by a reduction in their Medicare funding. All requirements aside, there are many reasons why a physician would want to adopt EMR software for his or her practice; in fact, this type of medical software actually has many different applications and uses beyond mere patient data management.

In addition to providing doctors, nurses and other medical care practitioners with an electronic space for patient data, transcripts, notes and observations – the standard medical record fare – EMR software can also help streamline coding and billing, appointment-making and scheduling, and prescription writing. Most programs also offer search capabilities, so a patient’s record can be found quickly and easily by entering certain specific terms or keywords, and many provide forms and templates to make the process of creating new records or adding to existing records even easier.

As with any type of medical software, the ultimate goal of these EMR programs is to benefit the physician, the practice, and – by extension – the patient. To that end, here are a few of the reasons why you may want to consider using electronic medical record software in your practice if you haven’t already made the switch:

• It’s efficient. Stop wasting valuable moments searching for misplaced files or thumbing through page after page to find a specific piece of information!
• It’s convenient. All of the information you need will be right at your fingertips, not off in a storage space somewhere.
• It’s cost-effective. You can reduce the size of your staff and your storage expenses through the use of EMR.
• It’s accurate. Sidestep problem like illegible handwriting and careless filing.
• It’s secure. Records can only be accessed by individuals with special identification codes.