By Kirsten E Silven

The ability to automate various office tasks is one of the greatest benefits to using electronic medical records (EMR) software. Not only does automation pay off financially for medical practices due to lower maintenance and operation costs, but it also increases efficiency and reduces the likelihood for human error. Here are some of the areas EMR software can help streamline operations and make your office run more smoothly:

Billing

The billing component of EMR software efficiently records all payments, both due and overdue, and will automatically send out reminders to patients who owe money, eliminating the need for a person to do so. This not only frees up employees to focus on more important tasks, like giving attention to patients, but it also virtually eliminates careless mistakes. And it takes just a fraction of the time that is required to send invoices manually.

Access

EMR software ensures that selected staff members automatically have access to the most up to date information for each patient. This is a critical component of proper medical care, but it can often difficult to implement in offices that are still using outdated paper recordkeeping methods. EMR allow everyone to view the most recently updated treatment plans, test results and all other patient-related data, eliminating the chance that new information could be overlooked.

Appointments

Follow-up appointments are often a critical part of treatment, but too many patients fail to schedule a return visit, simply because they are not reminded of the need to come in for a checkup. EMR software can automatically remind patients of appointments, and also makes updated calendars available to all staff members, taking the guesswork out of scheduling and eliminating errors.

Prescriptions

Electronic medical records software makes it possible to send a prescription electronically even faster than it takes to write one out on paper. Sending prescriptions using EMR software is also safer and more secure, since it is sent directly to the pharmacy instead of being hand carried by the patient, where it can all too easily be lost, stolen or misread. In addition, refills can be automated and physicians can choose how many refills a patient is authorized to receive, saving time for doctors, office staff, pharmacy staff and patients.

Patient Care

Staff members should have easy, immediate access to enter, monitor and record a patient’s vital signs using EMR software, giving patients the chance to receive accurate ongoing care and immediate attention in times of need. Physicians can also easily create charts that show either a particular patient’s overall health and medical history, or a wider demographic reading for larger groups of patients. This unprecedented access to data allows doctors to spot trends and evaluate the health of patients in a whole new way.

With EMR software, the sky (or the imagination) is the limit when it comes to the many ways it can help to revolutionize the healthcare industry. Not only are electronic health records  good for patients, but they also can help physicians easily and accurately automate mundane tasks, freeing up valuable resources to be used where they are needed the most.

Electronic medical records (EMR) software streamlines operations for doctors and makes keeping track of patients’ medical history a breeze. In today’s fast-paced world, it is essential that the healthcare industry utilize these new technologies to boost efficiency and quality of care.

Here are just a few ways EMR can make a physician’s job easier and improve the overall patient experience:

Increased Access

The time it takes to retrieve electronic records is just a fraction of the time it requires to track down paper files, and online software systems even allow physicians to access data and view test results from outside the office using handheld devices or personal computers! This allows patients to receive the best possible treatment no matter where the physician may be, since important information is available at all times, reducing the chance for error when a patient forgets to list drug allergies or mention a preexisting condition. Electronic medical records also allow specialists to easily access records that are being held by primary care physicians, and vice versa, making it much simpler to share data between various healthcare facilities.

Safety and Reliability

Choosing to operate a paperless clinic has multiple other benefits as well. Not only do electronic medical records protect the medical history of your patients by preserving all information in a safe, digital format, but they also cut down on human error by eliminating the need to hand write reports and rely on a receptionist to locate files. In addition, digitizing patient health records removes the inherent concern that paper files could be lost or destroyed, as long as regular backups are performed.

Improved Care

Other advantages for physicians who use electronic medical record software include the ability to order medications and procedures online, and the freedom to spend more time with patients and less time trying to transcribe, locate or decipher handwritten information. Although some physicians may not initially feel comfortable with the idea of these new technologies, EMR software is specially designed with the doctor and patient in mind. It is high quality, very user friendly and carefully crafted to anticipate the needs of both doctors and patients.

Electronic health records promises to increase the speed, quality and accuracy of how patients’ medical history is stored; giving doctors a much-needed new system for monitoring and adjusting treatments. As with other new technologies, electronic health records are sure to continue to gain in popularity and will soon be the norm, not the exception.

Electronic medical records (EMR) promise to transform how we will handle the many challenges of medical care in the new millennium. Medical experts from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds already agree that digitizing patients’ medical records can help to improve – and bring down the cost of – medical care, so now it’s simply a matter of making it happen! Here are some of the benefits of using electronic medical records.

Efficiency

Some large medical groups, consisting of hundreds – even thousands – of physicians, already use digital records. These have proven to better manage care for patients, especially those with the most costly chronic ailments. Doctors who use EMR can retrieve a patient’s entire medical history in mere seconds, eliminating the need to sift through a disintegrating paper file in order to determine past cholesterol, blood pressure or blood glucose levels. EMR software can also quickly and easily give detailed information about a patient’s allergies, past medical procedures and the current medication they are taking, to name only a few. In this way, comprehensive EMR systems can drastically improve physician efficiency and, consequently, the level of patient care.

Safety

Digital recordkeeping also happens to be one of the safest ways to preserve vital (and often sensitive) personal medical information. Unlike the fixed paper format so many doctors have used in the past, EMR are virtually indestructible as long as proper backup procedures and the latest anti-virus protection are employed. In addition, EMR software can alert physicians via email, phone or pager if the electronic data generated by the systems monitoring a patient suddenly transmits a need for immediate medical attention. Thus, EMR software not only protects and preserves a patient’s privacy, but it adds significantly to the level of immediate care each patient receives.

Cost

Luckily, the government sees the need to improve recordkeeping in medical offices and realizes that electronic medical records are the best way to do it. New financial incentives have been introduced via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to aid doctors in shouldering the cost. The Federal stimulus package contains $19 billion to help increase the use of EMR in doctors’ offices. The funds are available through Medicare and Medicaid, which have separate criteria and requirements that must be met in order to receive assistance.

When it comes to EMR, the good news is that the necessary technology itself is already widely available, so now it’s simply a matter of getting the entire medical community on board! One thing is for sure – there’s no doubt that EMR will bring unprecedented data about the medical history of patients directly to doctors’ fingertips.

Like many previous groundbreaking technologies, EMR are truly revolutionizing the healthcare industry and changing the way it handles the medical history of patients.

Are Electronic Medical Records (Electronic Health Records) providers transparent enough? Many million-dollar initiatives like the one by The University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center tried, failed because the EMR software that they chose had technical difficulties. The most important things that the EMR/EHR market can do to make new EMR implementations and initiatives a success is to be “transparent”. The non-disclosure clauses prevent purchasers from reporting any bugs in the software with the health IT vendor. All this will lead to a risk-free business environment for the health IT vendor but will lead to hurting the EMR market itself which eventually will affect the health IT vendor. One needs to careful while choosing a new EMR and it is best to seek help from consultants and companies who not only understand the EMR/EHR market but also will be able to implement, support and provide medical billing services.

Read More