The cost of implementing a new EMR system can vary dramatically, ranging from one thousand to ten thousand dollars and beyond. Smaller practices should consider choosing a lighter version of good EMR software, as costs tend to increase as the systems become more feature-rich. To get the best deal and a system that has everything you need, first perform a cost-benefit analysis to determine what features are must-haves for your clinic’s purposes, and which ones you can easily live without. Take the time to find a product that meets all of your current needs and can be scaled to accommodate future needs as well.

As a basic starting point, make sure the system you choose allows you to collect information about the number of physicians that are employed by the facility, the total patient capacity, the staff to physician ratio and the average number of phone calls that are received on a daily basis. In addition, keep in mind that even entry-level EMR software systems will still require you to invest in staff training. On-site training will help you work through any initial issues that may arise and will ensure that everyone knows how to operate the interface and keep the workflow going.

It is also important to ask what types of additional hardware will be required. Whatever you have must complement the EMR software system in order to get the most from it. Choose reputable products that come with maintenance and support whenever possible. The same goes for the EMR software system itself – ask about annual maintenance needs and cost to ensure the system is kept up-to-date. Consider employing a networking professional to take care of your practices on an as-needed basis – this will save on cost while keeping your system updated.

Finally, small clinics should definitely check out government assistance options to help finance a new EMR system. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has allocated $34 billion in stimulus funds for the promotion and support of a national, health information system. In the long run, although it will cost some money to update your existing recordkeeping system to a new EMR software system, the time and money that is saved in the long run – not to mention the drastically improved patient care – makes it well worth the upfront expenditure.

The stimulus package has allocated $45 billion to helping the healthcare industry adopt electronic medical records, and requires the government to determine which software systems will be most beneficial and why. This process, aptly described as determining “Meaningful Use,” is still unfolding, with the main point of discussion currently revolving around deciding upon the speed at which physician groups, hospitals and technology vendors would be required to convert to digital recordkeeping systems.

Under the terms of the stimulus package, physician practices could receive up to $44,000 over a five-year period, while hospitals could receive a maximum of $15.9 million, to install EMR systems that meet “Meaningful Use” requirements. In contrast, the government would ultimately impose penalties on providers who do not choose to convert to electronic medical records by 2015, beginning with reducing Medicaid and Medicare payments by 1 percent in that year (and growing to 3 percent in subsequent years).

Whether or not systems are adequately “Certified” under the new standards that have been set by the stimulus package is also an integral issue for physicians hoping to receive incentives to adopt EMR software. Previously, certification was outsourced to a commission founded by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and was largely voluntary. But despite more than three years of certification, many EMR software systems are still not set up to communicate easily with one another, which has spurred the commission to turn its focus to ensuring that the certification process serves as a way to determine who will be eligible for stimulus funds.

Although some reports claim that seven out of 10 healthcare providers think EMRs would positively affect their practices, their patients and the industry as a whole, some physicians are still left wondering where to begin. On the other hand, many others are already making investments in IT initiatives. Whichever category you (and your practice) falls into, these new technologies will alter the medical landscape of this country and affect the way healthcare professionals provide patient care in the months and years to come.

The Obama administration has officially stated that EMRs can work to mitigate errors by allowing doctors to more efficiently coordinate care and to share information with one another accurately and instantly. Despite this – and despite the extraordinary success of EMRs that are already being used in respected, groundbreaking facilities like The Mayo Clinic – most healthcare facilities in this country have still not been equipped to share information, or to record and store data, electronically.

In addition, some experts estimate that doctors and nurses spend 40 percent of their time simply documenting patient data – essentially administrative work – that could be done much more efficiently using a centralized EMR software system. By replacing outdated data-entry tasks with new information technology solutions, medical facilities can empower employees by focusing on efficiency, thereby increasing profitability and the quality of care patients receive.

In fact, patient care is directly affected in a variety of ways by the adoption of EMRs. For example, the total number of records that are available when cross-referencing data directly affects the accuracy and implications of the information that is aggregated. In this way, anonymous but universal EMR sharing can create a data pool from which physicians and other healthcare practitioners pull and cross-reference information – including disease histories, incidents of drug interactions, and drug side effects – to name only a few.

The long-term positive effects that EMRs would have on healthcare costs, including research and development – not to mention patient care – are difficult to fathom, simply because many physicians have not yet experienced the ready access to comprehensive data that the universal adoption of EMR software provides.

Billing

Billing software is extremely important for everyone involved in the medical billing process, including doctors and hospitals, patients, insurance providers and coding and billing professionals. Medical billing usually involves entering the specific codes for services provided by physicians into a billing software program and submitting the claims to the insurance company and patient in question. Billing software helps billers get their job done faster, allowing physicians to receive payment for their services in a more timely fashion. It also allows many billers to successfully work from home. Of course, all billing software must be in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in order to safeguard patient privacy.

Transcription/Dictation

Another type of medical software that is widely used is for transcription and/or dictation. There are programs that make it easier for physicians to dictate their thoughts more effectively, and those that help professional transcriptionists listen, type and edit their reports with greater ease. Transcription and dictation are frequently used for reports on processes such as surgeries, autopsies, medical examinations, diagnostic imaging studies, and so forth.

Scheduling

Naturally, medical software comes in handy for scheduling medical appointments as well. Nearly every modern medical office in the United States has a computer at reception that is equipped with scheduling software. This allows appointments to be made, canceled, postponed and shifted with ease, while allow the entry of important data such as the patient’s personal information and the nature of the visit.