As a specialty physician who focuses on pediatrics, it is very important that the electronic medical record (EMR) software system you select for your practice has been developed specifically with your specialty – and the needs of your young patients – as the number one priority. In fact, by choosing a specialty-specific software system that is designed just for your clinic’s specific needs, you will not only enhance the current procedures for all of the medical professionals who are on staff, but you can also help to reduce and expose unnecessary expenses, and can even mitigate the likelihood for many common errors!

In most situations, the EMR software system you choose will be somewhat customized to fit the needs of your pediatric facility, but there are also several general features that are fairly common for all pediatric EMR software systems. In other words, a number of convenient, specialty-specific features already exist that are fully customizable for pediatricians. These often include (but are not limited to) electronic growth charts, E&M Coding Assistance for pediatricians, online patient portals, a pediatric dosage calculator, and immunization and health maintenance reminders and tracking for young patients. In addition, the system should automatically adopt all of the common terminology and vocabulary that is unique to a pediatric specialty physician.

In addition, a number of commonly used templates already exist that are fully customizable for your pediatric facility’s needs. Available templates often include growth charts, abdominal pain templates, allergy templates, school excuse templates, well and sick baby and child templates – and many more! These are typically designed to assist pediatricians with the task of recording, processing and storing essential past and present patient information, including medical history, complaints, etc. In addition, be sure that the billing and scheduling systems have been specifically tailored to fit your needs as a pediatric specialty physician, as this will ensure increased satisfaction, accuracy and efficiency during and after implementation.

All of these steps will help you find the right EMR software system for your pediatric specialty practice, but perhaps more importantly, they can also help to augment the level of patient care that your clinic provides. In fact, by improving the access of staff members to the complete medical histories of patients, physicians are better able to diagnose and prevent illness. In addition, this improved access allows doctors the extra time they need in order to spend a few minutes with a new patient prior to the exam, which dramatically enhances the patient-physician relationship – an important factor for any doctor, but especially when dealing with children.