Top 5 Benefits of EMR Software for Independent and Small Businesses

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Top 5 benefits of EMR software for independent
and small businesses
Formerly used by large providers, these
time-saving tools are increasingly found in
small and independent practices The popularity of
electronic medical records software is growing
wildly, both in the United States and around the
world. The growth of this market comes as the
healthcare sector increasingly moves toward
digitalization and integrated healthcare
systems. Electronic medical records, or EMR, help
solve issues such as interoperability, privacy
concerns, and secure data storage. The arrival of
COVID-19 in 2020 further showed just how
important and valuable digital solutions are for
the healthcare industry. In medical practices
both big and small, software tools that give
doctors easier access to patient data are
becoming an indispensable part of daily
routines. Electronic medical records, managed
with EMR software and electronic health records,
have revolutionized het ay patient records are
entered and processed. They promise an era of
better care for patients and lessened burdens
for healthcare providers. In their early days,
EMR systems we more expensive and complicated,
and tended to be adopted by larger healthcare
providers who could both afford the systems and
have IT staff on hand to help trouble shoot. But
today, a new era of more affordable and much
easier to use electronic medical record systems
mean that practices of any size, and especially
those without IT staff on hand, can easily
integrate an EMR system into their operations.
For many of these practices, adopting EMR systems
has allowed them to compete with larger medical
practices and those that are corporate-owned. Let
s look at EMR systems in more detail and
understand the top 5 benefits that an EMR
software company can offer to small and
independent businesses.
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• What is EMR?
• An EMR, or electronic medical record, is a
  digital collection of all the information that
  you would normally find in a providers paper
  chart on a patient. This can include medical
  history, diagnoses, medications,
• immunization dates, allergies, lab results, and
  doctors notes. In EMR systems, these records
  are stored in the cloud and accessible by mobile
  devices.
• An EMR can also be used for payment processing,
  insurance claims, patient visit scheduling,
  adding new patients, and recording and updating
  patient information.
• Notably, EMR software systems also enable clinics
  to easily integrate regulatory and reimbursement
  changes through HIPAA, ICD-10, and the
  Meaningful Use rules.
• But EMRs do more than just replace old paper
  records. They include incorporated systems that
  allow simple and effective communication among
  members of a healthcare team. This results in
  better patient care.
• What is the difference between and EMR and EHR?
• In looking at web based EMRs, you may have heard
  of a related term, EHR. EHRs, short for
  electronic medical records, contain everything
  that an EMR contains and is sharable between
  authorized providers, health organizations, and
  clinics. While an EMR is more likely to be used
  just for a single provider, an electronic health
  record includes information from many providers
  and can be shared by everyone helping to
  coordinate care for a patient.
• Electronic medical record
• Is a digital version of a patient chart
• Does not easily travel outside a practice
• Is mainly used by a provider to diagnose, treat,
  and care
• Electronic health record
• A digital record of all of a patients health
  information

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• Can be sent to different health care providers
  and specialists outside of a particular practice
• Can be accessed by providers for decision making,
  diagnosis, and care
• What features should a good EMR have?
• Are you thinking about adopting an electronic
  medical records system at your practice? Not all
  EMRs are created the same, and it pays to look at
  the features offered by different providers to
  make sure you are getting the type of
  functionality you need for your practice to
  operate efficiently.
• Some must-have features for EMR system include
• A patient portal that is easy to access and
  contains educational materials and information
  on lab results, allergies, medications,
  discharge summaries, immunizations, and recent
  doctors visits. There should also be
  downloadable forms. As a bonus, an
• EMRs patient portal should include a benefits
  and coverage check, appointment scheduling,
  prescription refill request forms, contact
  information update forms, and a payment method
  tab. As this is the key function of an EMR, make
  sure to look at this feature closely to ensure
  you like its look, its feel, and its
  functionality.
• A feature that allows team members to set
  appointments for patients. This would include a
  way to quickly register patients, schedule them,
  and determine the purpose for the next visit,
  then add any notes for the providers who will be
  seeing the patient at that visit. The tool
  should also send out automated appointment
  reminders using text or email.
• E-prescribing tools that let you electronically
  print and send prescriptions, with instant
  notification of potential drug interactions and
  allergies.
• A patient history recording feature that makes it
  easy for users to quickly and accurately record
  and then access patient history. This can
  include patient clinical records, surgical
  reports, test results, and social history.
• A computerized physician order entry (CPOE) that
  lets service providers enter, save, and then
  electronically send orders for prescriptions,
  tests, and other services.

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• E/M coding tools that can record information such
  as physical exam results, pertinent health risk
  factors, treatment and diagnosis codes, prior
  diagnostic test results and medical care
  proposals.
• Lab integration so provides can monitor the
  delivery, inspection, results, and certainty of
  samples electronically.
• Top 5 benefits of EMR software for small and
  independent practices
• Now that you know what a cloud-based EMR does and
  what functions it should contain, lets look at
  why having EMR software in your small or
  independent practice is a great idea.
• They save space This is a big one, and is often
  overlooked. All those cabinets full of paper
  files? They are now in the cloud. With EMR
  systems implementation, practices can say so
  long to the need to store, manage, and retrieve
  paper records.
• They optimize workflows EMRs make it easy to
  keep track of patients and manage patients who
  visit a medical facility. Since records are
  digitized, it is no longer necessary to have a
  file follow a patient around a building. And
  since so many tools are built into the EMR
  systems, it makes managing tests, scheduling
  appointments, sending reminders, and more so
  much easier.
• They lower operational costs With records in one
  place, your staff will spend less time scurrying
  around looking for files. Less time is spent
  handling paper records, scheduling tasks, and
  manually sending reminders and updates, so your
  staff can function on more revenue0-earning
  tasks.
• They simplify communication processes Good EMRs
  are packed with built-in communication tools,
  which will save you gobs of time. Now, formerly
  manual communication processes can happen with
  the tap of a finger, automating prescription
  refill requests, appointment reminders, next
  visit scheduling, test results sending, and more.

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5. They reduce errors EMRs reduce and prevent
medical errors by notifying providers or
potential drug interactions or adverse
reactions. They improve the ability to diagnose
disease and improve patient outcomes. EMRs are
rapidly growing in popularity, even with small
and independent practices, and a new era of EMR
are much more affordable than you might be
thinking. To learn more about the benefits of
EMRs and how they can improve your practice,
contact Eye Care Leaders today.