How to Buy the Right Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Software

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Today Electronic Medical Records or EMRs are touted as the key to increase quality care and patient outcomes through the selection of the right EMR software. However, selecting EMR software for your medical practice is quite challenging and a daunting task. Finding the best EHR software solution through the right system can be a huge challenge.

So many vendors out there promote their software system as being the best. Being a healthcare service provider, you can decide which system will integrate most easily for your establishment and your staff.

Selecting the best EHR software also depends upon your unique business needs while recognizing that the true electronic health records software solution leaders like EHNOTE would help you make your decisions possible. Nevertheless, having the right EMR software allows in improving the functionality of your overall medical records management in addition to providing your patients with a higher quality of care.

Buying the right Electronic Health Record Software becomes easier if you are armed with the right questions before you start comparing products so that you can make the choice in an efficient manner.

The first set of questions pertains about your organization that you should keep in mind. The second set of questions relates to questions that you must ask the vendors from whom you are considering to purchase the EMR software.

Questions about your organization or hospital/clinic

  • Do you already have clinic practice management software or hospital management software to ensure that your EMR solutions integrate with it seamlessly? You may also want a Medical Practice Management or MPM solution that includes EMR functionality as opposed to a separate EMR.
  • Which features are important for you? As per the available data on the EMR software industry user reports, it is estimated that healthcare service providers never use 75% of software features of their chosen EMR software. Therefore, it is important to narrow down the list of software features you will actually use by listing 15 to 20 critical processes of your practice.
  • Do you want solutions designed for your specialty? Many of the vendors offering EMR software like EHNOTE offer EMR solutions that have been specifically designed for different specialties. For instance, pediatrics practice may want their records to facilitate easy inputting of measurements along with the growth of a child and a vaccination schedule. However, in the case of oncology, an oncologist needs to schedule recurring radiation and chemotherapy treatments over a period.

Questions to ask EMR vendors

  • Is your EMR software compliant such as ICD-10 and HIPPA compliant and as such you will need to eliminate solutions that are not ICD-10 and HIPPA certified from your consideration?
  • What does the patient portal offer is another question that should be asked to EMR vendors as patient portals have become nearly omnipresent among EMRs. A patient portal with secure messaging can help in securing information to authorized patients thereby contributing to a highly interactive doctor-patient experience.
  • How much will be the support and training cost is another important question that you should ask the vendor.
  • Questions such as what kind of support and training does the vendor offer such as real-time support via phone or live chat etc, how much does it cost to set up the EHR software and for providing training? Many vendors charge for providing training for setting up EMR software and that needs to factor into your overall costs.

Finally, it is important not to rush into a purchase and take your time to compare the options and then clear answers from vendors before investing your money.