Recently you have come to understand the value of implementing Electronic Health Record software in your medical practice, with benefits ranging from having your staff function more effectively to allow you to exchange patient information with visiting physicians more readily. Electronic Health Records are a required part of U.S. healthcare, but this doesn’t mean they have to stand in the way of quality patient care.
EHRs can be customized to streamline manual 6data entry, saving time for nurses and doctors. They can also be tailored to each department’s specific needs; eliminating wasted time spent scrolling through irrelevant screens. Hospitals may also use custom software to make their EHRs mobile, free their healthcare providers from workstations and improve their access to patient data dramatically.
Patients also benefit from customized EHRs, as they can be tailored to their specific needs for data access, education and portability. EHR software is however available as customized systems as well as cookie-cutter solutions. So purchasing the right product becomes a challenging task as every healthcare organization has a unique workflow depending on its size, scope and aim. Weighing the pros and cons of off-the-shelf EHR systems against custom EHR software will help you arrive at the right decision.
Meanwhile, let’s take a look at the areas that have been revolutionized completely with the advent of cloud-based EHR:
1. Improved Patient Experience
Most patients are familiar with the requirement to complete several forms each time they arrive at a medical appointment. This is time-consuming not only for the patient but for the administrative staff to re-enter this information into office computers. An EHR streamlines that process so that it is only completed once and synchronized with the entire system so that each provider can access the information instantly and the patient isn’t required to complete it again at subsequent appointments. Additionally, through the use of patient portals within the EHR, patients have access to their records from personal computers, or in some cases, even mobile devices.
2. Add Mobile Access
Mobile access is quickly becoming a necessity for healthcare providers. According to the 2014 HIMSS Analytics Mobile Devices Study, almost 70 per cent of doctors are using a desktop and a smartphone or tablet to look at patient information. The study also found that more than 50 per cent of hospitals are using smartphones and/or tablets.
By using custom software to create mobile access for EHRs, doctors and nurses can access everything they need in the palm of their hand.
They are no longer be in a workstation, they can address patient needs more quickly without even having to be in the hospital. Not only does this significantly improve patient care, but it also increases job satisfaction for a hospital’s doctors and nurses.
3. Create Workflows
Speaking about the process now is the time to establish solid workflows. Before implementing EHR, it is important to create workflows to minimize the amount of stress your team will face.
Having inefficient workflows, including an insufficient number of staff members who are trained and ready to use the EHR will exacerbate issues during the implementation process.
Consider these questions as you create workflows:
- Is the right person doing this step?
- Is this the right order?
- Does this increase efficiency for the staff?
- Does this add value for the patient?
- Is this necessary?
4. Improved Care Coordination
Care coordination is especially important for handling medical emergencies and managing patients who are in critical condition. With cloud-based EHR, healthcare providers are less likely to make errors as they are aware of the whole picture in real-time. With no more waiting for medical records, they can also be more responsive to patient needs and do the needful quickly.
5. Lowe Cost
Depending on the conditions and circumstances of a patient’s diagnosis, the patient may be working with several providers at the same time. In the past, each of those providers might request the same procedures separately — X-rays or blood tests, for example — and each may require that the patient have them done multiple times. This cause not only inconveniences to the patient, but it causes the patient to incur multiple medical bills for the same treatment. With an EHR system, all providers have access to the patient’s results, requiring that patient to only undergo the treatment or procedure once, and subsequently, paying one bill.6. Increase Staff Efficiency
Doctors and nurses face countless demands on their time. They either take away patient care from it each minute they spend on administrative tasks or force them to extend their already long working day even further. Custom software can target inefficient systems and processes, providing a more productive solution for the data entry tasks required.
Custom software investment fixes the most common inefficiencies, including inefficient workflows, redundant processes and manual data entry.
