The healthcare IT market is continuously evolving. The size of medical practice and the number of specialties being offered by a practice is also changing. This is the reason why different types of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software are being introduced in the market. The diverse healthcare software market offers more than 600 Electronic Health Records (EHR) software systems each of which has different features and functionalities. The cost of an EMR system also varies according to the size of the practice, solo, small, or large.
To meet the unique needs of all practices, the EMR, EHR & Practice Management (PM) software should have certain features that can help physicians working across different specialties. All the information you need to be aware of before buying an EHR System suitable for your practice size is listed below.
Small Size Practices
There are many EMR software that offer products specific to the practices of small size. There are two important factors that you should keep in mind before choosing a small practice EMR software.
Cloud-Based – Your practice does not have to care about the hassle of maintaining a server with a cloud-based EMR software. The top EMR software vendor takes care of all the upgrades and troubleshoots while you enjoy your software hassle-free. A Cloud-Based EHR software also has a low upfront cost which is an important factor for smaller practices.
Customer Support Service – Small software issues can get really crucial since there aren’t a lot of IT people around when the staff size is not very large. EHR software vendors with quick customer service can be really helpful in such cases since they can help you get rid of the issue right on the spot.
Specialty–Specific Practices
There are various EHR software that offer products specific to multi-specialty practices. There are two important factors that you should keep in mind before choosing a specialty-specific EMR software.
Customized Templates – If your practice offers multi-specialty treatments then selecting the right specialty specific EMR software will enable you to use templates designed specifically for your specialty. This will make the workflow more efficient since you won’t have to adjust each template individually.
Responsive Support – As a specialty specific clinic, you are dealing with the patients of one medical specialty only. In such cases, software bugs need to be dealt with more carefully. Select vendors who are known for their quick responsiveness in case of any difficulties.
Solo Physician Practices
Many EMR software vendors provide products that are specific to solo physician practices. There are two important factors that you should keep in mind before choosing a solo practice EMR software.
Mobile Device Compatibility – For solo practitioners, compatibility with mobile devices is essential. You need to be able to answer all the customer queries and view all the important data on the go. A Mobile EMR Software will help you in making important decisions and monitoring your practice’s performance remotely.
Voice Recognition & Artificial Intelligence (AI) – These features are not offered by all the EHR & PM Software vendors but are important in this technology competitive market. Physicians can dictate reports or notes to the software, saving a lot of their time. This helps them dedicate maximum time to their patients since solo-practitioners already work alone and don’t have a lot of time on their hands.
