According to the official definition of National Alliance for Health Information Technology (NAHIT), EMR Software is “an electronic record of health-related information on an individual that can be created, gathered, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff within one health care organization.”
Basically, it means that this software was created with the goal of handling patients’ records and having them all in one place in order to facilitate the work of professionals. This software allows them to have access to all the documentation, and also to submit orders for tests, and to send prescriptions to pharmacies.
What are the basic features of this software?
This program has become widely used by many medical facilities, and there is a good reason for that. It is because of its many useful features, and we are going to mention some of them.
Efficient scheduling
First of all, it is used to organize the physicians’ schedules. It allows doctors and nurses to make appointments for their patients, enter a reason why they need them and choose the duration of the visit accordingly. One person might be coming for a consult, while another might have a regular checkup, and so on. In addition, the program sends notifications via text or email, just as a reminder.
Patient flow
Understandably, since it allows professionals to make a schedule according to the length of the patients’ visit, it means that there won’t be people sitting in a waiting room, waiting for their turn. This is a common scenario, and not only can it cause chaos, but oftentimes, people get frustrated and agitated. Believe us, people are going to appreciate the fact that they will be seen as soon as they arrive at your office, instead of wasting their time on their phone or reading a magazine.
Access all the data
It doesn’t matter if you are a doctor or not, there is one thing that we can agree on – telling a physician about your medical history, allergies, medications you are currently on or have been taking in the past, and so on, takes a lot of time. One has to bring a load of paperwork, and as you can assume, a doctor needs some time to go over it. And don’t let us begin with the question of adding new information.
The whole point of using this software is to completely eliminate this part of the encounter. The program will allow you to access all the data in just a few moments. After a couple of seconds, the doctor will have all the data he needs, so he can analyze them shortly before the appointment. Similarly, they will also be able to easily input all the new information as they speak with a person.
When you omit this aspect of an appointment, it means that it will be significantly shorter, thus the number of patients one sees on a daily basis will rise, and most importantly, it will lead to increased productivity and efficiency.
E-order of lab tests
Furthermore, another beneficial feature of this system, therefore, the reason why you should consider getting it is that it facilitates the entire process of ordering, receiving and analyzing lab work. Oftentimes, doctors require some sort of analysis to make a diagnosis, this can be anything from simple blood work to scans, and everything in between.
If you do not have a lab in your facility, you can simply connect with one via this tool. All you have to do is to fill out online forms and send them. You will receive the results through this software and will be able to easily incorporate them into a patient’s chart.
Issue e-prescriptions
Similarly to submit lab orders online, you will be able to fill out and sign all the prescriptions for your patients. The great thing about this one is that, since everything is connected with the patients’ charts, the software will immediately notify you if a person is allergic to some medication, or for whatever, should not take them.
In addition, you will be able to see if the chosen pharmacy has that exact medication, so you will know what to instruct the patient.
Access it 24/7
The software allows you to log in and access any data at any time. Many physicians agree that this is one of the biggest benefits of implementing EMR into their office system. It is a common occurrence that doctors have to check something in the charts before or after the appointment, or even at the end of the workday.
Instead of wasting time going through all the paperwork in the office, one can simply use this system to find what they are looking for, revise something or add new data. The best part is that this can be done from anywhere, meaning that you wouldn’t even have to use the office device.
It is encrypted
Without a doubt, one of the biggest concerns when using any type of software or cloud hosting is the safety of the data. This is of crucial importance when it comes to medical records because, as you know, there are private, and none should have access to them.
It is easier to implement and use any kind of program and to store all the data on the cloud and this software’s encryption ensures that that information is secured.
What is the price of this software?
Finally, before we conclude this article, we are going to discuss the cost of EMR software. As you can expect, there are multiple companies where you can purchase it, and naturally, the price varies. Many things such as the number of users and the devices can affect the cost. In addition, do not forget about the hardware that is required and that you have to purchase if you don’t already have it. If you want to read a detailed analysis of this question, click here.
Conclusion
To sum up, these are some main features of this program and at the same time, its benefits and reasons why you should think about implementing it into your office. As you can see, its main goal is to facilitate your work and also, to improve the experience of your patients.
