Top 10 Features of EMR Software

EMR stands for electronic medical records software and there’s no question that having a highly advanced system can help save you money and make you more money.  Let’s consider 10 outstanding features of the best electronic medical record software programs on the market.

1. A Fully Integrated System

The best feature to look for is a system that is integrated with a larger medical billing practice management application.  Integration simply means that all of these applications share the same database, so you don’t have to worry about buggy interfaces and other inconveniences.

2. Integration of Software With E-Prescription

In the last two years of practice, providers who use EHR Software along with qualified electronic prescribing systems are eligible to earn bonus payments of 2% of their total allowed charges through Medicare Part B.  You can look forward to efficiency gains and enhanced patient safety. 

3. System that Supports PQRI Automation

PQRI refers to Physician Quality Reporting Initiative.  This refers to a quality-measures policy that states that through for the 2009-2010 period physicians can earn a single consolidated incentive payment of 2.0% of the estimated total allowed charges for Medicare Part B covered services.

4. Software That is Also Adaptive Learning

Adaptive learning refers to the electronic health record software’s capability of remembering how each physician enters in data entry for treatment and documentation.  This essentially means that the software is capable of “remembering” names, lists, assessments and prompts based on previously entered information. 

5. Secure Portability Without Internet Connection

The best systems of today allow total portability, meaning you can access your software and databases from any location or computer.  Additionally, this access must not only work through a secure Internet connection if possible, but also be able to work offline.  The best software is able to save important data so that you can still keep up to date with your future appointments.

6. Integrated Patient Portal

The EMR system should be able to let your patients connect your office using an integrated patient portal.  Patients can use this for appointment scheduling, re-fill requests, messaging, education and more.

7. No Rigid Templates

Medical Software should not have pre-defined templates that can only be changed by vendors or high-tech wizards.  In fact, the best systems today are run by a technology known as “chief complaint” which allows the doctor to “chart at the speed of thought.”  This is far more convenient that dealing with frustrating templates.

8. Effective Document/Image Management

Web-based EMR software should let physicians and staff record and manage records (via copying documents or linking) with ease.  The best software is cable of reading large files, converting picture data into database form quickly and accurately.

9. Voice Recognition and Handwriting Recognition Technology

Practice management software should equipped with the latest advanced features in recognizing human speech (with a 98% accuracy) as well as handwriting.  When you get used to the system you will find that writing down a signature on a tablet PC will be far more convenient than typing words into a database.

10. Meets All Technical and Legal Requirements

There are numerous federal and state regulatory and compliance issues that you must be aware of.  Having an EMR Solution that has guidelines programmed in (and is constantly updated by the vendor’s system) will keep you legally safe all year round.

These are just a few of the features to look for in the newest EMR software.