EMR Software - Improving Medical Care

EMR software, or Electronic Medical Records software, is becoming more and more widely accepted in the medical industry. Technology always has an important role to play in the medical care. In the aspect of record keeping, EMR software is becoming more of an essential need than a luxury. There are several reasons why a medical clinic should deploy EMR software.

First, there is the issue of compliance. By 2016, all medical clinics are required to have EMR software as part of their operations. Otherwise, they may be penalized financially by MedicareMedicaid. The authorities have good reasons for enforcing this rule. Deploying EMR software boosts the quality of medical care, and that benefits the general public greatly.

Even without mandatory rules, medical practices are setting up EMR software to help manage their operations voluntarily. That is because the practice owners can see the economic benefits that come with using EMR software. Here are some benefits:

1) Allows physicians to see more patients.

Having EMR software in place allows the doctors to see more patients. The documentation and appointments are kept in such well organized fashion that more time is freed up. In other words, the operations become more streamlined. Having streamlined operations mean that staff can stay on top of the operations. For example, reminders can be sent to patients to remind them of upcoming appointments. Usually, when patients receive these reminders, they will respond (i.e. cancel the appointments) if they can't make it. Staff may then schedule other patients to come for appointments during the empty time slots.

2) Less room for error.

Almost every growing medical practice encounters some kind of filing errors. That is understandable, considering the amount of administrative work involved when dealing with patients. Such work includes billing issues, keeping medical charts and records, etc. Sometimes, misfiling occurs and information gets lost. When such information are filed electronically, there is almost zero chance for misfiling to occur. It is also easier to track overdue payments via electronic software.

3) Storing lab records and creating graphs.

Graphical representations of lab records are very useful to the doctors. They can use such graphs to help them communicate treatment plans to their patients, or they can use the graphs to help interpret the lab results more accurately. Graphs can also help physicians spot trends. For instance, a doctor can instantly retrieve records of previous prescriptions, and find out the frequency of the prescriptions from the graphs.

4) Renewing prescriptions easily.

If a prescription has been observed to be working great, the same prescription can be renewed easily. The software helps doctors to avoid severe prescription mistakes by giving out warning prompts when there is an allergy violation. Drug allergies and intolerance are stored in the EMR software and highlighted in red so as to capture the attention of the doctor.