Choosing the Right EMR

If you are a practitioner, finding the right Electronic Medical Records (EMR) can be a timorous task. It is a huge investment, not only in money, but also in time, effort and energy. In order to help with this, I have compiled a list of what you should be looking for in an EMR.

As an IT professional, I will start with the technical considerations. When choosing an EMR, you are much better off with one that is based on a single relational database. That means you want one application: your practice management, billing modules and health records all on one place as opposed to using two or three applications. Some EMR systems are add-ons to an existing Practice Management module with a small communication module in between. If the communication module goes down for some reason (and it will), you may lose data.

You’ll also want one that is compatible with Windows 7’s 64-bit processing power (even if it’s a 32-bit application) and will take advantage of the extra RAM you can use.

Security and HIPPA management should be another consideration. You want one that has User Authentication and will allow you to customize file permissions. You’ll need to think about security features such as:

• User Logging
• Legal Protection
• Importing and exporting patient data from other EMRs
• Importing scans, documents and PDFs.

Regardless of your financial status or philanthropic intentions, all practices must be run using common sense and good business practices. You need to ask questions such as:

• Does the application have financial reporting capabilities?
• Can data be exported to your accounting software (such as QuickBooks)?
• Does it have accounting features such as receivable aging?
• How does it treat Medicare, HCFA and UB92 claims?
• Can it create and print patient statements?

Don’t forget about Document Management. It will consist of the ability to scan, import and index existing records or other printed materials. It will also include the ability to print charts (for paper charting when necessary) and posting electronic signatures on documents.

One of the most important widgets in an EMR application is the scheduling calendar. When looking at a calendars functionality, it should have security options built in such as:

• The ability to view/edit schedule based on security rights
• View/edit schedule for multiple providers
• Search for appointments.

A few others I recommend are:

• Good patient demographics,
• Transcriptions,
• E-Prescriptions,
• Handwriting recognition capability,
• Text support and voice recognition.

When properly integrated into an EMR, these can be great timesavers, and in the end, help you to practice better medicine.