In recent years, medical software has been a standard in the healthcare industry. There are many options for medical software, including practice management software and EMR/EHR. You can also use these tools to schedule patients and bill patients. These features can be used to assist healthcare organizations, from smaller specialty clinics to large hospital systems.
Healthcare facilities have seen an increase in revenue and traffic due to the popularity of medical software. Implementing certain software systems can also make it possible for health organizations to be eligible for government incentives. We hope that this article will assist you in your software selection process. There are so many tools and systems to choose from.
Where do you start?
Software selection, for medical or non-medical software, can be time-consuming and confusing. Each healthcare organization is unique to some degree. This means that the tools and features required will differ depending on your facility's size and specialty. Talk to your staff and clinicians about the current problems and how they would like to improve using medical software.
Important Features and Requirements
You should also be familiar with the main features of medical software in order to create a list of requirements for your particular healthcare facility. This article will only cover the most important and necessary features of various medical software solutions. Some minor features may not be included.
Daily Operations
Medical software allows doctors to spend more time on patient care than documenting patient information. Medical software can manage a lot of the daily operations of your clinic, including patient appointments and equipment management.
Click Here to Read More About: Athena EMR
EMR software was created to allow patients to be electronically recorded. This led to a reduction in errors, improved quality and better customer service. Medical software has allowed healthcare organizations of all sizes, and for any treatment type, to increase their revenues without compromising the quality of care and service.
Smart Scheduling Many providers of medical software offer dynamic scheduling. Your software can not only book appointments but also assign specialty equipment to the appropriate exam room and physician. The patient scheduling software helps to efficiently manage appointments.
Patient History How long does your clinic spend researching a patient's history? Medical software allows physicians to quickly access, update and save patient files. They can also store that data for future reference.
Productivity & Efficiency How long do doctors spend looking up and recording patient information? Do you maximize the number of patients that can be treated each day? Medical software allows doctors to spend more time with patients than charting and looking up patient data.
Avoid errors How often do you encounter legibility problems or poor handwriting that leads to mistakes? Electronic recording eliminates most human errors and improves accuracy.
Medical software can manage virtually all aspects of your healthcare organization. It can be used to provide patient care and to manage employee schedules. There are many medical software options available, so the features needed will differ between health facilities.
- Charting and documenting patient records
- Scheduling an appointment
- Scheduling for staff/equipment
- Inventory Management
- Financial Reports
- Revenue Management
- Clinical Interoperability
- Color-Coded Scheduling
- Physician Dashboard
- Payroll/Timesheets
Patient Portal
Patient portals are being used to increase patient participation. Patients can access their medical records, make online payments, view past and current medications, and pre-register for appointments. Patients can also communicate with their doctors via instant messaging or face-to-face video chats.
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Patients no longer have to schedule appointments for everything. They can deal with the less urgent matters at their own pace from the privacy of their own homes. Patients and their doctors can work together to develop and monitor their unique health plans and keep track of their treatment progress.
- Online appointment scheduling
- Health/Medical History
- Note-taking for personal use
- Notifications and Alerts
- Patient-Physician Messaging
- Lab Results
- Individualized Health Plans
Telemedicine
Telemedicine allows patients to communicate with their doctors and receive treatment remotely. Telemedicine is also known as or telehealth and essentially allows for remote consultations, assessments, and health care. Telemedicine allows doctors to communicate with patients via video chat, whether they are in the same place or in different countries.
Click Here to Read More About: Elation EMR
The office can provide real-time alerts and data from equipment in a patient's house to the doctor. Physicians can also leave comments and send reminders about upcoming appointments, medication updates, and other matters.
- Online appointments
- Chats via Video in Real Time
- Instant Messaging
- Remote Patient Monitoring
- Notifications and reminders
E-Prescribing
E-prescribing has grown in popularity in recent years due to the opioid epidemic in the U.S. Before handing out medication, pharmacists can verify for drug-to drug or drug-to allergy interactions based on the patient's current medication and/or diagnosis.
Due to abuse and addiction, certain states have passed laws requiring e-prescribing of prescription drugs. Some states require eprescription for all prescription drugs. Others only require it for controlled substances like opioids. Although there are still some states in the United States that do not require e-prescribing at the moment, many others are planning to.
Click Here to Read More About: Kareo EMR
This allows for the monitoring of the patient's medication and streamlines the prescription process. The patient can request a refill and their doctor will electronically transmit it to the pharmacy for filling out. It will then be available for pick up. This makes it easier for both the doctor and the patient to request a refill. The pharmacy can then electronically fill out the request and hold it for pickup.
- Drug Interaction Alerts
- Prescription requests and refills
- Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE)
- Automated Clinical Decision Support
- Electronic Prior Approval
- History of Medication
- Listen to Patient Allergy lists
Healthcare Analytics
Current medical software solutions can automate daily tasks and provide analytics. These analytics can help identify health patterns and predict the diagnosis of a patient.
Once the patient's data is saved to the software's servers it can be compared with other patients to give physicians a wider range of healthcare.
Remote patient monitoring allows medical equipment to transfer data to the software automatically. Patients and physicians can be notified if something is not as expected with certain medical equipment.
Analytics can be used to analyze how your facility compares to other healthcare organizations. Analytics can be used to track the progress of your clinic and show you where you are in terms of revenue.
- Population Health
- Predictive Diagnoses
- Pattern Recognition
- Preventative Analytics
- Master Patient Index (MPI)
- Data Comparison
Billing/Payments
Medical billing software has become a must-have for every healthcare organization when it comes to getting paid. Mobile devices allow patients to access their billing statements, view their payment history, and make payments.
Management of insurance claims is one of the most important aspects of billing/payment. Your medical software can verify the patient's insurance and scrub any mistakes that could otherwise cause denials or resubmissions. Your healthcare facility can then spend less time handling claims and get paid faster.
If necessary, patients can work with their doctors to develop individual payment plans. Patients can also make changes to their payment plans and set up auto-pay. They will also be notified of any past due or upcoming payments via alerts.
- Claims Management
- Verification of insurance
- Online Invoices & Payments
- Notifications for Payment
- Patient Payment History
- Special Payment Plans
Support and Security
The security of sensitive information is one of the best benefits of medical software. Many healthcare organizations had previously designated rooms for the storage of paper medical records. These files were more vulnerable to theft, damage, misplacement, and tampering than EHR software. These risks are eliminated by storing sensitive documents online instead of in physical filing cabinets. This also limits who has access to patient information.
Many medical software vendors offer training and support videos. Some may even assist with installation and implementation. Many medical software solutions provide support via email, phone, or on their website.
You should be aware that customer support can vary from one vendor to the next. Make sure you choose the right medical solution for your needs. While some solutions provide 24/7 support, you should remember that not all vendors offer this level of support.
- HIPAA Compliance
- Data Protection & Encryption
- Voice Recognition/Identity Verification
- Electronic Signatures
- You can control user access levels
- Secure Direct Messaging
- Implementation Services
- Training and tutorials
- Email and phone support
In conclusion
Over the years, medical software has evolved along with healthcare. Healthcare organizations are implementing more medical software. Those who don't have it are falling behind. These medical software solutions offer many benefits for both your hospital and doctors. Patient experience will improve if patients are encouraged to communicate with their doctors and participate more. This is combined with the fact medical software leads to better diagnosis and treatment. It's a win-win situation.
Click Here to Read More About: Centricity EMR
We can't stress enough that every healthcare organization is unique and will need specific features. You should also get feedback from your staff on what they want to achieve by implementing medical software. It is crucial to understand your organization's goals and needs before you start software selection and implementation.
There are hundreds of software vendors available. It is important not to rush the process of selecting medical software. It is important to carefully compare the solutions from different vendors before deciding which one will work best for you.
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