The price of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software is quite high, but the benefits of adopting EMR software can save you a lot of money in the long run. If you are a physician running your own private practice, then you should be weighing the pros and cons of adopting an EMR system. Those days are long over when practices had to keep a pile of files to properly archive the information related to the multitude of patients who walked into their medical facilities.

Our dependence on paper is gradually decreasing and tools like EMR software can easily hold all the important medical data in hard disks, which occupy less space compared to the traditional sources. Proper archiving and categorization of data becomes easier if practices decide to replace their old filing methods with modern technology. Automation of data collection and retrieval can dramatically increase the productivity and efficiency of practices.

The price of an EMR system can range from a thousand dollars to ten thousand dollars, and sometimes they cost even more. The sky is the limit for these products and EMR costs increase as the system becomes more feature-rich. If you own a very small medical facility where you are the sole practitioner, then a light version of good EMR software worth five thousand dollars will serve the purpose. Huge facilities can buy complete EMR systems that cost around forty thousand dollars.

How to get the best deal

EMR software offers a number of benefits but practices should perform a cost-benefit analysis before adopting this new technology. This will help them know if the system will serve their purpose. EMR costs can be prohibitive and a huge amount of money is at stake if you choose a system that does not meet the needs of your practice. Therefore, it is important to be completely sure of the product before you make the purchase decision. You devote time to find the product that meets all your requirements and can be scaled in future. There are some points to consider when you conduct the cost - benefit analysis for the EMR system that you intend to purchase.

Analyze what you need to get done:

First of all, practices need to take note of their current and future requirements. They should be able to collect relevant information such as the number of physicians in the medical facility, the staff to physician ratio, the patient capacity of the center and the average number of phone calls help desk attends every workday.

Training:

If you are purchasing a low cost, entry level EMR software, you will have to pay a certain amount of money to train your staff. Most of the expensive EMR software packages come with free training of staff members, so that they can get used to the interface and handle the workload from day one. There might be some initial hiccups while operating the new software. It is therefore important that the EMR vendor agree to offer on-site training to the staff for the first few months.

Implementation:

The software provider will also charge for the implementation expenses involved in installing and configuring the hardware according to customers’ preferences. An increase in working staff members usually means an increase in the implementation costs. So, it can become a substantial amount for a large practice. Once the EMR software is installed, practices also need to digitalize all the information they had in the files to make the system completely functional.

Hardware:

As soon as practices adopt the EMR system, they discover the need to buy a lot of new hardware to provide proper support o their infrastructure. The prices of computers, printers and server stations should also be considered while you do cost and benefit analysis to gain a clearer picture of the EMR costs. If you want to utilize the EMR product to its full potential, then you need hardware that perfectly complements the software. Make sure that you buy the computer hardware after much deliberation so that it does not go obsolete in a few months. Computer hardware with the newest configuration should always be bought from a reputed dealer so that you are assured of support and maintenance whenever anything goes wrong.

Support and maintenance:

After installing the EMR software, practices need to make provision for annual maintenance costs that become necessary for both the newly acquired software and hardware. The power consumption of a medical facility will increase significantly once you have installed a number of computers and other related hardware to run the new system. Practices may also need to rewire the entire electrical architecture so that the system can take the load of the various machines that will need to be connected.

Hiring:

EMR costs can rise drastically if practices don’t hire a networking professional to monitor and maintain the network in their facilities. A networking expert will ensure that the workstations remain connected to each other and seamlessly exchange data. If you want to keep your system up and running at all times, then you will also need to hire a few hardware maintenance experts to keep a watch on the entire system.

Update:

Your work is not finished once the purchasing and installation have been completed, as the EMR software will need to be updated from time to time. This means a certain amount of expenditure has to be made every year. In order to keep your system up-to-date, you will need to sign certain agreements with the vendor so that you can get access to all the updates as they are released.

Replacing your traditional systems with modern technology may costs quite a lot but it is definitely one of the smartest decisions a practice can ever take. The benefits far outweigh the costs incurred in investing in an EMR system.

It may seem that the initial investment or the EMR costs are a bit high, but you will save a lot of time and money that you would have otherwise spent on papers, filing, and storage space. The cost of filing all of your patients’ medical records and billing information can surmount over the years. Even if you have the best file management system in the world, your will still have to spend a fortune every year to keep the paper documents intact.

Look for government assistance to help finance your EMR software. There are various federal grants that could subsidize EMR costs to your health care facility. With all of this information considered, one has to be very patient while looking for the EMR software for your health facility. Consultation with an EMR expert will definitely increase the chances of procuring a system that is cost-effective for you.

Above article publish on http://www.emrconsultant.com/education/emr-costs

Jumping in head first is not a good idea when implementing electronic medical record (EMR) software in your practice. If you do not properly prepare, you may not select the best EMR for your practice. As a result, you may select a great EMR, but just the wrong EMR, and this can be catastrophic to your business.

Purchasing the best EMR takes time. You need plan accordingly. We’ve provided you with 7 tips that will enable you to purchase and implement an EMR successfully.

Research. Become familiar with the industry and learn what people have to say about EMRs. Unfortunately when you speak to sales reps from the EMR Companies they will be biased about their product. Look for unbiased information. There are EMR Consultants out there that will help you find the right fit for your practice. In addition, there are several EMR, EHR and HIT blogs that provide unbiased information about the EHR Industry.

Rational Planning. You are not going to be able to reduce your medical costs after five minutes of using your EMR system. Therefore, make sure to set EMR goals that are reasonable to attain. Write out an EMR implementation plan that will include milestones that you want to reach as well as what you are looking to gain from an EMR.

Attitude. Make sure that your entire medical practice has a positive attitude about using an EMR solution. Keep your staff involved in the EMR selection process so they have a better understanding about what will happen. Making sure everyone is on the same page is critical for EMR success.

ROI. Determine what type of Return on Investment can be expected when implementing an EMR system. EMR software can be extremely costly depending on what type of EMR features you are looking to implement. Therefore, it is important to have an idea of what your EMR budget will be, as well as the cost savings expected from a proper EMR implementation.

Technical Competency. Discuss with your staff how tech-savvy they are at using computers. Making sure your staff feels comfortable using new technology will help prepare everyone for this transition to an EMR.

Hardware. Selecting the correct hardware will save you thousands of dollars when purchasing an EMR solution. Not only will it save you money, it will also improve the functionality within the EMR. There are several hardware companies that have partnered with EMR vendors, so be sure to ask them what hardware will work best with the EMR product. Ask the EMR vendor if they offer bundled solutions. Another alternative is to speak with an IT consulting company at the beginning to enable a smooth EMR implementation. Of course there are dozens of additional considerations when selecting and implementing an EMR, and the above may be considered a very basic overview. To learn more about EMRs, please fill in the brief form below.

Above article publish on http://www.emrconsultant.com/education/sevenfactors

By Shrinivas Kanade

Do you think 24 hour accessibility to your patients’ data is one of the advantages of electronic medical records? Yes! To know more about the advantages of electronic medical records,

Read on…

One of the main advantages of electronic medical records is that it helps in centralizing the data of your patient. Not long in the past, a receptionist working in a clinical practice could leave for the day, only after finding and arranging the records, that are committed to the papers of the patients on the next day’s appointments’ list. If she failed to do so, or if she failed to turn up on time due to some kind of emergency, then what would rule the medical practice. Confusion! She is the one who knew, precisely, which stack of records contains the bunch of papers that represents so and so patient. The use of electronic medical records gets over this problem. Let’s go over the other electronic medical records benefits.

What are the Advantages of Electronic Medical Records?

In its digital form, the electronic medical records offer you an opportunity to run a clean and paperless clinic. If you decide to go digital, you may find that there are two options available to you.

Standalone Software

The first option is to ask a computer programmer to develop a standalone software for you, which you could install in the computer in your office. In this case, your patients’ data, in its electronic form, will be stored on the computer system in your office. You will have to take care of the data. The data safety, proper backing of the data to protect it from getting lost and virus problems will be the responsibility of your clinic, since the data is present at your end.

Online Software

Else, you could use an online EMR software. If you choose this option, your patients’ data will be stored on the Internet. It will be stored in the computers maintained by the IT company which is providing their online software to you, naturally for a monthly fee. This IT company and the computer experts employed by it, will take care of the data and deal with your problems while using it.

Electronic Medical Records

Electronic medical records, which are also referred to as EMR, contains private and medical data related to your patients. It may also contain information, such as their past medical history, substances or drugs they are allergic to, the treatments or medical procedures they underwent in the past. The data may also inform you which medications the patient is currently on and the transcription notes etc. Comprehensiveness in the patients’ data is one of the advantages of electronic medical records.

Speed of Retrieval of Electronic Medical Records

You can retrieve your patient’s records within a few seconds. All you have to do, is to type his or her name in the form that the EMR software has presented to you. Bingo! the records are right in front of you within no time. And the most important thing is that you are not struggling to decipher someone else’s handwriting, in order to read what kind of therapy or treatment your patient underwent in the past. The availability of your patient’s medical records in one place, which can be viewed in detail, is also one of the advantages of electronic medical records.

If you decide to go for online EMR software, you will find that you can access your patient’s data not only by sitting at your office but from anywhere in the world through the Internet. Of course, you must provide it with proper passwords and identify yourself. You can download electronic medical records to your PDA or palmtop and can refer to it as and when it suits you.

Safety

Your patient’s data is important and you have every right to worry about it. Will it be safe in its digital format? Yes, it will be. You must have heard about the computer system crashes and the computer viruses causing damage to the data. These may have made you suspicious about the reliability and safety of the electronic medical records. With proper backup systems and latest anti-virus, you can overcome this obstacle.

Data Format

When you use papers to commit your patients records on it, you do so in the fixed format. The format that is printed on the paper. It is not the case with the electronic medical records. You can key in data in one format and can retrieve it in another, in a form more suitable to you.

Integration and EMR Software

You can digital form of your patients data to the reference information which can be stored on your computer or on the Internet. The EMR software can help you by providing additional information about a drug, such as dosages for children and adults. Which drugs are contraindicated in which conditions and so on. The EMR software can not only help you out with your patient’s data but it can also provide information on the ICD.9, HIPAA, HCFA 1500, and the latest CPT code books. It may also help you in studying a condition by producing a 3-D images for you, by taking input of 2-D images that are already present in your patient’s data. The software also handles the medical transcription notes, as well as SOAP notes, which you can use to your own advantage. The customer support to medical billing services can also be made available to you and your patient by the EMR software. This may result in the speedy settlement of medical billing and claims for you because of the proper co-ordination with the insurance companies over medical insurance. In short, the ability of EMR software helps you centralize your resources can be counted as one of the advantages of electronic medical records.

Electronic Data and EMR Software

Electronic data generated by the systems monitoring your patient, is processed and analyzed for errors by the the EMR software. This software can sound or raise an alert, if it comes across an event needing immediate medical intervention. It can transmit the relevant data in the form of an email or warn you by sending a message to your pager or mobile. It can also accept data from the laboratory analyzer in a electronic form directly and thus, avoiding the chance of erroneous data being fed to it by a computer operator. In case of online EMR software, which you will use the database to store your patients’ data in, and support to it will be provided by the IT company.

Primarily, it is you who is going to benefit by converting to electronic medical records. It will help your staff to be more efficient by saving their time. Your patients’ data in its digital form will always be at your fingertips and not be dependent on the mindless activity of searching for it every day. It seems that the benefits of an electronic medical record (EMR) are nothing but a bag of goodies. But, are they real for you? The decision is yours. With the world going digital, it is up to you to decide, whether to take heed of the advantages of electronic medical records.

Above article published on http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-of-electronic-medical-records.html

Patty Enrado, Contributing Editor

Long before ARRA, more than five years ago, the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center began a $50 million electronic medical record initiative. This past summer, UCSF reportedly wrote off a third of that cost and scrapped its contract with the EMR vendor. The EMR system reportedly had technical difficulties that never enabled it to be fully functional. Undeterred, UCSF is forging ahead with its goal of digitizing its patient records, which says a lot about its faith in EMRs.

UCSF Medical Center isn’t the first healthcare system to have a costly, disastrous experience, and it won’t be the last. Industry stakeholders, however, need to work together to ensure that the number of failures dwindle significantly.

The most important thing that the EHR/EMR market can do for itself is to be transparent. If there is no transparency, how can healthcare systems perform accurate due diligence? There’s a business reason for non-disclosure clauses in sales contracts, which prevent purchasers from reporting problems with the health IT vendor or their products, and “hold harmless” clauses, which exempt vendors from any liability. It may guarantee a risk-free business environment for the health IT vendor, but it hurts the EMR market and eventually hurts the health IT vendor’s reputation. Clinicians and healthcare organization executives may be obligated to remain silent about the product and/or the vendor’s problems, but they will talk informally to their counterparts in other healthcare organizations. You’ve heard the complaints. You know which health IT companies did what to whom.

Transparency need not be the enemy of health IT companies if they have solid products and customer support. For those that have had problems - and I’m not saying they have bad products or customer support - it’s a business imperative to fix those problems. There are less-expensive, more flexible EMR solutions that have come into the market in the last year. There will be other UCSF Medical Centers that cut off their legacy vendor and start anew.

There are some in the industry who say so long as the federal stimulus incentives help subsidize the purchase of legacy systems the problems will continue. University of Pennsylvania sociologist Ross Koppel believes the federal government should have put that money to use by developing “more usable and more responsible software.” I think that route would have been successful as a first step, though I still believe in the incentives. There are some who believe the federal government should regulate the EMR industry. If that sounds odious, then perhaps the EMR industry ought to regulate itself.

As for healthcare providers, they need to understand the enormity of the task. What I mean is that they need to not only put up the cash for the initiative but dedicate human resources to the initiative. Dedicate a team, if that is what is required.

I’d be remiss not to mention that for every UCSF there is a UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) - large healthcare systems that have successfully implemented big-budget EMRs and are reaping administrative and clinical benefits. The problem is there aren’t enough of them. And that’s why there is hesitation among healthcare systems. As an industry, let’s try to increase those success stories.

Above article published on http://www.healthcareitnews.com/blog/how-healthcare-industry-can-increase-number-successful-ehremr-initiatives