Having seen my share of healthcare’s transformation from paper charts to today, with the complete dependence on Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) that represent only a modicum for me now. What used to be a glorified data repository is now an integral component of how I interact with patients and practice that has become essential for my workflow, allowing me to make informed decisions quickly.
Here a few tips on how to fully leverage EMR
EMR does not work as one size fits all
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) softwares can be customized based on your practice and workflow. Spend time digging into the settings and configurations to adjust templates, forms and workflows to your practice groove.
For instance, a pediatrician could use templates centered around growth charts and vaccination schedules — whereas a cardiologist might require easy access to ECG results along with AI powered treatment summaries.
Not only do EMRs offer e-prescriptions, but they also provide several other capabilities:
Built-in features such as reminders for prevention checks like lipid profiles or mammograms create a need to care “culture” with your patient.
The secure messaging features give patients a way to communicate with doctors, refill requests and other clarifications when they are not at an appointment.
In another case, an anomalous result was detected through a lab report uploaded through the patient portal software to the EMR. The patient was promptly contacted and admitted to the hospital, likely preventing severe complications and saving her life.
Popular EMR software are incredibly powerful data analytics solutions, not an electronic file cabinet. If you are reviewing regular analytics and reports generated by your system, you can track outcomes across patients over time to identify trends in patient outcome as well as any potential issues on the rise that need addressing.
For instance, patients who utilized smart lab reports that provided longitudinal glucose monitoring in their medical records did better. This is now something that I highly recommend to all of my diabetic patients and their results are amazing.
EMR data analytics identified a trend of missed appointments among hypertension patients. A part of this effort included a targeted outreach program to increase patient compliance and outcomes.
Don't hesitate to ask help
The patient management software is updated regularly with introducing new features, better usability and improved security. Keeping up with these can seem daunting. If you are having some trouble, don't hesitate to contact the support team, they are all here to help make you successful
Embracing the Digital Shift
Moving paper processes to digital can seem overwhelming. When I first installed one of the EMR systems into my office, I have to admit that I was somewhat frightened about how long it would take me to learn and implement a new way to do something in my daily life. But when I saw how the digital transformation could and online medical care, in fact, streamline my process, well — "incentivize" is quite an understatement.
Protecting Personal Data and Patient Privacy As patient records have become increasingly digital, it is important that data security and patient privacy remain a top priority. Implement measures for best practice data security such as password updates, multi factor authentication and how particular sets of data records are to be handled by staff and ensure your EMR complies with the standards in relevant privacy regulations
