EMR Blog

When we say the term EMR (Electronic Medical Record) we get a multitude of reactions. Most are not 100% positive. Many agencies have expressed ongoing frustrations with the usability and function of their EMR.

To get to the heart of these issues it is important to know how you chose the EMR. Every agency has their own process for choosing an EMR. We believe factors such as cost, and accessibility are top of the list when choosing an EMR. Accessibility refers to the types of devices utilized by clinicians to enter and/or access information.

The cost of an EMR includes many factors. These include, but not limited to, implementation training, set up fee and monthly user fee.

The cost of your EMR can vary based on the size of your agency.

With all the above factors considered, why are so many agencies frustrated with their EMR? These frustrations often center around missing information, report gathering and duplicative documentation requirements.

It is important to note, that the agency CHOOSES their EMR, it is not forced upon them. However, changing EMR’s can be a time consuming and costly process, often tying up needed resources unnecessarily. The most appropriate and efficient way to improve your EMR is to customize the EMR to fit your agencies specific needs. This requires policies and procedures for your agency that create a consistent use of the EMR. This can be as basic as making sure all staff enter info into the EMR consistently. This is often training that will occur outside the EMR implementation training. The EMR company is training you to use their product based on their experience and most times this is not specific to your agency.

If you feel you need assistance optimizing your EMR reach out to us. We have extensive expertise and experience through audit and review assistance activity to be a great resource to decrease EMR frustration for your agency.