EHR software issues can impact your bottom line, hinder workflow, and negatively affect your regulatory compliance for programs like MACRA/MIPS. The wrong EHR may also cause a loss of revenue by capturing inaccurate billing and coding information, failing to capture charges at all, or, if excessive amounts of time are spent charting, a reduction in patient volume with resulting drops in revenue that will quickly highlight the cost of selecting the wrong EHR.
With news of falsified attestation data1, exposure and liability for the use of non-compliant EHRs is at the forefront. Physicians are concerned and must be vigilant with the compliance and certification of their EHR software2. Vendor compliance with certifying and regulatory bodies has never been more important.
Practices have never had as much of their Medicare reimbursement at risk. Providers have up to 12%3 of their Medicare reimbursement on the line as part of MACRA / MIPS (Merit-Based Incentive Payment System). Be sure to check your participation status with CMS4.
As more and more regulation and financial strain5 is placed on physician practices it is critical that EHR software not be a pure cost. Many systems are utilized to “check the box” that a practice is participating in a given regulatory program; first, Meaningful Use, and the new MACRA/MIPS. This type of EHR system is often low cost, or sometimes free. Even though they don’t cost much, these systems do not offer any real value.
Practices are complex operations and a variety of factors influence their success. Because EHRs handle so many processes (charting, patient accounts, billing, etc.) much of the load for staying organized and effective must be placed on the software. To quantify the EHR’s impact, start with stats like patient flow, billing totals, and A/R balances. Whether you’re comparing pre-EHR figures to your now, hopefully, paperless practice or from one EHR to another; measurements must be made in order to improve.
When a practice wants to switch EHRs it’s important to know what you need with regard to your practice’s KPIs (key performance indicators.) Primary care offices have markedly different KPIs from surgical specialties. When shopping for a replacement EHR verify that your replacement candidates will help with the achievement of your metrics.
Switching EHRs is more than just a software swap you need a vendor that can function as a trusted partner.
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Aprima EHR earned overall scores of 85.3 and 84.6, significantly higher scores than the vendor average in this category. Some of the key evaluation categories that resulted in the #1 ranking included:
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Doing the hard work of quantifying the strengths and weaknesses of your current EHR situation simplifies the process of replacing your EHR. With those metrics in hand, ask questions like “what can be improved?” and “what do we like about what we’re doing now?” By approaching the process to switch EHRs with an analytical view point your chance of successful new implementation is greatly improved.
We often see that physicians treat EHRs as commodities when the reality is that they are not. EHR software should be selected with an eye towards optimization of clinical and business function and while price is an important factor it is not the only thing to consider.
The reporting and storytelling narrative surrounding EHRs is that they are a burden to physicians7 and that this burden is inevitable. But, we need to reexamine where accountability for the success of a practice lies.
Physicians would do everything possible to help a chronically ill patient regain their health but, if negative lifestyle choices like smoking, fast food, and poor sleep hygiene are continuously being made, how much can any healthcare provider hope to change that patient’s outcome?
In the same way the patient ultimately needs to accept accountability for their choices so too must physicians and their practices for their EHR outcomes. EHRs can either be something a practice has to do or they can be powerful optimization and automation tools8.
When switching EHRs the entire practice needs to engage the process; from physician leadership all the way down.
Switching to the right EHR has more benefits than reducing practice costs, streamlining operations, and increasing reimbursement. By switching EHRs, a physician can reclaim their work/life balance. Over 6,000 physicians responded to the Mayo Clinic9 that the “clerical burden” created by EHRs was a factor of their decline in job satisfaction but that does not have to be the case. At eMDs, our ClickLESS initiative is focused on reduction of keystrokes and inefficient workflows. Users of Aprima EHR from eMDs report time to have dinner with their family, take care of their kids, and pursue their passions.
