Learn how EMR can be very beneficial to your practice. Discover how this latest physical therapy documentation can be more convenient when it comes to efficiency, productivity and reporting.
If you’ve heard anything about physical therapy software and electronic medical records (EMR), the reviews have probably been mixed.
Over the past five years, many physical therapy software systems have been implemented for the first time.
There are some systems that seem to work well for large scale hospitals and medical facilities, and there are others that improve the efficiency of the billing team but clinicians and doctors have not yet adopted their use.
The Challenging Times
The first few years of any new technology are challenging. Physical therapy software engineers are venturing into new territory. Healthcare providers are unlikely to see the value of something like EMR if they haven’t seen them successfully used in practice. A lot of skepticism, lack of enthusiasm, and problems with the software have given EMR a bit of a bad name.
But regardless, EMR systems are slowly increasing in popularity. More and more medical practices, from large hospitals to small private practices, are implementing technological improvements that are starting to be truly effective. Physical therapy software developers are working with early adopters of technologies to make changes that improve the systems.
Broad Strokes
The process of implementation can be a bit burdensome, but forget that part for a few minutes and imagine a medical practice that has already implemented physical therapy software. Put aside concerns about cost, and imagine that instead of a paper folder and pencils or pens, the clinicians carry around small tablet computers that are hooked into your server, where all the EMR are stored.
Each time they change rooms and see a new patient, they can quickly pull up the record they need, scan it for the relevant details, and start taking notes on the current appointment.
Sounds like the future, doesn’t it? Well, it is the future of medicine. Each time the clinician finishes a visit with a patient, an alert is sent to the medical coding and billing staff.
At their most efficient, physical therapy software solutions could even provide the first draft of codes based on common terminology and previously agreed upon standards. In ten years, it may be that every practice is using some form of physical therapy software.
Convenience, Efficiency, and Reporting
The most basic benefits of EMR are in convenience and efficiency. A physical therapy software staff or member no longer needs to pull files for incoming patients and re-file the files that have been taken out during the day.
Communication between the clinician, assistants, and billers is made smooth and instantaneous.
A lot of time is spent in physical therapy private practices just getting things and information from here to there. Everything can move at the speed of automatic alerts and emails. This will free up time for more important tasks.
And for the management of physical therapy software, having all of the data in one place and easily accessible represents a big change to the way we do business. Reporting can highlight inefficiencies as well as efficient and effective practices. The benefits of having information at your fingertips are almost immeasurable.
