Are you sure that you are on the same page with the innovation?
One of the most common obstacles that separate healthcare providers from keeping up with the trends is the usage of paper-based medical records. While keeping a pile of paperwork seems to be a convenient good-old way to document clinical conditions, disadvantages prevail. If you still prefer paper charts, you are risking experiencing delays in your reimbursement flow for several reasons.
1) It is simply time-consuming
Handwritten charts usually take a long to be completed. This is mostly because there is no option to use a quick and easily-accessible template that would already constitute half of the work. Also, handwritten notes are always harder to interpret. Therefore, it may take longer for insurance payers to process the documentation. On contrary, EHR systems always have dozens of documentation templates that can save you time & help you avoid all the potential mistakes.
2) Your storage may not be as secure as it seems
What do you do if there is a fire that destroys your charts? Or a moth infestation that, quite literally, eats up all your data? Physical files, once lost, are impossible to recover. A safe may still be hacked, let alone a pile of paperwork left on the table that can still be accessed without authorization. At the same time, electronic health records software allows you to store your charts on cloud storage that is immune to any dangers of the material world.
3) No clear audit trails & version history
Paper records do not have built-in version histories and audit trails. Knowing who made which edits and additions require that the physician signs the records each time. If changes are made, it’s not easy to locate where the changes were and who made them. EHR systems, on contrary, keep the logs of all the changes made in a single chart and even allow you to restore previous versions of the document.
4) Inconsistent layouts
While paper-based records can be easier to customize, it also means that the layout and format of information can be inconsistent from one record to the next. Electronic records have a consistent format to which healthcare providers can get accustomed.
5) No integration with the billing process
Using paper-based charts requires healthcare providers to indicate the performed services on a separate superbill form, which can then be used to file a claim. The same is not true for the records created in an EHR system. Software like WCH iSmart EHR allows you to combine electronic superbills with patient charts so that both can be completed in a single setting.
Now is the perfect time to switch to electronic medical records! WCH iSmart is the leading software that has the following features:
• A sophisticated EMR with hundreds of templates
• Scheduling – an easy-to-use tool to keep your appointments in a good order
• Healthcare Information Exchange
• E-prescribing
• Eligibility verification
• Electronic superbill
• Billing monitor
• Analytics – a set of reports to keep you up to date with the reimbursement flow of your practice
• MIPS dashboard
Interested? Check it out: https://ismartehr.com/
