Medical Archives | TechnologyAdvice We're On IT. Mon, 09 Jan 2023 21:35:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://cdn.technologyadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ta-favicon-45x45.png Medical Archives | TechnologyAdvice 32 32 Healthcare Cybersecurity: Preparations You Need to Make Now https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/healthcare-cybersecurity-preparations/ https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/healthcare-cybersecurity-preparations/#respond Tue, 08 Jun 2021 15:24:54 +0000 https://technologyadvice.com/?p=77357 The healthcare sector accounted for the largest share of analyzed breaches in 2020. From January to October, more than 700 breaches resulted in 22 billion records exposed. And yes, while a chunk of that number is due to the massive shift to remote work, the healthcare industry is particularly vulnerable because of information value. Medical... Read more »

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The healthcare sector accounted for the largest share of analyzed breaches in 2020. From January to October, more than 700 breaches resulted in 22 billion records exposed.

And yes, while a chunk of that number is due to the massive shift to remote work, the healthcare industry is particularly vulnerable because of information value. Medical records are reported to be worth 10 times more than credit card numbers on the black market. These records contain a treasure trove of information: full name, address history, social security number — essentially enough information to take out a loan or set up a line of credit under the stolen name.

Pair this with an increasing number of interconnected devices within the health field, and it’s no wonder that hackers gravitate toward it. Cyber attacks are happening more frequently because organizations are sharing more information across devices and with third party vendors. They’re digitizing patient data and moving it to cloud services without double checking the security sticking points in doing so.

It begs the question: What can be done to protect your practice from a cyberattack?

HIPAA and ransomware

The Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the entity tasked with enforcing HIPAA guidelines, is trying their best to protect patient records from cybercriminals. They finalized the HIPAA Omnibus Rule in 2013 (the most recent addition to HIPAA guidelines). This rule contains edits to security, privacy, breach notification, and enforcement rules to enhance confidentiality and security in data sharing.

In essence, the OCR updated the HIPAA guidelines in an attempt to better protect health information that was at risk from being exposed. This is typically due to poor protection practices from healthcare organizations, such as using old, legacy tools that can’t keep up with cybersecurity needs. But HIPAA has its limitations in serving as a cybersecurity tool, and considering the newest addition was written in 2013, threats have greatly evolved since.

Almost half of breaches in the healthcare sector are caused by ransomware.

The HIPAA Journal cites the reason: The healthcare industry has a higher probability of paying that ransom than other industry sectors. Providers need to restore access to patient data ASAP to continue to care for patients. Factor in patients needing COVID care back in 2020, and the probability skyrockets.

Statistics of HIPAA cybersecurity

Infographic via BIS

Here’s a few tips the HIPAA journal gives to combat ransomware. We’ll go into more detail about preparations your practice should make further down below.

  • Don’t click on a phishing email. If you don’t know what that looks like, read this.
  • Have security professionals search for Trojans on the network.
  • Implement regular employee training to identify social engineering attacks.
  • Increase security monitoring over the weekend, as many attacks commonly occur on the weekend and holidays because cybercriminals know monitoring is likely reduced at these times.

Read also: The Move to Mobile & HIPAA: What you Need to Know

3 measures to combat a cybersecurity breach

While the stats aren’t pretty, it is possible to defend against cyberattackers by following this advice.

1. Establish a security culture

No matter how secure your network is, it’s only as secure as its weakest link. And in most cases, the weakest link is the user. This stems from a lack of awareness about threats and vulnerabilities, leading to jeopardized information.

Your healthcare practice should instill and support a security-minded organizational culture. This looks like frequent and ongoing education and training, ensuring people managers are setting a good example in regards to security practices, and taking responsibility for information security.

Work to overcome the perception that a security breach only happens to other people. Security practices must be built into the organization, not bolted on.

2. Plan for the unexpected

When it comes to cybersecurity, smartly preparing means expecting the unexpected. Two keys to do this:

  1. Create backups of your patient data
  2. Have a sound recovery plan

Healthcare data backup and recovery are critical components of the heath IT infrastructure. It’s not a question of if you’ll need it, but when.

The general rule for backing up data is to have at least three different copies of the backup stored on two different types of media — with at least one of the backups held offsite. Examples include using a physical medium, such as a magnetic tape or removable hard drive, and storing copies of data in the cloud.

Cloud-based backup is necessary for keeping data available to end-users if a cyberattack were to occur. This plays into the recovery plan, giving the organization the reactionary capability to switch over to the recovery data quickly.

Many vendors offer both backup and recovery services. When choosing a backup and recovery tool, look for one that offers the least amount of disruption to existing IT infrastructure, such as NovaBACKUP, which is HIPAA compliant.

3. Invest in IT security personnel

Ultimately, a network is more secure when all individuals accessing the network can be identified and tracked. This is why it’s important to know who is on your network, when they’re on it, why they’re on it, and what they’re doing on it.

This is why it’s important to have a dedicated security IT professional for your healthcare practice. It’s their job to monitor the access points, ensure end-users have only the minimum amount of access required to do business, and work to identify all potential weaknesses in third party relations.

With most networks having multiple unsecured entry points, a plethora of cloud-based services, and many connection devices, the attack surface is large and inviting. And it’s why you need someone manning the fort full-time.

Prepare with cybersecurity software

One of the best investments in securing your healthcare practice is security software. If you’re looking for ways to better defend against a cybersecurity attack, use our Security Software Product Selection Tool to find systems that are tailored to your requirements.

Top Electronic Health Record Software Recommendations

1 Domo

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Build a modern business, driven by data. Connect to any data source to bring your data together into one unified view, then make analytics available to drive insight-based actions—all while maintaining security and control. Domo serves enterprise customers in all industries looking to manage their entire organization from a single platform.

Learn more about Domo

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Optimizing Your Patient Portal for Maximum Engagement https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/patient-portal-maximum-engagement/ https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/patient-portal-maximum-engagement/#respond Wed, 26 May 2021 15:15:42 +0000 https://technologyadvice.com/?p=77182 Patients who are actively engaged in their health experience better health outcomes and higher satisfaction with their provider. Using a patient portal is an effective tool to boost patient engagement if done correctly. But just having a portal doesn’t mean patients will use it. The Government Accountability Office found that while 90 percent of hospitals... Read more »

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Patients who are actively engaged in their health experience better health outcomes and higher satisfaction with their provider. Using a patient portal is an effective tool to boost patient engagement if done correctly.

But just having a portal doesn’t mean patients will use it. The Government Accountability Office found that while 90 percent of hospitals and clinicians offered patient portal access, only a third of patients used the tool.

Yes, administrative functions are useful, but patients are more likely to use a portal if it includes interactive and personalized tools that are relevant to their needs. So we’ve outlined 4 tips for optimizing your patient portal to better meet those needs and increase engagement. If you’re in the market for a patient portal tool, or want to switch from your current one, use our Patient Portal Product Selection Tool to get a shortlist of recommendations.

Which Medical software is right for you?

 

How to optimize your patient portal

  1. Meet patient priorities
  2. Encourage patient enrollment
  3. Integrate the portal into practice workflow
  4. Evaluate portal use

1. Meet patient priorities

First and foremost, a patient is only going to use your portal if it’s easier than the alternative to gain access to their health information. If they see no benefit, they won’t continue to use it. To provide a useful portal, patients need to be able to:

  • Request and schedule services, whether an appointment, a prescription refill, or a referral. This should be a basic function of every portal as it’s convenient for the patient and frees up your practice’s phone lines.
  • Obtain information about their health by messaging their physician or reviewing medical information such as test results, diagnostic reports, and medication lists. Make sure this information can be easily understood by the patient or their designated family members.
  • Submit information that your practice requests. This will help save time (for both you and your patient) as this information can be set up to import directly into your EHR system if you’re using a standalone patient portal tool.

Using a patient portal that provides these features, such as Solutionreach, meets your patients needs and also inadvertently saves your practice time and effort.

2. Encourage patient enrollment

Encouraging patient enrollment could look like providing information about it on your website, encouraging your team members to mention the portal when patients call to schedule appointments, or maybe even posting a couple flyers in the waiting room and check-out area like the good old days.

A fundamental step to increased patient engagement with the patient portal is to tell them about it.

Outline the benefits of the portal, such as access to their records and prescription refill requests. Again, patients won’t use it if they don’t think it’s worth it. Emphasize that the portal is secure and HIPAA compliant, meaning their data is safer than communication via text or email.

Other ways to further encourage enrollment:

Send portal invite via text

Texting has an impressive reach, even in older adults. For those ages 50-69, texting has surpassed email as their preferred method of communication.

patient portal luma health text message

Luma Health allows practices to generate automatic text messages to new or disengaged patients.

Sending a portal invite via text message is a convenient, inexpensive way to increase awareness, participation, and an overall positive response.

Provide in-person help with portal activation

We’ve all been there: We see a text or email that requires action from us, we tell ourselves we’ll do it later, then we promptly forget.

If you’re seeing a low response rate to the emails or texts you’re sending out about your portal, the problem could be patients simply forgetting. Consider offering in-person help with enrolling in the patient portal program. Do most of your patients really need help? Probably not. But the personal contact and reminder will provide that final, needed push.

Read also: 6 Tips for Increasing Engagement with Every Patient

3. Integrate the portal into practice workflow

Ensuring the portal effectively integrates into your practice’s workflow will translate to ensuring the portal will effectively integrate into your patient’s needs.

Using a portal that facilitates messaging is great for the patient, but their doctor may not have the time to answer each question sent. In reality, most patient inquiries can be answered by a nonphysician team member. Delegating portal messages and tasks between team members will minimize physician time spent while still providing patients with the answers they need.

Most patient portals include some sort of messaging capability, but make sure it’s encrypted and compliant.

athenahealth devices

Athenahealth supports multiple devices, making integration into practice workflow easier.

Delays in responding to patients over your portal is one of the quickest ways to discourage use. To effectively integrate the portal into your workflow, assign staff members to different tasks concerning the portal, whether answering inquiries on a timely and consistent basis, uploading necessary documents into the portal for the patient, or monitoring the status of the appointment schedule.

4. Evaluate portal use

As patient portal uptake increases, take a step back to internally measure your efforts. Are there any pain points concerning the usability? Are there areas where it doesn’t mesh well with your practice’s workflow?

Evaluate externally, too. Send out a survey to your patients to gather useful metrics that will serve as a jumping-off point for improvements. Ask them to rate their ability to get an appointment when needed and their satisfaction with communication abilities. Do they think the portal has improved interactions with their provider or their overall health?

A survey also supplies more insight into the why behind patients using the portal. Take a look at this survey question:

myprohealth patient portal survey

myProHealth provides patient surveys for enhancing the portal.

Having this data gives your practice insight and perspective into patient motives and how to capitalize on them to get the most out of your portal.

Use patient portal software to improve your patient portal

For maximum engagement, your patient portal must be engaging and user friendly. It needs to support patient-centered outcomes and integrate into your practice for adequate decision-making and use. If you’re looking for a patient portal that supports the features we’ve mentioned throughout the article, use our Patient Portal Software Product Selection Tool. You’ll get a shortlist of patient portal software that is tailored to your needs.

 

Top Electronic Health Record Software Recommendations

1 Domo

Visit website

Build a modern business, driven by data. Connect to any data source to bring your data together into one unified view, then make analytics available to drive insight-based actions—all while maintaining security and control. Domo serves enterprise customers in all industries looking to manage their entire organization from a single platform.

Learn more about Domo

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The Move to Mobile & HIPAA: What you Need to Know https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/mobile-devices-and-hipaa/ https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/mobile-devices-and-hipaa/#respond Tue, 04 May 2021 15:47:37 +0000 https://technologyadvice.com/?p=76706 firewalls. Over 90 percent of physicians use a smartphone or tablet in their workplace, and it’s evident why. Mobile health improves efficiency and overall quality of healthcare services. It’s plain easier and most patients prefer it. While integrating mobile devices into existing healthcare technology seems inevitable for any progressive organization, these devices weren’t exactly created... Read more »

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firewalls. Over 90 percent of physicians use a smartphone or tablet in their workplace, and it’s evident why. Mobile health improves efficiency and overall quality of healthcare services. It’s plain easier and most patients prefer it.

While integrating mobile devices into existing healthcare technology seems inevitable for any progressive organization, these devices weren’t exactly created with healthcare data security in mind. And the administrators of HIPAA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (HHS), know it.

Any HIPAA-covered organization using mobile devices must implement and enforce a HIPAA mobile device policy to protect patient health data. But with potentially thousands of devices requiring access to a healthcare network, protecting that data and staying HIPAA compliant becomes increasingly complex — and costly. Fines can reach above $1 million.

The possibility of hefty fines probably won’t stop you from deploying mobile health at your company; the payoff is just too great. So here’s everything you need to know — from common mistakes to compliancy tips and tricks — to keep your patients’ data secure while using mobile devices.

What are the real dangers of using mobile devices in the workplace?

Although the security risk increases, HIPAA doesn’t outlaw mobile devices in healthcare settings, stating:

“Health care providers, other covered entities, and business associates may use mobile devices to access electronic protected health information (ePHI) as long as appropriate physical, administrative, and technical safeguards are in place to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the ePHI on the mobile device and appropriate BAAs [Business Associate Agreements] are in place with any third-party service providers for the device and/or the cloud that will have access to e-PHI.”

So if HIPAA allows it, what’s the real danger?

The danger, summed up in a statistic, is that in a six month period back in 2015, over 102 million healthcare records were exposed and 34 healthcare data breaches involved mobile devices.

Every portal to a healthcare network, be it mobile phone, tablet, or laptop, is a vulnerability. The same security measures used for in-house computers and servers aren’t in place for mobile devices. Mobile devices typically don’t have firewalls, encryption, antivirus software, or multi-factor authentication.

To add fuel to the fire, many healthcare organizations that have a BYOD policy have insufficient procedures to regulate it. Employees may accidentally download a malicious app that steals the password to your EHR software.

Other, quick-hit examples of why mobile devices in the healthcare industry can be dangerous:

  • Mobile devices are easy to lose or steal.
  • Employees aren’t in the habit of encrypting emails when using mobile devices.
  • Mobile devices are easier to share with others, inadvertently exposing confidential data.
  • Many mobile users don’t implement password protection on their mobile devices.

Also read: HIPAA-Compliant Software That Will Streamline Workflow

Common mobile device HIPAA violations

Using mobile devices in your healthcare practice ups your chances of violating HIPAA regulations in ways you may not even be aware of. Here are common ways violations occur, giving you the insight to consciously avoid them (and a substantial fine).

Text messages

It’s insanely convenient to text coworkers about work matters. But if you’re texting about patient information, it’s classified as ePHI, meaning the messages you send should be encrypted both in transit and while stored on your phone. Instead, use a HIPAA-compliant messaging app such as Kareo. These apps differ from normal messaging apps in that copies of messages are not retained on routing servers and therefore can’t be intercepted on public Wi-Fi.

Camera roll

Photos are useful in medicine. It’s tempting to take a quick picture of an X-ray or ECG for reference later, but don’t do it. Having these pictures on your camera roll qualifies as ePHI if there’s identifying information about a patient — and that doesn’t just mean their first and last name. If you need to take pictures, do so through an app like Qliq that doesn’t save the pictures to your phone’s gallery or cloud.

Insecure Wi-Fi

It’s important to never access patient information on public Wi-Fi. Sitting at a coffee shop may seem like the perfect time to check an email from a coworker, but that transmission of patient data from the email server to your phone can lead to a HIPAA violation. If you’re accessing the network without a password, so can everyone else.

When accessing patient information, make sure either your network connection is encrypted or any ePHI you’re transmitting is encrypted. If you have to use a public Wi-Fi network, use a virtual private network.

The cloud

Mobile devices are mainly using cloud technologies by default, which is helpful in accessing information from multiple locations, but dangerous in exposing patient data. Referencing the aforementioned camera roll violation, the photos you take on your phone are probably automatically backing up to the cloud, making them available elsewhere. To ensure you’re not violating HIPAA laws, identify all points of ePHI storage or access on your mobile devices and determine if a cloud service is used. If it is, turn off the cloud service and invest in a HIPAA-compliant photo app.

Risk analysis

The HSS is clear that the first step in achieving compliance is risk analysis. Risk analysis requires organizations to:

  • Evaluate risks and vulnerabilities in their environments
  • Implement reasonable and appropriate security measures to protect against reasonably anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of e-PHI
  • Document the security measures and the rationale behind them
  • Maintain continuous and appropriate security protections

If you aren’t following these steps in analyzing your risks within your mobile devices, we highly recommend doing so, as you’re probably on the wrong side of HIPAA regulations.

10 simple tips for securing your practice’s data and staying HIPAA compliant

It’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to using mobile devices in your practice. Implement some or all of these 10 simple tips to stay HIPAA compliant while retaining the efficiency your mobile technology provides.

  1. Implement PIN or password protection on all mobile devices.
  2. Implement mobile encryption (and make sure any backup information is encrypted as well).
  3. Regularly update software and applications.
  4. Create clear mobile security policies and regularly train your employees on them.
  5. Invest in mobile device management software for controlling access to devices, limiting data portability, and recovering missing devices.
  6. Install or activate remote wiping and/or disabling.
  7. Keep an inventory of personal mobile devices being used by healthcare professionals to access and transmit ePHI.
  8. Install firewalls and regularly update security software on all mobile devices.
  9. Install radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on your mobile devices to locate a lost or stolen device.
  10. Delete all stored ePHI before reusing or disposing of a device.

Using HIPAA compliant software to avoid violations

Much of the worry about violations and exposing patient information can be resolved with a HIPAA-compliant software. With an EHR system, providers safely share patient information with partner facilities, employees, or others and keep all records organized and secure. Use our EHR-EMR Product Selection Tool to find an EHR tool that best fits for practice.

Top Electronic Health Record Software Recommendations

1 Domo

Visit website

Build a modern business, driven by data. Connect to any data source to bring your data together into one unified view, then make analytics available to drive insight-based actions—all while maintaining security and control. Domo serves enterprise customers in all industries looking to manage their entire organization from a single platform.

Learn more about Domo

Need a Little Help?

Talk with a software expert for free. Get a list of software that’s great for you in less than 15 minutes.


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Cerner vs. Epic: Comparing The Biggest EHR Vendors https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/cerner-vs-epic/ https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/cerner-vs-epic/#respond Mon, 03 May 2021 18:00:41 +0000 https://technologyadvice.com/?p=69520 If you work in healthcare, you’ve heard of Cerner and Epic. Combined, these EHR vendors own 55 percent of the market share for acute care hospitals in the United States. That percentage goes even higher when you narrow in on the 500+ bed hospital market. These are big, costly systems, so there’s little room for... Read more »

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If you work in healthcare, you’ve heard of Cerner and Epic. Combined, these EHR vendors own 55 percent of the market share for acute care hospitals in the United States. That percentage goes even higher when you narrow in on the 500+ bed hospital market.

These are big, costly systems, so there’s little room for forgiveness when it comes to choosing the one your organization will use. Contracts frequently run into the millions — even billions — of dollars, and implementing the software itself can take anywhere from six months to over a year, not to mention the time it takes staff to learn the new system.

Table of contents

  1. Top EHR systems
  2. Is Epic or Cerner Better?
  3. Is Epic or Cerner Easier to Use?
  4. Interoperability in Cerner vs. Epic
  5. How Cerner and Epic have responded to EHR innovations
  6. How to request software recommendations from TechnologyAdvice

Top EHR systems

While Cerner and Epic are two of the most recognizable names in the EHR software space, they aren’t the only options. To help you find the right tools for your practice, here’s a quick list of the top EHR systems.

1 Domo

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Build a modern business, driven by data. Connect to any data source to bring your data together into one unified view, then make analytics available to drive insight-based actions—all while maintaining security and control. Domo serves enterprise customers in all industries looking to manage their entire organization from a single platform.

Learn more about Domo

2 Kareo

Visit website

Kareo offers medical practices a cloud-based electronic health record solution paired with award-winning practice and revenue cycle management. Kareo EHR is designed for use by physicians in an outpatient setting and is qualified to help medical practices earn Meaningful Use attestation. The appeal lies in its affordability, usefulness, and mobile capabilities. Kareo EHR includes dynamic patient, document, and medication management functions.

Learn more about Kareo

Is Epic or Cerner Better?

Back to table of contents ↑

Cerner and Epic are both makers of health information technology and electronic health record (EHR) software, but they serve organizations of different sizes and offer vastly different workflow experiences. The size and nature of your organization should therefore be a major factor in deciding which solution to go with.

Both vendors offer cloud-based software solutions for acute and ambulatory care, though Cerner is the far more popular choice for ambulatory care and clinicals. When it comes to larger healthcare organizations, most healthcare providers go with Epic. Neither vendor discloses pricing information publicly, but news about contract deal sizes seems to indicate that Epic is slightly more expensive than Cerner, though this also depends on how well you plan implementation.

For example, Becker’s Hospital Review reports that after University of Illinois Health sent out an RFP for a new health records system, it received a bid of $60.5 million from Cerner and a proposal of $62 million from Epic. For a different RFP, Cerner won a $10 billion contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs. However, this grew into a $16 billion contract in March 2018 after more considerations about implementation, maintenance, management, and rollout were made.

In terms of software solutions offered, you’ll find both systems to be fairly similar. They both offer interoperability, revenue cycle management, population health management, mobile access, telehealth, and artificial intelligence.

CRM
Consulting
Dental
Real-time Data
Cerner EHR logo.

Cerner

No symbol.

No

Green checkmark for yes.

Yes

No symbol.

No

Green checkmark for yes.

Yes

Epic EHR logo.

Epic

Green checkmark for yes.

Yes

No symbol.

No

Green checkmark for yes.

Yes

No symbol.

No

 

 

Cerner and Epic also offer services for implementation, training, IT, and support, to name a few.

This article is designed to help you choose with confidence between these two solutions, but we can help take even more pressure off this decision. Use our Medical Product Selection Tool to request a free, personalized shortlist of the best EHR-EMR software for you. We’ll ask a few questions to determine your needs and then send you five systems that meet them the best.

Which medical software
is right for your
organization?

Is Epic or Cerner Easier to Use?

Back to table of contents ↑

Screenshot of the user interface in Cerner EHR.

Cerner (pictured above) offers a well-designed graphical user interface (GUI), but this doesn’t necessarily translate to good ease of use. Many users report long, repetitive workflows for even simple tasks with many users saying the system is not intuitive to use. While you could certainly do worse when looking for a usable EHR, Cerner will still require a decent amount of training before staff feel comfortable working in it.

A screenshot of the user interface in Epic EHR.

Epic (pictured above) may not be as aesthetically pleasing as Cerner, but many users report good ease of use. This EHR is intuitive, so staff are usually able to figure out how to perform tasks without having to go through extensive training. Built-in shortcuts speed up work even more, though the number of on-screen functions at any given time can feel a bit overwhelming at first.

Also read: What Doctors Want From Medical Technology

Interoperability in Cerner vs. Epic

Back to table of contents ↑

Interoperability, the ability for the system to share information with other software, should be a key consideration when choosing between Cerner and Epic. Here’s how both systems stack up when it comes to sharing patient data.

Cerner

Cerner enables interoperability in several different ways. The first and perhaps most well-known is through CommonWell Health Alliance, a not-for-profit industry trade association that Cerner co-founded along with six other competitors. CommonWell Health Alliance provides a set of standards and policies that make it easier for members to share and access patient data.

Additionally, Cerner provides Cerner Ignite APIs to let healthcare organizations integrate third-party apps with the EHR. Reference Lab Network lets providers connect to multiple acute and reference labs without having to make connections with every single lab. Later this year, Cerner plans to unveil Seamless Exchange, a new innovation to interoperability in the platform.

Also read: 5 Cerner EHR Competitors for Hospitals and Small Practices

Epic

Epic allows for interoperability in three different ways. First, you can connect to the Carequality network, a public-private network that connects healthcare providers from all over the United States. Another way is the EpicCare Link, which lets non-Epic users view information about patients from an Epic user. Think of it like the shareable collaboration links Google Drive and Dropbox utilize. Share Everywhere is a third interoperability feature that lets patients share their own health information with outside providers. This allows providers to see patient information without connecting to Epic through an EHR.

How Cerner and Epic have responded to EHR innovations

Back to table of contents ↑

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced some major innovative needs for both the healthcare industry as a whole and EHR systems. Take a look at how Cerner and Epic have responded to these challenges.

Telehealth

With limits placed on how many people could gather indoors, practices had to limit what they could see patients for in-office. However, people didn’t stop needing to see doctors, so clinics had to find creative ways to help their patients. Telemedicine allowed doctors to safely examine their patients while offering a more accessible (and possibly cheaper) option for people to take advantage of post-COVID.

Cerner collaborated with Amwell, a telehealth company, to help their clients schedule, conduct, and chart telehealth appointments. Additionally, they’re beginning to offer digital care plans to mitigate the workloads their practices are facing. These plans help patients self-monitor their symptoms and automatically identify patients that need a physician to intervene.

Epic embedded a new telemedicine platform into its system, allowing physicians to connect with patients right from the EHR. By adding the service to their system, Epic has made it easier for doctors to view patient history and search symptoms while video-chatting with their patients.

User-friendly patient portals

Limits on in-person groups also made it more difficult for patients to schedule appointments and get information over the phone. Because of this, doctors’ offices and hospitals needed patient portals that were easier for their clients to use. Moving forward, these new patient portals make it easier for patients to request prescription renewals, schedule appointments, and ask their doctor follow-up questions.

Cerner’s patient portal includes a secure, HIPAA-compliant messaging application where patients can safely chat with their doctors to ask questions and ensure they’re following the right steps in their care plan. The system also enables online prescription refills and allows patients to schedule virtual appointments.

Epic’s patient portal not only allows patients to schedule appointments and view their medical records securely, but they can also get information on what certain procedures might cost them. The patient portal supports virtual consultation scheduling as well.

Work balance

As clinics and hospitals become busier, doctors are spending more time in front of their computers and less time with patients. Many practices look to their EHR systems to help them rebalance their time and reduce burnout.

Cerner’s system improves the efficiency of the communication between clinical and billing teams to optimize billing and claims processes. The platform also includes AI-enabled workflows to optimize charting and other behind-the-scenes processes and allow doctors to spend more time with their patients.

Epic used to include alerts for everything, but they’ve since worked on streamlining their platform to keep from overloading doctors with alerts and pop-ups. The system helps doctors optimize their workflows to improve their work-life balance.

How to request software recommendations from TechnologyAdvice

Typically, Cerner is more attractive for smaller clinics and hospitals due to the services they offer in IT and implementation management. Larger hospitals tend to prefer Epic because it usually takes less training to get started with. Even so, each practice is unique and both have features that would be appealing to clinics of any size.

If you’re still not convinced whether Cerner or Epic is right for you, we can save you hours on researching other vendors. Use the Medical Software Product Selection Tool on our website to request a free, personalized shortlist of the best EMR-EHR software for you. We’ll ask a few questions to identify your biggest needs and then match you with the vendors that will work best.

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Wearable Healthcare Technology’s Post-Pandemic Promise https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/wearable-healthcare-technology/ https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/wearable-healthcare-technology/#respond Fri, 09 Apr 2021 19:48:47 +0000 https://technologyadvice.com/?p=76315 Healthcare providers have found themselves at a critical moment where the availability of patient data, limited in-office visits with patients, and an explosion of patient care technology has caused many practices to pivot their traditional methods of patient care. These circumstances provide an opportunity to employ wearable healthcare technology to improve patient care and communication.... Read more »

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Healthcare providers have found themselves at a critical moment where the availability of patient data, limited in-office visits with patients, and an explosion of patient care technology has caused many practices to pivot their traditional methods of patient care. These circumstances provide an opportunity to employ wearable healthcare technology to improve patient care and communication.

“Telemedicine overall has done a great job at providing patients with timely diagnoses, removing the obstacles of time, distance and cost that can often come with the logistics of in-person appointments. Wearable technology, in particular, has streamlined the healthcare process in terms of clinical efficiency , enabling faster triage, smarter decision making, and enhanced patient engagement,” says Dr. Wale Sulaiman of Hippo Technologies, a healthcare technology and education firm. We can expect that these changes will deepen the use of technology to better connect people with their healthcare providers.

Wearable healthcare technology can be prescribed by a doctor or adopted independently by the patient to provide deep data insights and better communication between the practice and the patient. And because these tools collect biometric data at regular intervals without patient initiation or intervention, they can be relied on to collect more data points more accurately than patient journals or recollection.

Your patients may already use a wearable that can collect vital biometric data. Either through the native apps or specialized apps, you can tap into these metrics for monitoring and diagnosis. Some current consumer wearables that collect health data include:

  • Apple Watch 6 with ECG and blood oxygen monitoring
  • Whoop wristband and training program
  • Oura sleep analytics ring
  • Google Nest Hub sleep monitoring

These tools use microphones, LED light sensors, and motion sensors to direct movement, heart rate, and collect vital data that consumers find useful.

The popularity of consumer wearable technology has caused many technology companies to invest in wearable healthcare apps to improve patient engagement, communicate data from patients to practices, and even diagnose hard to track disorders.

Benefits patients and providers can see now

Today’s healthcare wearables already produce dramatic results for patient care. Because patients can comfortably keep a wearable on their person nearly 24/7, the data collection is extensive. This can provide insight into disorders that don’t present themselves under regular office visit testing conditions

Larger data sets to identify conditions

“We have seen patients on a longer term study with 7 or more days of continuous monitoring with a clinical wearable find important diagnostic results on day 5 or day 10, or day 22. Results that meant earlier intervention and the avoidance of a stroke or heart attack,” said Waqaas Al-Siddiq CEO of Biotricity, a technology company that specializes in remote patient monitoring. Understanding this sort of long-term data gives healthcare professionals insight and early intervention on conditions that present themselves only sporadically or under particular conditions.

Real-time data combined with alerts

If wearable healthcare technology can upload data via an internet connection, the software may be configured to monitor data in real-time. Using similar AI technology that monitors networks for cybersecurity anomalies, the software can monitor a patient’s data and send an alert to the provider and the patient when that data falls outside a defined range. Michel Alvarez, CEO at CicaLux cites real-time data collection and alerts as the prime benefit for consumers with critical care needs. “For serious illness or disease, those can be a lifesaver.”

Increased accountability of care

Wearables that track physical activity and key biometrics can give providers deeper insight into a patient’s ability to stick to the treatment plan than treatment journals or relying on memory. “In the world of physical therapy, instead of relying solely on patient-reporting to determine whether or not they did their assigned exercises, providers can remotely track and evaluate sessions. The benefits extend from patient to practitioner when the healthcare provider can utilize these specific insights to customize and tailor a treatment program,” said Jessica Maslin, co-founder of Mieron. Care providers are then able to ask the right questions of patients to better understand their barriers and provide revised programs that meet the patients needs.

Best practices for healthcare providers who want to start using wearables in treatment

Providers looking to start using wearable technology with their patients can start small by giving patients consumer options that track basic data, and then set a time to review the data with the patient. Maslin suggests starting with smartwatch technologies. “It can be easily integrated into a full day of activities, and with the accompanying apps available, you can evaluate health trends and habits, plus it has the functionality of a watch and productivity tool outside of healthcare initiatives. A simple smart-watch can help remind someone to be more active, it can allow practitioners to evaluate resting and exertion heart rates, determine if someone is being sedentary, and much more.”

Those healthcare practitioners looking for medical wearable technologies with defined outcomes should consider doing more research into technologies that support long-term goals. Al-Siddiq has identified three characteristics facilities should look for when researching their next healthcare wearable:

  • “Continuous data collection, where the data does not need user intervention but [the device] can be worn and is collected long term
  • Clinically relevant data, i.e. that data being collected is accurate and clinically valuable
  • FDA clearance or built by a medical device company [rather than] a product built by a lifestyle company”

And providers should think deeply about how the wearable tech they plan to use will affect patient outcomes. How will they use the data in consultation with the patient to improve adherence to treatment?

The future of wearable healthcare technology

Wearable health technology is only in its infancy. As more providers offer these tools and more patients grow used to monitoring and understanding their own health data through wearable technology and consultations with their healthcare team, the technology will continue to expand.

In terms of trends for the future, those that dominate technology in general will continue to affect this market. “I see a shift in wearable health tech where devices become more and more clinically relevant [by] collecting more diagnostic and clinical biometrics, more intelligent devices actively monitoring the data coming in as opposed to passively recording, ubiquitous connectivity and a shift into implantable sensors/wearables,” says Al-Siddiq.

Maslin agrees: “It’s safe to say that wearables are going to become more compact and less cumbersome, while reporting on more bio-analytics, which over time can help determine risk of secondary injury, progress and gains on range of motion, and it can be used as a haptic tool to reward healthy habits.” She also foresees technology tools once considered entertainment or training-focused like virtual reality headsets as a major player. “This was especially prevalent during the pandemic, where traditional hands-on treatments like physical therapy have transitioned to telehealth, VR has become an incredibly powerful tool to bridge the gap and keep exercises interesting and engaging while staying safer at home,” she says.

And the pandemic has increased the trend toward providing patients with better care from wherever they are via telehealth, remote monitoring, and digital communications. Maslin calls out the importance of remote care. “There are a lot of trends transitioning to home health. Whether it is for personal aesthetic gain or to help improve functional mobility and independence, wearable tech provides individuals and healthcare providers with incredible insights into health trends, compliance to a regimen, and fitness/health measurements that can help determine if we’re living a healthy lifestyle.”

Top Electronic Health Record Software Recommendations

1 Domo

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Build a modern business, driven by data. Connect to any data source to bring your data together into one unified view, then make analytics available to drive insight-based actions—all while maintaining security and control. Domo serves enterprise customers in all industries looking to manage their entire organization from a single platform.

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6 Tips for Increasing Engagement with Every Patient https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/tips-for-patient-engagement/ https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/tips-for-patient-engagement/#respond Thu, 11 Mar 2021 15:00:33 +0000 https://technologyadvice.com/?p=75937 When a patient participates in managing their health, they are more likely to follow medical advice, take steps in bettering their health, and consistently show up for appointments. When unengaged, patients are 3x more likely to have unmet medical needs and 2x more likely to delay medical care. As a healthcare provider, you want to... Read more »

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When a patient participates in managing their health, they are more likely to follow medical advice, take steps in bettering their health, and consistently show up for appointments. When unengaged, patients are 3x more likely to have unmet medical needs and 2x more likely to delay medical care.

As a healthcare provider, you want to provide patients with innovative ways to manage their health so that valuing it becomes easier. While modern engagement techniques point to using technology at every turn, not all patients respond well to technology-based communication channels. Some feel overwhelmed by the seeming complexity of online appointment scheduling or using a video conferencing software to talk with their doctor.

We’ve identified six tips that are friendly to both tech and non-tech savvy patients to increase patient engagement. Using these methods can help patients with varying degrees of technology literacy achieve their optimal state of health.

If you’re looking for patient engagement software to increase engagement with every patient, use our Patient Engagement Product Selection Tool to request a free, personalized shortlist of the best software for you. We’ll ask a few questions to determine your needs and we’ll send you five systems that meet them the best.

Which medical software is right for you?

 

Tips for engagement with every patient, regardless of technical ability

1. Ask about and honor communication preferences

One size does not fit all when it comes to patient engagement. To determine the best methods for increasing engagement with your patients, you should first analyze how involved your patients already are and understand their preferred communication channel.

Many healthcare professionals use the Patient Activation Measure, a 100-point scale that assesses an individual’s knowledge, skill, confidence, and preferences in managing their own health.

Consider using this survey to know more about your patients’ ability to self-manage their health and tailor your strategies in increasing patient activation. For example, you may learn from your results that the majority of your patients are not willing to adopt any new engagement technologies and that they prefer simpler, nontechnical engagement methods. Or you may learn that your patients have been waiting for you to automate your health care system for the past three years.

This survey can be integrated into your EHR system. You can ask patients to complete it before the appointment as part of their paperwork, or after they’ve had their healthcare visit.

2. Motivate with rewards

As offering rewards can help motivate employees, the same goes for patients. Rewarding patients can encourage them to achieve their health goals and strengthen the patient-provider relationship.

Consider incentivizing with a gift certificate or an entry into a raffle if a patient hits a certain blood pressure number or completes supplementary education about their journey to recovery. It doesn’t have to be expensive; you’d be surprised at the outcome a small reward brings.

It’s worth noting that offering a rewards program should not be seen as a substitute for offering valuable care in order to keep a patient. If a patient has a poor experience with their provider, it’s unlikely a gift card will keep them around.

3. Include patients in shared decision-making

Shared decision-making creates a patient-centered health care experience. Clinicians and patients work together to make decisions and choose tests, treatments, and care plans that balances expected outcomes with patient preferences.

Giving patients the knowledge and ability to choose their treatment options, guided by a clinician, builds a trusting relationship between the two parties and increases the likelihood the patient will follow through with the plan.

The six steps to engaging patients in shared decision making, provided by the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, are:

  1. Invite patients to participate
  2. Present options
  3. Provide information on benefits and risks
  4. Assist patients in evaluating options based on their concerns and goals
  5. Facilitate deliberation and decision-making
  6. Assist with implementation

4. Get patients involved in setting goals for their health

Goal setting is essential to education and engagement. For example, a patient recently diagnosed with diabetes may understand that eating healthy, being active, and taking medication are necessary behaviors for self-management, but without specific goals, they may find it overwhelming.

Facilitate goal-setting discussions with your patient, and make sure that these goals are important to them. They may be told that they need to lose 20 pounds, but they need information on how to lose the weight and the importance behind it.

Help patients set goals that are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. By setting feasible goals that can be accomplished in incremental steps, patients are encouraged to keep moving forward.

5. Set up texting reminders

Even if you patients don’t want online appointment scheduling or online billing, chances are they are familiar with reading and replying to text messages. Setting up text-based appointment reminders does not mean patients have to download an app, set up an online portal account, or remember login credentials.

71 percent of patients said they’d prefer to receive an appointment reminder via text as opposed to a phone call. Many patients don’t answer unknown phone numbers for fear of spam calls warning them about their car’s extended warranty.

Many EMR tools such as Kareo provide features for sending appointment reminders to patients that only require them to reply with a hassle-free Yes or No confirmation message. Reminding patients about their appointment will decrease the amount of no-shows and wasted time.

6. Expand patient engagement to family engagement

In most cases, patient-centered care does not start and end with the patient. They have a network of friends and family behind them, and clinicians should be mindful of the role they play in patient engagement. Family members provide emotional support and accountability and serve as caregivers.

Have patients identify loved ones with whom information can be shared, following HIPAA guidelines. Over 90 percent of people want the ability to communicate with their loved one’s care team via text messaging.

Incorporating family into treatment plans and logistical support greatly heightens patient engagement. They serve as an extra set of eyes and ears to understand the importance of the patient’s health care plan and help them implement it outside of the doctor’s office.

Increase patient engagement with the right software

Even if your patients aren’t tech savvy, your practice can still use patient engagement software to send out text-based appointment reminders and give you CRM capabilities. Use our Patient Engagement Product Selection Tool to get a shortlist of software recommendations that are tailored to your needs.

Top Electronic Health Record Software Recommendations

1 Domo

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Build a modern business, driven by data. Connect to any data source to bring your data together into one unified view, then make analytics available to drive insight-based actions—all while maintaining security and control. Domo serves enterprise customers in all industries looking to manage their entire organization from a single platform.

Learn more about Domo

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Talk with a software expert for free. Get a list of software that’s great for you in less than 15 minutes.


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5 Free DICOM Viewers for Any Practice https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/5-dicom-viewers/ https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/5-dicom-viewers/#respond Thu, 24 Oct 2019 18:00:00 +0000 https://technologyadvice.com/?p=38684 Despite high adoption rates and a myriad of choices, the complexity of many medical software systems can frustrate even the most technologically literate provider. Interoperability woes can make it difficult to share and view medical images from disparate systems, especially if providers are using outdated EMR software or don’t have a Picture Archiving and Communication... Read more »

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Despite high adoption rates and a myriad of choices, the complexity of many medical software systems can frustrate even the most technologically literate provider.

Interoperability woes can make it difficult to share and view medical images from disparate systems, especially if providers are using outdated EMR software or don’t have a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). As medicine moves towards a film-less future, providers must have the software tools necessary to share, view, or edit medical images. To accomplish this, many providers are choosing standalone DICOM viewers.

DICOM stands for Digital Imaging and COmmunications in Medicine. It is an international standard file format and network communications protocol developed by the American College of Radiology (ACR) specifically for medical imaging. Most EHR systems support the DICOM standard for viewing and transmitting images. If you can already view DICOM images within your EHR, you likely won’t require a standalone viewer. However, if your system doesn’t support DICOM, you’re having difficulty communicating with a PACS or RIS system, or if you don’t have PACS/RIS access — or even EHR at all — a free DICOM viewer will help you get started viewing images.

The following systems can help you securely view, edit, and share DICOM images. Some offer paid versions intended for commercial applications, which usually include increased functionality — or at least won’t remind you constantly that you’re using a trial version. The software below is listed in no particular order, and represents some of the better systems on the market.

Which Medical software solution fits your needs?

3DimViewer

3dimviewer_screenshot
A smooth, minimalist graphical user interface makes 3DimViewer easy to use and learn. It’s capable of displaying 3D imaging profiles, including multi-planar and orthogonal displays, but it’s specialty is both volume and surface renderings with thresholding-based tissue segmentation. GPU acceleration is necessary for volume rendering, so don’t try to use this on older computers, or even many newer models with integrated graphics chipsets.

Native installers are available for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux-based platforms, making it one of the more flexible systems available. It is also open-source, meaning your developers (if you have them) can use the publicly available C++ code to integrate with it with other programs, or otherwise customize your system. It is a view-only solution — there’s no native editing beyond simple brightness, contrast, etc. Installers for Macintosh and Windows 32 and 64-bit systems are available here — Linux users will have to go to SourceForge.


DICOM Web Viewer (DWV)

dwv screenshot
DWV is a completely browser-based DICOM viewer written in Javascript and HTML5, which means you can use it on almost any device with almost all modern browsers, including laptops, tablets, phones, and even some smart televisions. With some coding, it can be incorporated into any PACS server that supports the Web Access to DICOM persistent Objects (WADO) protocol, or images can be browsed or accessed via a local URL.

Once again, this is a view-only system, so there’s no editing. The link above will take you to the full wiki, and demos can be found here. While the GitHub version requires some programming knowledge to implement, you can also get DWV as a Chrome extension, a Google Drive app, or a WordPress plugin. Visit the GitHub link for more information.


Mango

mango_screenshot

One of the most advanced systems on our list, Mango — or Multi-image Analysis GUI — is available in three versions, for Windows, Macintosh, or Linux <desktops (Mango), browser (Papaya), or iPad (iMango). The browser version does require some coding, so you’ll need some knowledge of HTML and JavaScript to use it. Developed by Jack Lancaster, Ph.D. and Michael Martinez at the University of Texas Health Science Center’s Research Imaging Institute, Mango supports DICOM, NEMA-DES, MINC, and NIFTI image formats, VTK, GIFTI, and BrainVisa surface rendering formats. It even can create custom imaging formats and filters.

Mango offers a host of analysis, processing, and editing features, and can convert, anonymize, and register images. It offers more functionality than many commercial systems, thanks to initial and ongoing support via grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.


Escape EMV

escape_emv_screenshot

EMV is a lightweight DICOM viewer that can open most DICOM images and DICOMDIR files from CD/DVD, flash drives, etc. The software comes in two different versions, a recently updated version for Mac, and an unsupported version for Windows. EMV can access WADO PACS systems to retrieve studies. It can handle user objects, like annotations and measurements, and is available in English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese versions.

The tool offers anonymizing capabilities, can export images, and the viewer offers various displays, overlays, filters, marking, and colorizations. It requires QuickTime to work, which is why the Windows version is unsupported. While you can download and demo the software for free, using it in a commercial environment requires a €245 license for up to three computers.


IrfanView

Yes, that IrfanView, the simple free image viewer you may have downloaded in the early 90s to view .gifs, .tiffs, and other image files now supports DICOM viewing. It is provided as freeware for non-commercial use, so if you want to use it in your medical practice you’ll need to register it and pay a one time, $12 licensing fee, but if all you want is a lightweight program to view simple DICOM images on your Windows desktop, IrfanView is hard to beat.

***

This is not intended to be a comprehensive list — there are hundreds, if not thousands of software solutions for viewing, editing, and otherwise manipulating DICOM and other medical imaging formats. An ideal DICOM viewing platform would involve access to an in-house or networked PACS server at the radiology center of your choosing, but we recognize that many physicians are not operating under ideal circumstances.

Having trouble deciding which EHR system is the right solution for your business? Check out our EHR EMR Software Product Selection Tool to find the best fit or contact us to speak with one of our Tech Advisors. They will be happy to help. Best of all? It’s free.

Top Electronic Health Record Software Recommendations

1 Domo

Visit website

Build a modern business, driven by data. Connect to any data source to bring your data together into one unified view, then make analytics available to drive insight-based actions—all while maintaining security and control. Domo serves enterprise customers in all industries looking to manage their entire organization from a single platform.

Learn more about Domo

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2 Kareo

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Kareo offers medical practices a cloud-based electronic health record solution paired with award-winning practice and revenue cycle management. Kareo EHR is designed for use by physicians in an outpatient setting and is qualified to help medical practices earn Meaningful Use attestation. The appeal lies in its affordability, usefulness, and mobile capabilities. Kareo EHR includes dynamic patient, document, and medication management functions.

Learn more about Kareo


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Choosing An EHR: A Comparison Of The Best Electronic Health Records Software https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/ehr-comparison/ https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/ehr-comparison/#respond Tue, 03 Sep 2019 14:00:18 +0000 https://technologyadvice.com/?p=68375 The EHR market is going strong, not just in the US but around the world. According to a report from Allied Market Research, the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of five percent between 2017 and 2023, making it worth a little over $33 million by 2023. Naturally, this... Read more »

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The EHR market is going strong, not just in the US but around the world. According to a report from Allied Market Research, the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of five percent between 2017 and 2023, making it worth a little over $33 million by 2023.

Naturally, this means many EHR providers are competing for your business, but not every company can meet your needs. Some EHRs are best-suited for enterprise healthcare companies or independent practices while others are highly targeted to specialty outpatient clinics.

With the market growing steadily and with so many EHR vendors out there, how do you decide which is best for your organization? Read on for our comparison of the best vendors on the market, or complete the form on our EHR-EMR software page by clicking the banner below. Our Technology Advisors are standing by to provide you with a free, no-hassle shortlist of the best EHR software for your needs.

Which Medical Software
Is Right For Your Organization?

 

DrChrono

Screenshot of drchrono practice management software across phone, tablet, and desktop

TechnologyAdvice rating: 4/5

DrChrono is a customizable and comprehensive EHR solution for small to large general and specialty practices. This EHR includes features such as electronic medical records (EMR), practice management, billing, revenue cycle management, and a patient portal. As one of the first EHR companies to offer mobile apps for iPhone and iPad, it’s easy to take DrChrono on the go for patient self check-in, medical forms, and e-Prescribe.

View product page


Kareo

Kareo insurance collections page showing a denied insurance claim form

TechnologyAdvice rating: 4/5

Kareo is a medical software company that offers many software products to healthcare providers, including Kareo Clinical EHR. Built by a team of healthcare providers, Kareo Clinical is cloud-based and easy to use. The EHR offers an intuitive user interface (UI) and features like a dashboard with task lists, patient charting, e-Prescribing, lab ordering, billing, internal messaging, patient portal, and more. Kareo Clinical is one of the most popular EHR solutions on the market and enjoys top rankings from many B2B software review websites.

View product page

Also read: Your EHR Isn’t Just For Storing Health Records. Here Are 4 Ways It Can Also Help Boost Patient Retention.


AdvancedMD

Screenshot of AdvancedMD showing a patient's medication history, refills, destination, provider/location, and status.

TechnologyAdvice rating: 4/5

AdvancedMD is a Utah-based medical software company that includes EHR among its product offerings. AdvancedMD EHR comes with features like a dashboard overview, task donuts, patient cards, patient rooming, chart templates, telemedicine, paperless fax, and a mobile app for iOS, among other standard EHR features. Many customers prefer AdvancedMD for its medical billing and task management features. These tools help healthcare providers make more money and increase productivity across their practices.

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Amazing Charts

A screenshot of the charting view in Amazing Charts.

TechnologyAdvice rating: 3.5/5

Founded by a physician, Amazing Charts offers solutions like practice management, population health, and electronic health records (EHR). Amazing Charts EHR comes either locally-hosted or cloud-based, and the system works best for independent healthcare practices with a specialized EHR option for OB/GYN clinics. Features vary depending on how you choose to deploy the software, but every option comes with standard EHR features such as charting, e-Prescribing, messaging, patient portal, reporting, and billing.

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CareCloud

A screenshot of CareCloud EHR.

TechnologyAdvice rating: 3.5/5

CareCloud is a cloud-based EHR solution that prides itself on being customizable and flexible. The system is built for specialty practices and can be tailored for cardiology, general surgery, dermatology, neurology, and more. CareCloud’s user interface is easy to navigate, and the software features patient summaries, a reference content library, chart templates, task management, reports, patient portal, and practice management integration. This EHR isn’t the best choice for larger healthcare providers, but it’s worth considering for independent and specialty practices.

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NextGen Healthcare

Screenshot of NextGen practice management software

TechnologyAdvice rating: 4.5/5

NextGen Healthcare is a provider of ambulatory and specialty care software solutions that include electronic health records (EHR). Built for ambulatory practices of all sizes, NextGen offers a scalable EHR system that works for enterprise and small healthcare providers. This EHR comes with a wide variety of features, including data exchange with relevant stakeholders, charting, medical billing, and patient engagement. NextGen can scale to meet the varying needs of practices at all stages of growth, and the system offers comprehensive software training and customer support for easy onboarding.

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OpenEMR

OpenEMR patient dashboard

TechnologyAdvice rating: 4.5/5

OpenEMR is an open-source EHR and medical practice management software that works for both inpatient and outpatient organizations. The system supports over 30 different languages and is Meaningful Use 2 certified as an ONC Certified HIT 2014 Edition Complete EHR product. A team of volunteers contributes to OpenEMR, and the system offers features like scheduling, e-Prescribing, medical billing, reporting, lab ordering, and clinical decision rules. OpenEMR is HIPAA-compliant and trusted by organizations such as the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Peace Corps.

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athenahealth

Screenshot of athenahealth practice management software showing patient notes

TechnologyAdvice rating: 3.5/5

Massachusetts-based medical software solutions company athenahealth offers a cloud-based EHR that works for healthcare providers of all sizes. The system offers features such as patient charting, scheduling, patient portal, attestation, and interoperability among the athenahealth network of physicians. Athenahealth offers a number of mobile apps, including Epocrates, a medical references app. Buyers looking at other EHR solutions such as DrChrono, Kareo, and NextGen will also want to consider athenahealth.

View product page

Also read: 4 athenahealth Competitors For Your Independent Practice

Finding the right EHR for your practice doesn’t have to be a headache.

Choosing a new EHR is a big move, and you want to make the most informed decision you can. Complete the form on our EHR-EMR software page to receive a free, no-hassle shortlist of EHR solutions from our knowledgeable Technology Advisors. Getting started is easy and takes less than five minutes.

Top Electronic Health Record Software Recommendations

1 Domo

Visit website

Build a modern business, driven by data. Connect to any data source to bring your data together into one unified view, then make analytics available to drive insight-based actions—all while maintaining security and control. Domo serves enterprise customers in all industries looking to manage their entire organization from a single platform.

Learn more about Domo

Need a Little Help?

Talk with a software expert for free. Get a list of software that’s great for you in less than 15 minutes.


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5 Cerner EHR Competitors for Hospitals and Small Practices https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/cerner-competitors/ https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/cerner-competitors/#respond Tue, 18 Jun 2019 14:00:25 +0000 https://technologyadvice.com/?p=67548 Cerner healthcare EHR software provides software solutions for lots of different medical specialties. From critical care to pharmacy solutions, the wide range of software Cerner offers is perfect for hospital and large health systems who integrate care across many levels. Also Read: What Doctors Want From Medical Technology These Cerner competitors provide a similar level... Read more »

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Cerner healthcare EHR software provides software solutions for lots of different medical specialties. From critical care to pharmacy solutions, the wide range of software Cerner offers is perfect for hospital and large health systems who integrate care across many levels.

Also Read: What Doctors Want From Medical Technology

These Cerner competitors provide a similar level of customization for medical specialties. For more EHR-EMR options, click the image below and fill out the form. Our Technology Advisors will send you 5 recommendations based on your practice needs. (Article continues below banner.)

choose the best EHR vs. EMR software

Epic Systems

epic software ehr-emr vital signs menu.

Epic Systems makes software for a range of specialty and general health practices. In addition to in-office tools, the Epic software includes mobile options for phones, tablets, even Apple Watch. The software aims to help providers manage all points of patient care, including diagnosis and treatment tools, revenue cycle software, automated coding interfaces, and invoice processing systems.

In the spirit of improving health outcomes despite business competition, Epic’s interoperability tools enable sharing between different practices, no matter which software they use. Providers and staff can also access a robust community of Epic Systems users to share health trends and best practices.

athenahealth

athenahealth EHR patient dashboard.

athenahealth makes software for entire healthcare networks and private practices of all sizes. Like Epic, athenahealth offers a community where providers can communicate with one another to better their understanding of illness trends and health performance. The Epocrates tool gives providers a fully searchable database of disease, prescription, and treatment guidance in the EHR.

Also Read: 4 athenahealth Competitors for Your Independent Practice

In addition to office systems for specialized, urgent, and patient care, athenahealth software also includes patient engagement tools with portals for providers to interact directly with patients. Provider offices can also use text and email messaging tools for patient updates, billing, and appointment reminders.

naviHealth

naviHealth sample patient dashboard.

naviHealth provides EHR and care transfer solutions for hospital and health systems. By creating a chain of software services that integrate seamlessly, health systems can feel good transferring patients between departments and care facilities. The software includes automated workflows that manages discharge and transfer protocols, ensuring a high standard level of care.

naviHealth EHR includes proprietary solutions for decision making within and across practices. The nH Predict software gives teams the tools to decide the most effective care based on a patient’s symptoms and existing health data. nH Perform ensures that providers find the most qualified care professionals for their patients in addition to streamlining the referral process.

Greenway

Greenway EHR office dashboard.

Greenway EHR software uses the latest technology to provide high-level patient care, data security, compliance, and profitability for community health and hospital services. The software features templates and customizations to speed provider interactions with the technology and improve the provider’s time with patients. Look for speech to text and integrated payment information tools that improve follow up, reporting, and revenue.

McKesson

McKesson oncology patient dashboard.

McKesson software focuses on specialty practice solutions and software for pharmacies. The specialty practice software includes ordering, payments, patient care, regulatory compliance, and practice management solutions for oncology, ophthalmology, rheumatology, gastroenterology, and neurology practices.

Pharmacies, pharmacy distribution, and medical supply companies can also find specialized software that help them connect patients with the supplies and medications that improve health outcomes. This software manages office management for these services from ordering through audits.

You have EHR options

These Cerner competitors aren’t the only EHRs out there. We can help you find the right EHR for your practice or health system. Our Technology Advisors will assess your company’s needs and recommend the right medical software. Contact us today, or click the banner below to fill out the form and get a short list of the best EHR software.

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Top Electronic Health Record Software Recommendations

1 Domo

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Your EHR Isn’t Just for Storing Health Records. Here Are 4 Ways It Can Also Help Boost Patient Retention. https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/ehr-patient-retention-strategies/ https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/ehr-patient-retention-strategies/#respond Wed, 20 Feb 2019 15:00:58 +0000 https://technologyadvice.com/?p=65554 Patient retention is a big deal, both from a financial and health standpoint. Improving patient retention can result in serious profit increases for your practice, and a recent meta-analysis of 22 studies from nine different countries suggests that staying with the same doctor for longer is linked to a longer life. According to an article... Read more »

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Patient retention is a big deal, both from a financial and health standpoint.

Improving patient retention can result in serious profit increases for your practice, and a recent meta-analysis of 22 studies from nine different countries suggests that staying with the same doctor for longer is linked to a longer life.

According to an article about the analysis published in Health24, researchers found that 18 out of the 22 studies they examined showed that ” staying with the same doctor over time significantly reduced early deaths, compared with switching doctors.” And with the recent push for better preventative care and long term health initiatives, it only makes sense to increase your focus on improving patient retention.

Thankfully, many modern EHR solutions offer features that boost patient engagement, thereby increasing patient retention. Here are four ways you can make the most of your EHR to keep your existing patients longer.

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is right for your business?

 

1. Use Messaging and Secure Email to Improve Communication

Many people have questions they would like to ask their physicians in between visits, but a phone call usually connects you with a triage operator who can only take a message for a doctor to call them back. Email is also an option, but since email isn’t always secure, some people aren’t comfortable discussing personal medical information via this method.

Secure messaging EHR features solves these pain points. Messaging a doctor usually results in the faster response patients expect, and it also ensures that personal medical information is encrypted.

When patients are left hanging with questions, they feel as if their health concerns aren’t being made a priority. And when patients feel like they aren’t given proper attention from their doctor, they go somewhere else.

2. Streamline Operations Between Labs, Pharmacies, and More

No one likes calling a lab to get an update on a patient’s test only to discover that the lab either never received the order or they lost it. No one likes having to then break the bad news to the patient that their lab results will take a couple weeks longer to arrive than expected, either.

An EHR that allows you to order lab tests and prescriptions all from the same solution that stores patients’ health records can reduce or eliminate situations like this altogether. Some EHR solutions even allow patients to check on their own lab results through a self-service portal so that they aren’t waiting on the doctor’s office to give them a call back. These features keep practices more organized and efficient, translating to better care for patients and increased retention.

3. Roll Out Electronic Intake Forms to Reduce Unwanted Paperwork

In many ways, intake forms are a necessary evil. You need the information they request in order to provide an appropriate level of care for your patients (or even to just get them into the office), but these forms are often time-consuming and use lots of paper.

Instead of handing patients a clipboard and pen at the front desk with several pages worth of information to fill out before their first appointment, use your EHR to send them an email with a link to an electronic intake form. Electronic intake forms allow patients to provide their necessary information at their pace, and they can be completed from nearly anywhere.

Also Read: Why Streamlining Appointment Scheduling Is a Win-Win for Patients and Clinicians

Moving away from paper forms also speeds up the check-in process, so patients no longer have to arrive 20 minutes before their appointment. Patients love the ease this lends to their first appointment experience, and you will appreciate keeping your clinic running on time.

4. Reduce Patient Barriers to Their Own Medical Records

Patients have a right to access their medical records, but it can sometimes take them a while to receive records from a healthcare provider. This isn’t because physicians want to withhold information from the people they’re entrusted with caring for — it’s just that simple requests like this can sometimes take a backseat to more urgent matters in a physician’s busy day-to-day.

Self-service patient portals are a double-edged sword here. In the age of Amazon, patients are used to having the ability to log into their account to check their past order history or delivery status of a current order — why shouldn’t healthcare work the same?

For example, instead of having to go through the process of calling an optometrist’s office and requesting that a copy of their eyeglasses prescription be faxed or mailed to them, patients can log into a self-service portal and view the prescription instantly. This cuts out the time-consuming back-and-forth that can arise from such requests, making it as easy as clicking a button for a patient to obtain a copy of their medical records. The more physicians can smooth friction between a patient’s need and the solution, the better.

As healthcare providers begin to focus as much or more on retaining existing patients as they do on acquiring new ones, it only makes sense to examine your current tools to see how you can be making the most of your patient retention strategies. At the end of the day, patients want to rest assured that their physicians care about their well-being and make concentrated efforts to improve their health. In an area such as this where every measure counts, it only makes sense to use your EHR to its fullest extent for retaining patients.

There is no shortage of EHR solutions out there, but not every solution is a one-size-fits-all. Visit our EHR-EMR Product Selection Tool, or contact us for a free, 5-minute consultation with one of our Tech Advisors.

Top Electronic Health Record Software Recommendations

1 Domo

Visit website

Build a modern business, driven by data. Connect to any data source to bring your data together into one unified view, then make analytics available to drive insight-based actions—all while maintaining security and control. Domo serves enterprise customers in all industries looking to manage their entire organization from a single platform.

Learn more about Domo

Need a Little Help?

Talk with a software expert for free. Get a list of software that’s great for you in less than 15 minutes.


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