Making Your EMR Work Smarter: Thinking Through Tech Upgrades
Episode 89: Making Your EMR Work Smarter: Thinking Through Tech Upgrades
Welcome to the Medical Money Matters Podcast, brought to you by Health e Practices. Today we’re covering a topic that can transform the efficiency and effectiveness of your clinic: tech add-ons for your Electronic Medical Records system. When we select an EMR, we frequently assume that it will handle everything for us. And, as we “move in” and start to really use the product, we can identify some things it doesn’t do.
For this episode, we’ve drawn from some of the best-selling add-on products on the AthenaOne Marketplace, although most of these products integrate with multiple different EMR platforms. We’ll be discussing their costs, benefits, and sharing case studies to highlight their best uses across various subspecialties. And, we should note that we don’t have commercial relationships with any of these companies, they simply came up on our web search of best in class products. We hope that you’ll find this thought provoking as you consider the functionality that is available out there today to enhance your EMR. Let’s get started!
The AthenaOne Marketplace is a fantastic resource for finding tech add-ons that can enhance the functionality of your EMR. And a hint, here, even if you’re not currently running AthenaOne, it’s a great place to get an idea of what’s available out there. These tools can streamline operations, improve patient care, and increase overall efficiency in your clinic. Today, we’ll review five best-selling products from the marketplace.
First up is Kyruus Health, formerly known as Epion, which is a digital check-in and patient engagement platform.
Costs: Kyruus Health operates on a subscription-based pricing model, which scales depending on the size of your clinic.
As for the benefits, it streamlines the patient check-in process, reducing wait times and administrative burden. And, it enhances patient engagement through digital tools like educational content and surveys. It also improves data accuracy by allowing patients to enter their information directly, saving your staff quite a bit of time. If you’re not yet offering patients the ability to register themselves into your system online, this is a great thing to add. And, it brings you up to date, as many clinics have been doing this for several years, and handing patients a clipboard and paper forms at check in may have them wondering if your clinic medicine is as antiquated as your registration system.
Same question for patient check in – many groups now offer a fully online check in solution, including digital collection of your copay. Convenient for the patient, and the computer has a 100% collection rate!
Let’s review a Case Study in Primary Care. Consider a primary care clinic that implemented Kyruus Health. By digitizing the check-in process, they reduced patient wait times by 30% and significantly improved data accuracy, as patients are generally more accurate entering in their own information. This allowed clinicians to have more effective consultations and increased overall patient satisfaction.
Now, let’s move on to product 2: Phreesia, which is a comprehensive patient intake management system.
Costs: Phreesia offers both per-visit and subscription-based pricing models.
The benefits of implementing Phreesia are that it automates patient intake and insurance verification, saving time and reducing errors. It also provides customizable forms and surveys to gather patient information. Lastly, it also offers real-time eligibility checks and payment processing streamline administrative tasks.
Let’s review a case study in orthopedics. An orthopedic clinic integrated Phreesia to handle patient intake and insurance verification. The result? A 25% reduction in administrative workload and a notable decrease in claim denials due to real-time eligibility checks. This allowed the staff to focus more on patient care rather than paperwork.
Our third product is Healthfinch, also known as Charlie, a workflow automation tool for prescription refill management.
Costs: Healthfinch offers a subscription-based pricing model with tiered plans based on the size of your clinic.
The benefits it touts are that it automates prescription refill requests, reducing the manual workload on clinicians. It also integrates seamlessly with existing EMR systems, ensuring smooth workflows. Their goal is to improve clinician efficiency and patient satisfaction by speeding up the refill process.
And, here’s a brief case study from a Family Medicine clinic that used Healthfinch to manage prescription refills. This automation saved clinicians an average of 1.5 hours per day, allowing them to spend more time on direct patient care, and get out of the office earlier. Patients appreciated the faster turnaround time for their medication refills, leading to higher satisfaction, and the clinicians appreciated the extra time in their day too.
Fourth on our list is Relatient, a patient communication and engagement platform.
Costs: Relatient operates on a subscription-based pricing model, scalable based on patient volume.
The benefits are that Relatient automates appointment reminders and patient communications through text, email, and phone, and they enhance patient engagement with customizable messages and surveys. This has been shown to reduce no-show rates and improves patient follow-up.
As a brief case study, a cardiology practice implemented Relatient to manage patient communications. Automated appointment reminders and follow-up messages led to a 20% reduction in no-show rates and improved patient adherence to follow-up appointments. This resulted in better patient outcomes and increased clinic efficiency.
Lastly, we have Kyruus ProviderMatch, a patient access and provider matching platform.
Costs: Kyruus ProviderMatch offers a subscription-based pricing model with options for customization.
The benefits include improved patient access and appointment scheduling by matching patients with the right providers. The system enhances provider matching based on patient needs and provider availability, which increases patient satisfaction and clinic efficiency.
As an example, a dermatology clinic used Kyruus ProviderMatch to streamline appointment scheduling. The platform improved patient access to care, reduced booking errors, and increased patient satisfaction by 15%. Patients appreciated the ease of finding the right provider for their specific needs.
Now that we’ve reviewed these products, it’s important to consider the interoperability of these technologies with multiple EMR systems. Choosing add-ons that can interface with different EMR systems provides flexibility and ensures long-term usability.
Interoperability is crucial for clinics that may use various EMR systems or plan to switch systems in the future. By selecting tech add-ons that can seamlessly integrate with multiple EMR platforms, clinics can ensure smoother transitions and maintain consistent workflow efficiency.
Many of the products from the AthenaOne Marketplace are designed to interface with multiple EMR systems. For instance, Healthfinch and Phreesia offer robust integration capabilities, ensuring they can work with a wide range of EMR platforms. This flexibility allows clinics to choose the best tools without being locked into a single EMR system.
You’ll want to verify with other clinics already using the products with your EMR system that there is, in fact, seamless integration. This ensures that data flows smoothly between the EMR and add-on tools, reducing administrative burden and potential errors. And, if you choose an add on product that integrates with multiple platforms, this improves your operational flexibility, and allows you to adapt to new technologies and EMR systems without losing the functionality of your existing tools.
In a sense, this is a bit of “Future-Proofing” so that you’ll be prepared for potential upgrades or changes in EMR systems, ensuring continuity in patient care and clinic operations.
Choosing the right tech add-ons for your EMR can seem daunting, but with a structured decision-making framework, you can make informed choices that align with your clinic’s needs and goals. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you through the process:
The first step is to assess your clinic’s specific needs. Start by identifying the operational challenges and patient care goals you aim to address with tech add-ons. Involve key stakeholders in the decision-making process, including clinicians, administrative staff, and IT personnel. Their insights will help you understand the pain points and opportunities for improvement, and it should garner their buy-in and support when it comes time for implementation.
Next, conduct a thorough cost analysis for each potential tech add-on. This includes initial setup costs, subscription fees, and any additional expenses for training and support. Compare these costs to the potential return on investment in terms of increased efficiency, improved patient satisfaction, and additional revenue streams. I know it will come as no surprise to our listeners when I advise that you prioritize add-ons that offer the highest ROI and align with your budget.
Ensure that the tech add-ons you are considering are compatible with your existing EMR system. Evaluate the ease of integration and the level of technical support provided by the vendor. Choosing add-ons that offer seamless integration will minimize disruptions and ensure a smooth workflow. Additionally, consider the flexibility of the add-ons to work with different EMR systems in case of future changes.
Learning from real-world examples can provide valuable insights. Review case studies and user feedback to understand how other clinics have successfully implemented the tech add-ons you are considering. Look for testimonials, ratings, and reviews from similar practices to gauge the effectiveness and user satisfaction of each product. And reach out to your fellow physicians or administrators in other clinics to talk with them about their experience with the products. Nothing like reports from the field!
Once you’ve selected the best tech add-ons for your clinic, develop a detailed implementation plan. This should include clear timelines, responsibilities, and milestones to ensure a smooth rollout. Provide adequate training for staff to familiarize them with the new tools. After implementation, continuously monitor the performance and impact of the tech add-ons. Collect feedback from users and make necessary adjustments to optimize their effectiveness.
To recap, we’ve discussed the importance of a structured decision-making framework for selecting tech add-ons for your EMR. By assessing your clinic’s needs, evaluating costs and ROI, considering integration and compatibility, reviewing case studies and user feedback, and carefully implementing and monitoring the chosen add-ons, you can significantly enhance your clinic’s efficiency and patient care.
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Join me for our next episode, where we’ll explore CQI, PDSA and other continuous improvement alphabet soup!
