A recent study by Medical Economics shows that 67 percent of physicians don’t think EHR software is worth the effort. In addition to unsatisfactory experiences, they offer complaints such as poor functionality, security and liability risks, and high costs.
To avoid all these problems, we recommend using custom-built EHR software. Read on to learn what EHR software is and how to build your own to streamline your healthcare processes.
EHR vs EMR: What’s the Difference?
Before we talk about EHR software development, let’s learn the difference between the terms EHR and EMR, as they are often used interchangeably.
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) software manages an electronic version of patients’ medical records. This software allows doctors to track every patient visit and the entire treatment history, improving the quality of care.
Electronic Health Record (EHR) software provides more functionality than EMR software because it focuses on all of a patient’s health data, not just conventional medical data. An EHR system offers a holistic picture of a patient’s health, including information about treatments, symptoms, prescriptions, and more. Additionally, EHR software allows healthcare organizations to share data with other healthcare providers, such as laboratories.
Both EMR and EHR systems aim to replace paperwork and automate healthcare processes.
Basic features of EHR software
We will now look at the features of an EHR to give you some insight into what features are necessary for the day-to-day operations of a healthcare organization and what it takes to create a product with such features.
- A patient portal allows patients to view their medical information from anywhere over the Internet. The patient portal includes demographic data, medication records, allergy lists, lab results, and more.
- Patient history management allows doctors to capture, manage and review a patient’s clinical history.
- Document and image management allows users to scan and attach documents and images to patient charts and copy documents to a database.
- Electronic prescribing allows doctors to submit prescriptions electronically. This feature tracks patient prescriptions and sends automatic alerts for potential drug allergies and interactions.
- Lab integration allows healthcare providers to monitor test sample delivery, track results, and even integrate received data with patient charts.
- Chat allows doctors to advise patients with health problems using secure direct messages.
- The reminder feature allows doctors to automatically remind their patients of upcoming appointments via text message or phone call.
- Patient Scheduling allows healthcare providers to easily schedule and register patients. In addition, the software can send patients automatic notifications of upcoming appointments.
- The reporting feature gives healthcare organizations access to real-time clinical and financial data, such as revenue projections and the number of patients who have defaulted on their bills. This provides insight into where to focus on improving medical practice.
What are the challenges in building EHR software?
Bad UI/UX
A poorly designed EHR software interface can make data management difficult for medical staff. Therefore, an interface that is difficult to navigate can lead to reduced productivity. Careful consideration of design principles is essential to provide users with a simple and easy-to-use interface. Good EHR design means avoiding unnecessary complexity, emphasizing key elements, keeping terminology clear and straightforward, and using color effectively to draw attention to important areas.
Security and privacy
Security and privacy are critical factors for EHR software development. Some healthcare providers and patients are concerned about health privacy when using EHRs. This is because EHR software stores private clinic and patient data. When developing EHR software for the US market, remember that it must meet the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA requirements). HIPAA is a US law designed to provide privacy standards for medical information.
Ready to build EHR software?
If you want to create EHR software that will enable your healthcare organization to streamline its workflow and improve the quality of care, contact us and tell us about your idea!
Leave a Reply