Medical practice management requirements include medical records management, appointment scheduling, claims processing and billing and payments. The system should also have standard features such as CRM, reports and analytics, document management, mobile apps and key integrations.
When choosing a practice management system, it is important to consider the specific needs of your medical practice first. For example, if you have a large number of patients with complex medical histories, you will need a system that can handle these records efficiently. You should also consider whether you need a system that can interface with your electronic health record (EHR) system.
If you are unsure about what features you need, this guide to medical practice management software requirements can help you jumpstart the process of choosing the right system for your practice.
Medical Practice Management Software Requirements Table of Contents
There is an issue about medical error now being the third leading cause of death. One of the most common medical errors apparently is wrong prescription. This can result from misreading a prescription or a failure to read a patient’s discharge record or medical history.
One of the main ways that medical practice management software can reduce medical errors is by providing a central repository for patient information. This centralized database can help to ensure that all clinicians have access to the most up-to-date information on a patient’s condition, allergies, and medications. By reducing the potential for communication breakdowns, medical practice management software can help to reduce the risk of medical errors.
However, technology can only do so much, which is why such systems still have to rely on human input for data accuracy. In fact, in a survey of 136,815 patients, one study reported that 1 in 5 patients found an error in their record. Alarmingly, 40% of them perceived the mistake as serious. This, despite the use of electronic health records (EHR).
Still, medical practice management software can help minimize manual errors provided that they meet the key requirements.
Examples of Medical Practice Management Software
athenahealth
Athenahealth provides patient care management and electronic health record (EHR) solutions to medical groups and health systems. The company offers a cloud-based platform that helps its customers to manage their clinical, financial, and operational data. Likewise, athenahealth provides a number of value-added services, such as revenue cycle management and population health management.
Practice Fusion
Practice Fusion helps healthcare professionals manage their patients’ health information. The platform has a Medical Record (EMR) system, which enables doctors to store and share patient medical records, as well as a Practice Management (PM) system, which helps doctors schedule appointments, bill insurance companies, and track patient payments. In addition, the platform offers a patient portal, which allows patients to view their medical records and schedule appointments online.
Cerner EMR
Cerner EMR is a complete electronic medical record (EMR) system that helps healthcare providers manage patient care from end-to-end. Cerner EMR provides a centralized repository for all patient data, making it easily accessible to authorized users. The system comes with a powerful clinical decision support engine that helps clinicians make evidence-based decisions. In addition, Cerner EMR provides a robust set of tools for population health management and care coordination.
TherapyNotes
TherapyNotes A HIPAA-compliant software platform designed specifically for mental health professionals, this software enables therapists to manage their practices more efficiently and securely by providing a number of features, including electronic medical record keeping, billing and invoicing, appointment scheduling, and secure messaging. TherapyNotes also offers a variety of features to help therapists streamline their workflows, such as customizable progress note templates, automatic coding of diagnoses, and integrated insurance claims processing.
Dr. Chrono
Dr, Chrono helps healthcare providers to streamline their operations and improve patient care. The software has a variety of features, such as online appointment scheduling, electronic medical records, and billing and coding tools. In addition, Dr. Chrono offers a mobile app that allows patients to access their medical records and schedule appointments from their smartphones.
Software like TherapyNotes helps you generate more accurate billing.
Requirement #1: It Has the Critical Features
Appointment Scheduling
Having a good medical practice management system in place can help to improve the efficiency of the practice and free up time for doctors and staff. In particular, appointment scheduling can be a time-consuming task if done manually.
With medical practice management software, appointments can be automatically scheduled based on available timeslots, ensuring that patients are seen in a timely manner.
Additionally, patients can be reminded of upcoming appointments via text or email, which can help to reduce missed appointments.
Insurance Verification and Processing
When it comes to insurance claims, time is of the essence. Delays can result in lost revenue and frustrated patients.
Medical practice management software can help to streamline the insurance claims process by verifying coverage and automatically submitting claims. This can save valuable time and help to ensure that claims are processed quickly and accurately.
Likewise, medical practice management software can provide valuable insights into which insurers are providing the best reimbursement rates. This information can be used to negotiate better contracts and improve financial performance.
Medical Records (EHR)
Most medical practice management systems have an integrated electronic health records (EHR) module (or it integrates with one). EHR helps healthcare providers track patient care more effectively, reduce the risk of errors, and improve communication between providers.
In addition, EHR can help to facilitate the sharing of medical records between different facilities, which is essential for providing comprehensive care.
One of the key advantages of EHR is that it allows clinicians to quickly and easily access important patient information. This is essential for providing quality care, as it allows clinicians to make informed decisions about diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, EHRs can help to reduce the amount of time spent on paperwork, freeing up clinicians to spend more time with patients.
Billing & Payments
Medical practice management software can help by automating many of the tasks involved in billing and payments. For example, the software can keep track of patient appointments, co-pays and insurance information. This means that when the time comes to bill a patient, the process is quick and easy.
Moreover, medical practice management software can streamline the process of collecting payments. This includes generating invoices, submitting insurance claims, and processing online bank transactions.
The software can send automatic reminders to patients or insurers with outstanding balances. This helps to improve your cash flow.
Regulatory Compliance
Medical practices are subject to a variety of regulatory compliance requirements, ranging from HIPAA compliance, state licensing regulations and co-management requirements to anti-kickback statute and privacy laws. While meeting these compliance requirements can be challenging, medical practice management software can help.
Most medical practice management software include have features designed to help practices stay compliant with all applicable regulations. For example, many software programs include built-in templates for creating compliant patient communications, such as appointment reminders and discharge instructions.
Furthermore, some solutions offer features that help practices track and manage their compliance obligations, such as regulatory deadlines and required training. By using medical practice management software, practices can avoid violations and penalties.
Communication Tools (Telemedicine)
Medical practice management software typically comes with a range of communication features designed to help doctors and staff members communicate with each other more effectively. These features can come in the form of instant messaging, email, and calendar integration.
They may also include video conferencing capabilities, which can be useful for consultations with distant patients or collaborating with other medical professionals.
Along with a consolidated medical records and the other key features above, medical practice management software can help you conduct telemedicine. You can schedule appointments, send reminders, and track patient information online.
Critically, the software can help providers stay compliant with regulations surrounding telemedicine. By using medical practice management software, providers can ensure that their telemedicine visits are efficient and effective.
CRM
Some medical practice management software features (or integrates with) a CRM module, which provides a comprehensive view of each patient, including contact information, appointment history, and treatment notes. This information can be used to streamline patient care, improve communication between providers, and identify potential revenue opportunities.
By leveraging the power of CRM, medical practice management software can help practices achieve their goals of providing high-quality care while maximizing efficiency and profitability.
Reports & Analytics
Medical practice management software is designed to streamline the business side of running a medical practice. One of the most important features of these programs is their reporting and analytics capabilities.
With just a few clicks, users can generate detailed reports on a variety of topics, including appointment scheduling, billing and collections, and patient satisfaction. This information can be extremely valuable in identifying areas of improvement and ensuring that the practice is running as efficiently as possible. For example, if patient satisfaction ratings are low, it may be necessary to make changes to the way appointments are scheduled or to the way that patients are taken care of when they arrive at the practice.
Moreover, many medical practice management software programs allow users to customize their reports, making it easy to track the specific metrics that are most important to them. Tracking these metrics on a regular basis can help to ensure that the practice is providing the best possible care to its patients.
Document Management
One of the most important features of medical practice management software is document management. This feature allows you to electronically store and organize all of your patient records, making them easy to access and share. By scanning and digitizing patient records, medical practices can enjoy faster and more accurate record-keeping.
You can also use document management to create forms and templates, which can save you time when completing paperwork. In addition, document management features can help practices to comply with HIPAA regulations by providing a secure way to store and share patient information, ensuring that it is only accessible to authorized personnel.
Mobile Apps
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s more important than ever to have a reliable method for managing your medical practice. One way to do this is by using medical practice management software with mobile apps.
By having iOS or Android versions, medical practice management software helps you check appointments, send messages, and even make payments, among others, when away from office.
The common features of a mobile app include the ability to view patient records, schedule appointments, and bill insurance companies. Mobile applications may also allow clinicians to access laboratory results and prescription refill requests. Some mobile practice management software applications are even able to generate clinical reports.
AthenaHealth provides reporting and analytics for metrics such as revenue, patient visits, and relative value units.
Requirement #2: It Integrates with Key Apps that You Use
When you’re considering getting medical practice management software, it’s important to think about integrations. Many different factors go into managing a medical practice outside of the practice management system, from creating documents and digital records to running analytics and accounting.
So when you’re looking for medical practice management software, be sure to consider that these applications can work with the system.
Your current EMR
You can streamline workflow by automatically transferring data between the medical practice management system and your current EMR. If your choice of practice management software has a built-in EHR, transferring records from one system to another guarantees accuracy if they integrate with each other.
Barcode Scanners
Using a barcode scanner in medical practice management software can help streamline processes, improve accuracy and eliminate the need for duplicate entries. For example, when a patient is scanned in, the information can be automatically pulled up in the software. This can save time and reduce the chance of errors. In addition, barcode scanners can be used to track inventory, so that practitioners always have the supplies they need on hand.
Business and Productivity Apps
Medical practice management software should integrate with productivity apps like Microsoft Office, Google Workspace and other calendar apps, file sharing apps, etc. In this way, you can have all of your important information in one place and be able to easily access it from wherever you are. Additionally, when you have everything integrated, you can avoid having to enter data into multiple systems, which can save you time and reduce errors.
Electronic prescriptions
By integrating prescription software with medical practice management software, providers can streamline the prescribing process and improve patient care. When integrated, the two systems share important patient information, such as demographics and insurance details. This eliminates the need to re-enter data into multiple systems and reduce the risk of errors.
In addition, the integration of these systems provides a complete picture of a patient’s medication history, making it easier to identify potential drug interactions. By leveraging the strengths of both systems, providers can provide safer and more efficient care for their patients.
Business intelligence software
Business intelligence software provides benefits to practices like surfacing actionable insights about their patients, finances, and operations. The right BI solution will help them improve patient outcomes, reduce costs, and increase efficiency.
When BI and practice management software are integrated, practices can save time and money by avoiding duplicate data entry, reducing errors, and improving communication between departments. In addition, integration ensures that data is consistently accurate across the system, providing users with reliable information that they can trust. For these reasons, medical practices should give strong consideration to practice management software that offer integration with their existing business intelligence solution.
Accounting software
As the healthcare industry increasingly moves towards a value-based model, it is becoming more important for medical practices to tightly track their finances. In order to do this effectively, medical practice management software needs to integrate with accounting software.
This integration provides a more complete picture of the practice’s financial health. It also allows for more accurate billing and invoicing. Likewise, it streamlines the workflow by eliminating the need to enter data into multiple systems.
Practice management software should integrate with a popular EHR systems like Care360 (shown above) to ensure seamless data flow.
Requirement #3: What are the costs involved?
Medical practice management software can help to streamline operations and reduce costs, but it is important to carefully consider all of the costs involved before making a purchase.
Pricing
When it comes to medical practice management software, there are a variety of pricing models that companies may use.
SaaS Subscription
This uses a subscription model, in which users pay a monthly or yearly fee for access to the software. Some companies also offer a pay-as-you-go model, in which users are only charged for the features they use. A few other vendors would charge a percentage of your collections, thus reducing your upfront costs but cutting into your profits. In all these instances, your subscription plan is based on a custom quote.
Likewise, some vendors offer a free version of their software with limited features, while others offer a free trial so that users can try the software before they commit to paying for it.
As businesses increasingly move their operations online, the need for SaaS solutions has never been greater. SaaS applications can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, making them ideal for businesses with remote employees or multiple locations.
In addition, SaaS applications are typically more cash flow-friendly than on-premises software, and they can be deployed much more quickly. SaaS is fast becoming the preferred choice for businesses of all sizes.
On-Premise System
Implementing a medical practice management software can be costly. Not only is there the initial expense of purchasing the software, but there are also ongoing costs for hosting and maintaining the software. For on-premise medical practice management software, the costs can quickly add up.
In addition to the initial purchase price, organizations must pay for servers, database licenses, and other infrastructure costs. Furthermore, they may need to hire additional staff to manage and operate the software. As a result, on-premise medical practice management software can be a significant financial investment for any organization.
However, one advantage of on-premise systems is that your practice has full control over the software and can customize it to your specific needs.
Setup Fee and Training
Before you purchase any software, it is important to consider the cost of setup and training. Some practice management software companies charge a setup fee, which can be expensive. Others may offer free setup but charge for training.
The good thing is, most vendors today include setup and training in their plans. You need not fear for hidden fees. Be sure to research all your options before making a decision. With a little bit of planning, you can find practice management software that fits both your budget and your needs.
Device Requirements
Computers or Laptops
In order to use a medical practice management software, you will need a computer or laptop that meets the minimum specifications. Most software is designed to work with Windows, Mac and Linux. You will also need a processor speed of at least 1 GHz, 2 GB of RAM, and 4 GB of free space on your hard drive. The higher the specs are, the better will be your user experience.
Internet
Additionally, the software requires an internet connection in order to function properly. For a medical practice management system to function optimally, an internet speed of at least 10 Mbps is ideal. This will allow for the smooth transmission of data between the various components of the system, as well as provide enough bandwidth for any needed video conferencing or other real-time applications.
Mobile Device
Also, generally speaking, a smartphone or tablet with internet access is all that is needed to use the mobile app version of the medical practice management system. Some systems may also require additional software to be installed on the device, but this is typically just a matter of downloading and installing a simple app.
Staff
Having these key staff members in place, you can be sure that your medical practice management system will run smoothly and efficiently. Take note, they may already be a part of your current team and just require retooling or training.
Tech Person
If you’re getting a SaaS solution, you won’t need someone with expertise in IT and software development. Someone with basic user experience–a secretary or department clerk–may be all you’ll need to coordinate communication with the vendor’s tech support.
But for an on-premise system, an I.T. person, or even a team, is important. This person will be responsible for developing and managing the medical practice management software or system.
Encoders
You will also need someone with experience in medical billing and coding. This person, who may already be a part of your team, will be responsible for ensuring that all patient data are accurately entered into the system and that claims are properly processed.
Customer Service
You will also need someone with experience in customer service, as most medical practice management systems feature a patient self-service portal. This person will be responsible for handling any questions or concerns that patients may have about the system.
The advantage of SaaS practice management software like Practice Fusion (shown above) is that it is compatible with most devices.
Ready for medical practice management software?
It is clear that a medical practice management system is an essential tool for any modern medical practice. By streamlining office procedures and reducing administrative costs, a medical practice management system can help to improve your bottom line.
Now that you know the basic medical practice management software requirements, you can shortlist the solutions better. These top 20 medical practice management tools should help you get started.
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