Many health care providers have found that electronic health records (EHRs) help improve medical practice management by increasing practice efficiencies and cost savings. EHRs benefits medical practices in a variety of ways, including:
- Reduced transcription costs
- Reduced chart pull, storage, and re-filing costs
- Improved documentation and automated coding capabilities
- Reduced medical errors through better access to patient data and error prevention alerts
- Improved patient health/quality of care through better disease management and patient education
Electronic Health Records Create More Efficient Practices
EHR-enabled medical practices report:
- Improved medical practice management through integrated scheduling systems that link appointments directly to progress notes, automate coding, and managed claims
- Time savings with easier centralized chart management, condition-specific queries, and other shortcuts
- Enhanced communication with other clinicians, labs, and health plans through:
- Easy access to patient information from anywhere
- Tracking electronic messages to staff, other clinicians, hospitals, labs, etc.
- Automated formulary checks by health plans
- Order and receipt of lab tests and diagnostic images
- Links to public health systems such as registries and communicable disease databases
Affect On Revenue: Automating Clinical Documentation and Orders
- Enhanced ability to meet important regulation requirements such as Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) through alerts that notify physicians to complete key regulatory data elements
- Reduction of time and resources needed for manual charge entry resulting in more accurate billing and reduction in lost charges
- Reduction in charge lag days and vendor/insurance denials associated with late filing
- Charge review edits alerting physicians if a test can be performed only at a certain frequency
- Alerts that prompt providers to obtain Advance Beneficiary Notice, minimizing claim denials and lost charges related to Medicare procedures performed without Advance Beneficiary Notice
