Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) are becoming increasingly popular among patients, healthcare providers, and insurers due to their cost-effectiveness and convenience. A recent report by Research and Markets reveals that the ASC market is valued at $36.54 billion in 2023 and is predicted to peak at $53.67 billion by 2029.

Despite the increasing demand for ASC services, these outpatient surgery centers face challenges in providing convenient scheduling, shorter wait times, and streamlined processes to their patients. To meet these demands, surgery centers are adopting ambulatory surgery center software systems specifically designed for fast-paced centers. 

This blog explores the unique challenges ASCs face in their operations, the benefits of specialized EMR systems for ASCs, and the features one should consider when choosing software for their ASC.

Understanding the Unique Requirements of Ambulatory Surgery Centers

Outpatient surgery centers face several challenges that are unique to their operations. 

• Managing patient flow is challenging for ASCs as they deal with variabilities in procedure lengths, patient arrivals, and recovery times. 

• Coordinating surgical schedules, allocating operating rooms, and staff assignments is another challenge that ASCs face. Balancing caseloads, accommodating surgeon preferences, and optimizing utilization rates for facilities and personnel can be time-consuming.

• ASCs must adhere to strict protocols and safety standards throughout the surgical process, from pre-operative preparation to post-operative care. This involves ensuring proper assessment, obtaining informed consent, managing anesthesia, monitoring vitals, and addressing complications. 

• ASCs must maintain accurate patient records, clinical documentation, and administrative data to support clinical decision-making, quality improvement initiatives, and regulatory reporting requirements. 

An ASC EMR software is essential in overcoming the challenges faced by ASCs. It offers a complete solution for managing patient information, improving workflows, facilitating communication, and ensuring compliance with regulations.

How EMR Software Can Benefit ASCs

Specialized EMR systems explicitly tailored for ASCs offer numerous benefits.

Enhanced Efficiency

ASC-specific EMR systems streamline workflows and optimize processes unique to ambulatory surgery settings. They offer templates and functionalities tailored to the needs of ASCs, such as pre-operative assessments, intraoperative documentation, and post-operative care plans.

These systems facilitate efficient scheduling of surgical procedures, allocation of resources, and management of patient flow, reducing wait times significantly.

Better Compliance

ASC EMR software systems help ASCs maintain compliance with agency requirements and accreditation standards, such as those set by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC).

These systems incorporate built-in compliance features, such as alerts for incomplete information or reporting capabilities to track adherence to quality measures and regulatory mandates.

Improved Patient Care

Clinic EMR software supports high-quality care delivery by providing clinicians access to comprehensive patient records, including medical history, allergies, medications, and surgical documentation.

Built-in clinical decision support tools help providers in ASCs make informed decisions, reduce errors, and enhance patient safety by alerting them to potential drug interactions, allergies, and evidence-based guidelines.

Data Management and Reporting

An ASC management software enables efficient data management by centralizing patient information, clinical documentation, and administrative records in a secure digital format.

These systems offer robust reporting tools that allow ASCs to generate customizable reports on key performance indicators (KPIs), clinical outcomes, operational metrics, and financial performance.

Optimized Revenue Cycle Management

Specialized EMR solutions for ASCs integrate with billing and revenue cycle management modules to streamline the revenue cycle process from patient registration and insurance verification to claims submission and reimbursement.

These systems automate coding and billing processes, improve charge capture accuracy, reduce claim denials, and expedite reimbursement, optimizing the financial performance of ASCs.

Key Features to Consider in an EMR Software for ASCs

Here are some essential features when choosing a surgery center software for your ASC.

Customizable Templates

ASCs typically require an EMR that provides comprehensive clinical documentation capabilities tailored explicitly to surgical workflows. To facilitate structured data entry, healthcare providers use customizable templates.

At EMR-EHR, we provide various templates that cater to more than 30 medical fields. This range guarantees that physicians can use a standard orthopedic procedure report drafted from pre-built notes or a cardiac assessment report from pre-populated templates.

Integrated Medical Coding & Billing

Integrating billing and revenue cycle management modules ensures accurate charge capture, claims submission, and reimbursement tracking.

Our ASC billing software is designed to facilitate automated data entry from EMR-generated superbills and includes robust validations to prevent coding errors and missing authorizations. 

User-Friendly Design

When the interface is intuitive, staff members learn how to navigate the system and complete tasks without requiring extensive training sessions. Consequently, this saves ASCs time and resources spent on training initiatives.

EMR-EHR assists ASCs in installing IMS EMR software, designing a customized dashboard, and developing an interface that integrates well with third-party software.

Custom Reporting Tools

ASCs use reporting tools to monitor operational metrics like case turnover times, operating room and equipment utilization rates, staffing levels, and supply chain management. Identifying inefficiencies and bottlenecks helps ASCs optimize workflows and resource utilization.

With EMR-EHR, centers analyze ASC data with over 400 customizable reports for practice managers, administrators, and providers.

Scalability

As ASCs expand to satellite facilities, scalable EMR systems provide centralized management and oversight capabilities. Administrators can manage patient records, clinical workflows, and admin functions across multiple locations, promoting standardization and collaboration among care teams.

EMR-EHR offers cloud-based EMR or EHR solutions, making the transition to a digital system hassle-free. The technology helps expand practices without substantial infrastructure overhauls.

Takeaway

Intuitive EMR systems provide a range of powerful features that allow surgery centers to overcome common workflow challenges. By utilizing automated scheduling and decision support tools, surgery centers achieve operational excellence and improve the overall ASC experience of their patients.

Tap Into Our Expertise 

Looking for a simple and reliable software solution for your ASC? Look no further! In collaboration with 1st Providers Choice’s 30+ years of expertise, our certified ASC solution guarantees scheduling, billing, and practice efficiency. Our EMR/EHR software allows you to schedule appointments easily, access real-time data analysis, and connect smoothly with other platforms.

Take the first step towards efficiency: request a demo of our ASC software today!

Sources:

1. Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). “Accreditation | AAAHC.” AAAHC, 2 Feb. 2024, www.aaahc.org/accreditation.
2. Carina Stanton, Contributing Editor. “How to Succeed in Running a High-Volume GI Center.” Outpatient Surgery Magazine, 14 Sept. 2023, www.aorn.org/outpatient-surgery/article/how-to-succeed-in-running-a-high-volume-gi-center. 
3. Cash, Maura. “The Critical Shift in ASC EHR Adoption: Overcoming Barriers.” HIT Consultant Media, 15 Apr. 2022, hitconsultant.net/2022/04/19/the-critical-shift-in-asc-ehr-adoption-overcoming-barriers.    

EMR software is no longer an option – it is a necessity for improving patient outcomes, boosting productivity and reducing costs. The problem for smaller surgery centers, however, is that many surgery-specific EMR systems are designed for use in hospital settings and include features and workflows suited to larger organizations. Because of this, surgery centers often find themselves in a difficult position when selecting an Surgery Center EMR.

The good news is that there are suitable options available, including EMR systems like 1st Providers Choice, which can help surgery centers meet the health care triple aim and focus on preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative care.

If your surgery center hasn’t implemented EMR software yet, here are three reasons why you should:

1. Improve efficiency in the OR.

EMR software can significantly improve efficiency in all areas of your business, specifically the operating room. For example, instead of manually entering data into the EMR from different surgical monitors and devices, the software can be integrated so that data values are captured instantly and saved into the patient’s chart in real-time. The ability to use pre-loaded templates for specific surgeries and procedures also saves time, as it eliminates the need to enter standard data.

2. Enhance patient safety and care.

Surgery Center EMR software has the potential to improve care quality and treatment outcomes by providing physicians with detailed surgery reports that can reveal insightful trends. For example, you may choose to run a report on all patients who had a specific surgery and were seen after two days for a post-op and another for those who had the same surgery but were seen after five days. Comparing the results, you can determine whether it makes a difference to follow-up with patients sooner after surgery.

A well-designed EMR system can also alert users of important fields that need to be completed in the patient’s chart, ensuring that all critical data is entered at the point of care. Plus, it will notify you of things that could pose harm to the patient (e.g. drug-drug or drug-allergy interactions).

More importantly, the EMR ensures that all notes are completed before you can move forward, so that no important data is missed. This means that the intra-operative section cannot be opened until all pre-op notes have been entered and signed off on – and the same goes for discharge and post-op.

3. Increase staff satisfaction.

Implementing EMR software can be overwhelming for physicians and staff, as it forces new ways of doing things. Even though the new ways of working may be better, change is hard; so it is beneficial to choose software that minimizes disruptions and simplifies otherwise burdensome tasks. For example, EMR software that makes it easy for authorized users to access health records, billing and appointment information from anywhere is a definite must. With surgeons increasingly depending on their iPhones and iPads for instant access to all kinds of medical information, mobile EMR software is an automatic win with staff.

Additionally, because Surgery Center EMR software offers different functionalities for different users, it becomes easier for staff to understand their specific roles. All you have to do once the software is implemented is make sure that each person understands his or her role and what they are responsible for inputting in the EMR.

To learn more about our EMR solution for surgery centers, call 480-782-1116 or contact us online.

Choosing an EHR can be complicated for any physician, but it is even more difficult for specialty clinics as most systems are geared towards primary care. Pain management practices, after all, more so than many other specialties, require EHRs geared specifically to their needs. This is due to the fact that pain specialists see patients at multiple locations and have unique workflows that can’t be easily accommodated with standard systems.

Is your practice shopping around for its first EHR or for a replacement to an under-performing system? Here are three reasons why you should consider an Ambulatory Surgery Center EHR for pain management:

1. Pain Management EHRs are designed specifically for your specialty.

At 1st Providers Choice, we aim to make physicians’ jobs easier while improving patient care. This is why we have developed EHR software with pain management specialists in mind. Not only is our EHR ready to use right out of the box – it also features templates, forms and other tools that physicians in this field rely on most. Our EHR can also be customized to match your practice’s workflow and each physician’s needs, ensuring productivity isn’t affected and that different charting styles can be accommodated.

2. They allow for easy, automated sharing of patient records.

Our Pain Management EHR’s Intelligent Exchanger utility tool allows physicians to easily pull information from one EHR database to another. This is useful for specialists who might see patients both at their practice and at an ambulatory surgery center for further treatment, as it allows them to share data between systems without a hassle. How does it work? Upon visit note sign off, you can check if your patient is part of the surgery center you typically work with. If so, you can send the visit note to the surgery center to be filed in the patient’s chart as a visit note from a referring doctor. When you’re at the surgery center with the patient, you and the staff there will be able to access those files.

3. Access to pain management EHR records is possible at any time, from anywhere.

Many EHR systems for pain management specialists allow for easy access from Internet-enabled devices – and this is certainly the case with 1st Providers Choice. Our mobile-ready, cloud-based EHR allows physicians to access their patient charts securely no matter where they are, as long as they have access to a device with an Internet connection. This is an important feature seeing as pain management specialists must often travel between their practice, ambulatory surgery centers and local hospitals to treat patients.

Interested in learning more about our ambulatory surgery center and pain management EHR, including how it could help you improve care delivery and patient outcomes? Call 480-782-1116 or contact us online.