According to a U.S. survey, roughly 28% of adults stated that they suffer from chronic low back pain. To alleviate this pain, occupational therapists perform ergonomic assessments to identify risk factors and suggest adjustments to the workstation.

To ensure employees’ safe return to work, therapists use evidence-based interventions and incorporate top-tier technologies, such as electronic medical records (EMRs). An occupational therapy EMR allows clinicians to track their patient’s progress, collaborate with other healthcare providers, and document interventions.

Join us for a deep dive into the benefits of customized EMRs for employee health and safety. Learn how these solutions can help occupational therapists improve treatment plans and ensure personalized care.

Understanding Technological Obstacles in Occupational Therapy

Adopting digital health platforms can be challenging for therapists despite their proficiency in embracing new technologies. The integration process can disrupt their routines without proper planning and support.

Some of the technical challenges include:

1. Tackling the Learning Curve

Occupational therapists must stay updated with the latest technological advancements, including occupational therapy software. Although it requires intensive effort, the long-term benefits are invaluable. With EMRs, they accurately evaluate occupation-related conditions and support health interventions from consultation to rehabilitation.

2. Exploring Confidentiality Concerns 

Strict data security and privacy standards are crucial when sharing patient information through EMRs. Practitioners can prevent unauthorized access or breaches by training and using the software’s access controls and encryption protocols.

3. Addressing Insurance and Billing Complexities

EMRs involve intricate interfaces between healthcare providers, insurance companies, and billing entities, requiring knowledge of digital and interoperability standards. To provide quality care and avoid legal ramifications, therapists must prioritize financial education, spanning from insurance landscapes to reimbursement structures.

4. Bridging the Interoperability Gap

One of the persistent challenges in healthcare is the lack of communication between EMRs, assistive devices, and telehealth platforms. When these systems are not designed to work together, it can lead to data silos, missed opportunities for collaboration, and delays in delivering care.

Critical Features of the Occupational Therapy EMR 

EMR provides benefits that outweigh its adoption challenges. As a specialized set of tools and applications, this solution assists healthcare organizations in managing and optimizing occupational health and safety programs.

With customized features, this software solution flags workplace hazards and facilitates an employee’s recovery and safe return to work. Here are some key aspects that occupational therapy practitioners frequently use:

Secure Check-In/Out

The therapy EMR software provides secure check-in and check-out options to employees and visitors who enter or exit a clinic. These options range from electronic badges to QR codes and biometric authentication that help guarantee accurate patient identification. 

Moreover, the auto check-in features enable patients to verify their demographic information, complete office forms electronically, and specify any health problems before seeing their occupational therapy clinician.

Efficient Appointment Scheduler

Managing and scheduling various health and safety-related appointments is vital for occupational therapy clinics. The scheduler feature of an occupational therapy EMR eliminates duplicate or erroneous entries by providing a user-friendly calendar interface. 

Additionally, the appointment scheduler has built-in modules enabling therapists like you to easily manage tasks and communicate with care team members.

Quick Letter and Form Generation

EMR software systems are equipped with various features that enable healthcare professionals to quickly create digital healthcare checklists, safety inspections, and audit forms. These systems provide customizable input fields that automate the process of producing letters and forms with auto-populated patient details and other relevant information.

Custom Reports

The EMR software has built-in analytics tools that help you analyze incidents, risks, and compliance data. For instance, IMS enables occupational therapists and their staff to create customized reports or choose from over 400 templates. 

Report features help practices optimize tracking critical wellness indicators and identify trends. Types of reports that therapists use include:

• Workplace Exposure Monitoring documents employee’s exposures to workplace hazards. This information supports occupational therapy practitioners in assessing the impact of occupational hazards on employee’s health over time.

• Injury and Illness Tracking is a report that focuses on work-related injuries and illnesses. Practitioners use this specific report to manage cases efficiently, record treatment plans, and monitor patient’s progress.

• Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs) are assessments that highlight the individual’s ability to perform job-specific tasks and include appropriate work restrictions or accommodations.

Benefits of Occupational Therapy EMRs

With EMR occupational therapy solutions, therapists stand to gain numerous advantages, including:

Better Treatment Plans

EMRs play a crucial role in occupational therapy by streamlining treatment planning. Occupational therapy professionals use this centralized platform to easily collaborate and share patient information, making it possible to integrate various components of interventions into the electronic record. This integration includes diagnostic outcomes, treatment protocols, and rehabilitation plans. 

By leveraging the power of EMRs, occupational therapists elevate the quality of care they provide to their patients.

Comprehensive Data Analysis

In a California-based hospital, providers use their EMR to generate granular reports that reflect relevant factors (e.g., labor unions) to build focused strategies for addressing health disparities. This use case highlights the platform’s strengths in aggregating data and enabling robust data analysis to develop trend-based interventions for employee wellness.

Improved Progress Monitoring

EMR systems effectively track patients’ occupational health history, including their workplace exposures, medical examination records, and vaccination details. Occupational therapists can view all this information to understand their patient’s health needs and offer personalized interventions for better health outcomes. 

By using electronic progress data, therapists can deliver better care so patients achieve their health goals.

Personalized Care For Patients

As a distinct field, occupational therapy has requirements that vary widely from those of other medical specialties. To meet these unique requisites, clinicians need occupational therapy EMR software tailored to their practice workflows and health programs. 

A full integration ensures that the EMR becomes integral to the clinic’s broader strategy, promoting better health outcomes, reducing workplace injuries, and ensuring compliance with local regulations.

Seamless Workflow

Efficient communication is crucial in managing occupational health cases. Timely updates on a patient’s condition can significantly affect an employee’s safe return to work or continued absenteeism. 

Essentially, therapists must use EMRs to access essential information promptly and reduce miscommunication and time-consuming errors.

Key Takeaway

Ensuring a proactive approach to workplace safety involves using EMRs during and after the point of care. Beyond regulatory compliance, these systems pack many benefits that bolster occupational therapists’ efforts to improve patient tracking, streamline workflows, and develop better treatment plans.

Choose the Top EMR/EHR Software

At EMR-EHR, we recognize the vital importance of occupational therapists in evaluating and managing employee health emergencies and work-setting challenges. We designed our occupational therapy EHR software and EMR solutions with advanced features to support therapists in prioritizing employee safety and holistic wellness. 
If you want to learn more about our occupational therapy platform, please complete this form today.

As technology advances, it has become common for doctors to keep electronic patient records. It is because digital versions of patients’ paper charts lead to more personalized, safe, and effective medical treatment for patients.

Of course, e-patient records are only possible with electronic medical record (EMR) software. It is designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of managing medical records in a way that benefits both healthcare providers and patients.

The article mainly discusses the benefits of EMR software, including its cons and importance.

5 Benefits of EMR for Providers

To begin with, let’s examine the benefits of EMRs. Electronic health records make storing, organizing, and editing health records much easier and more efficient. Here are some of the benefits they can provide:

1. Improved Patient Care

One of the primary benefits of EMR software is the ability to improve patient care. With this technology, healthcare providers can access a patient’s complete medical history at their fingertips, allowing for more informed decision-making. This situation can help prevent medication errors and other mistakes when relying on paper records.

2. Stable Communication

Did you know that EMR software allows for enhanced communication between healthcare providers? This software can be beneficial in emergencies when quick access to a patient’s medical history is needed. Healthcare providers can easily share patient information, allowing for better collaboration and care coordination.

3. Data Management

EMR software offers better data management capabilities. This technology allows healthcare providers to organize, store easily, and retrieve patient information, making it easier to keep track of essential details. In this way, patient records are more accurate and complete, making it easier to track the progress of treatments.

4. High Revenue Stream

Another benefit of EMR software technology is that it helps streamline many administrative tasks associated with managing patient records, freeing up time for healthcare providers to see more patients. In turn, this can increase revenue and productivity for the practice.

5. Enhanced Patient Satisfaction

EMR software can help improve patient satisfaction. With this technology, check-in and scheduling processes can be more efficient, reducing patient waiting times and improving the overall experience. Patients can often access their medical records through secure portals, allowing them to be more involved in their own care.

5 Benefits of EMR for Patients

Even though those above are some well-known EMR benefits for providers, let’s explore how EMR benefits patients.

1. Improved access to medical records: With electronic medical records, patients can easily access their medical information from any device with internet access. This means that patients can view their medical history, current medications, and other important information without waiting for a doctor’s office to open or for a physical copy of their records to be mailed to them.

2. Better coordination of care: Electronic medical records allow doctors and other healthcare providers t share information quickly and easily. Thus, patients can receive better-coordinated care, with all their healthcare providers working together to ensure they receive the best possible care.

3. Improved accuracy: Electronic medical records are less prone to errors than paper records. Patients can trust that the information in their records is accurate and up-to-date.

4. More efficient care: Electronic medical records make it easier for doctors and other healthcare providers to access and update patients’ medical information. Therefore, patients can receive care more quickly and efficiently, with less paperwork and more time spent on actual care.

5. Better privacy and security: In comparison, electronic medical records are generally more secure than paper records. They can be password-protected and encrypted, making it more difficult for unauthorized individuals to access patients’ sensitive medical information. Moreover, patients can have greater peace of mind knowing that their medical information is secure.

In conclusion, EMR software offers numerous benefits for both healthcare providers and patients. This technology is transforming the healthcare industry with improved patient care, enhanced communication, better data management, and increased revenue. Thus, you might consider implementing EMR software in your practice if you are a healthcare provider.

5 Cons of EMR in Healthcare

Computerizing patient records requires careful attention to data security. Keep these potential cons in mind when deploying an electronic health record system.

1. High upfront cost: Implementing electronic medical records can be expensive, especially for smaller healthcare providers who may need more resources to invest in new technology. Though the longevity of the system pays for itself in the end. 

2. Incompatibility with existing systems: Electronic medical records may only sometimes be compatible with healthcare providers’ systems. This situation might create challenges and additional costs in terms of training and data migration. 

3. Potential for data breaches: While electronic medical records can be more secure than paper records, they can still be vulnerable to data breaches. This means that patients’ sensitive medical information may be at risk of being accessed by unauthorized individuals.

4. Dependence on technology: Electronic medical records rely on technology, which can sometimes be unreliable. If a system goes down or there is a power outage, healthcare providers may be unable to access critical patient information.

5. Difficulty transitioning: Moving from paper records to electronic records can be challenging, especially for larger healthcare providers with extensive existing paper records. This can create disruptions in care and may require significant resources to manage the transition.

What is EMR in healthcare?

According to the AMA Journal of Ethics, whether paper-based or electronic, medical records serve as a communication tool that facilitates clinical decision-making, coordination of care, evaluation of quality and effectiveness, research, legal protection, education, accreditation, and regulations.

The advantages of electronic medical records include the integration with other health information systems, such as electronic prescribing and billing. Also, these systems allow healthcare providers to access comprehensive patient information quickly and easily. EMRs offer more than just the replacement of paper records. As a result, they enable effective communication and coordination between healthcare team members, resulting in better patient outcomes.

Similarly, the importance of electronic medical records lies in recognizing their ability to transform health care.

Conclusion

You should study the uses of EMR before deciding which one is right for you. As you weigh the pros and cons of EMR, you’ll become more aware of its suitability for your organization.

Contact us today if you have more questions about EMR usage or implementation!

Choose the Top EMR/EHR Software 

Over the years, we have been one of the qualified EMR software providers who assisted medical practices with EHR/EMR selection, implementation, and software usage. Fully Integrated Solutions are available for Podiatry Software Services, Sleep Medicine EHR, and Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) EMR. We got the best EHR for pain management if you want it.

Furthermore, we specialize in providing customized EMR/EHR software to meet your practice’s specific needs. Schedule a demo or contact us through the contact form for more personalized information. Let’s work together to find the best software for your practice!

Do you have a favorite EHR add-on service? You are free to comment below!

The EHR Incentive Program has been around for several years now, and few healthcare providers are unfamiliar with Meaningful Use and all it entails. The program main draw is the stimulus payments that physicians can qualify for each year by successfully adopting, implementing, upgrading or demonstrating meaningful use of certified EHR technology.

Starting this year, qualifying for incentive payments requires using 2014 Edition certified software. This means that physicians must attest to Meaningful Use using an EHR solution that has proven through extensive testing that it is capable of supporting requirements for both Stage 1 and 2, including electronic health information exchange, interoperability and patient engagement.

In order to accommodate physicians whose EHR vendors have not yet achieved Stage 2 certification, CMS and the ONC decided that in 2014 only all Meaningful Use participants will report for just 90 days – regardless of whether the physician is in their first year of Stage 1 or already getting started on Stage 2. This means that healthcare professionals can begin their Meaningful Use reporting this year as late as October 1, 2014. Physicians are warned, however, not to wait until the last minute to get started.

1st Providers Choice understands physicians’ concerns, and we want our users to start the reporting process early. That’s why we worked hard to get certified for Stage 2. Our EHR software and Patient Healthcare Portal solution are both 2014 ONC Stage 2 Certified, allowing physicians to start their 90-day reporting period immediately.

To help you achieve your goals, we assign a Meaningful Use expert to your practice. They guide you through the reporting process and show you how to use the EHR’s Meaningful Use dashboard to keep track of your progress. Our trainers also work with you to go over using drug formularies, setting up lab interfaces, e-prescribing controlled substances, and using the patient portal to achieve Meaningful Use.

Our patient portal makes it easy for physicians to meet the following patient engagement requirements:

• Provide online access to health information to more than 50% of all unique patients (who were seen by you during the reporting period) within 4 business days.
• Have 5% of all unique patients view their health information online, download it, or transmit it to a third party.
• Have 5% of unique patients (who were seen by you during the reporting period) send you a secure message.

1st Providers Choice has also made the necessary upgrades to ensure our EHR is up to date and our Practice Management software is ready for ICD-10. We have already begun testing our software with insurance payers and clearing houses to ensure a smooth transition to ICD-10 for hospitals and physician practices.

Interested in learning more about fully certified EHR software? Call 480-782-1116 today!

The American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) is holding their 30th annual Pain Medicine conference this March, titled the Emerging Science & Research of Pain Medicine – and 1st Providers Choice is proud to announce that our Pain Management EHR team will be in attendance.

The conference will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona from March 6 to 9, with preconference sessions beginning on March 5. Physicians attending the APM Annual Meeting’s various sessions will have the possibility to earn up to 32.25 Continuing Medical Education credits.

Sessions will cover topics including the improvement of pain treatment protocols, pain medicine education initiatives, and more. The following are a few of the stand-out sessions:

• Improving Pain Treatment Protocols: AAPM and the FDA Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks (ACTTION) Initiative
• Updates in Chronic Pain Management in the Adolescent Population
• Square Pegs in Round Holes? Do Clinical Treatment Guidelines Fit Our Patients’ Treatment Needs?
• Advancing the Practice of Battlefield (Auricular) Acupuncture

Held as a way to promote continuing education in pain medicine and professional networking, the AAPM Annual Meeting will also feature an exhibit space for more than 100 pain treatment products and services, including pain management EHR software from 1st Providers Choice. It will be a great opportunity for pain management and pain medicine specialists to learn more about electronic health record software and how implementing it can reduce operating costs and improve care.

To request a FREE demo of our EHR for pain medicine or fully integrated ICD-10 ready practice management software call 480-782-1116. You can also stop by Booth #100 at the AAPM Annual Meeting to talk with one of our EHR specialists. For more information about the conference and session descriptions, click here.

About the AAPM: The American Academy of Pain Medicine is the premiere association for pain physicians and their treatment teams. The 2104 conference is a celebration of the organization’s 30 years of pain medicine and the better and safer management of pain.

Pain medicine experts and pain management EHR vendors alike will be descending on Phoenix, Arizona this year, from November 21 to 24, for the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine’s annual meeting. The 12th annual scientific and educational event will provide a variety of opportunities for attendees to network with other physicians while learning about new and innovative pain management practices and techniques.

Healthcare professionals attending ASRA Fall 2013 will be able to attend lectures, courses and workshops, with topics ranging from “Botulinum Toxin Injection for Headache” to “Complementary and Alternative Medicine.” Other new and Special Session workshops announced for the fall meeting include:

• Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Pain Medicine
• Pharmacologic Controversies in Pain Medicine: Pro-Con Debate
• Long-Term Efficacy and Cost-Effectiveness of Pain Interventional Techniques: Pro-Con Debate
• Anticoagulation and Interventional Pain Procedures

Pain management specialists will be able to select content based on their preferred learning styles and individual educational needs. In fact, many of the workshops will be hands-on and interactive, allowing participants to practice skills on live models and/or cadavers.

ASRA Fall 2013 is also set to feature an Exhibit Hall where attendees will be able to talk to pain management and anesthesiology EHR software vendors, like 1st Providers Choice, and learn about other pain medicine-related products and services. EHR software designed specifically for the pain medicine specialty can simply workflow and improve the efficiency of many clinical and administrative processes.

To learn more about the 12th Annual Pain Medicine Meeting, click here.

About ASRA: The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine is the largest subspecialty medical society in anesthesiology. Their mission is to advance the science and practice of regional anesthesia and pain medicine by addressing the clinical and professional educational needs of physicians and scientists. Originally founded in 1923, ASRA has about 4,000 active members, including pain specialists, physicians and scientists from around world.

Adopting EHR software can modify provider workflow and charting processes. This means that healthcare professionals must strategically implement the new technology in order to provide high quality care without affecting productivity. What providers often fail to take into account, however, is that patients must also get used to the EHR’s presence in the exam room. Therefore, providers must implement the software in a way that does not affect patient satisfaction.

Here are a few ways that physicians can use their EHR software to improve the doctor-patient relationship.

Use the Chart View screen to review the patient’s medical history. Doing so before entering the exam room will allow you to interact with the patient straightaway without having to go straight to the computer. 1st Providers Choice’s Chart View menu provides physicians with important patient information, such as:

• Problem list
• Chronic conditions
• Past and current medications
• Patient allergies
• Family and social histories

Engage the patient in the visit by explaining how the EHR software is being used. Though most patients aren’t wary of what their doctor is doing, too much time spent typing can make the visit feel impersonal and the patient feel neglected. Instead of having the patient wait while you send out a prescription electronically or transmit a lab order through the EHR, involve them in the process and show them what you are doing. After you type visit notes into the EHR, let the patient know that they can view their visit summaries through your practice’s online patient healthcare portal.

Make sure your computer is positioned in a way that is easy for the patient to view. This is critical if you plan to show the patient test results in the EHR or demonstrate how an e-prescription is sent. It is also important in order to prevent the computer from becoming an obstacle that hinders free-flowing communication. Instead of positioning your EHR-enabled computer on a desk between you and the patient, put it somewhere that the patient can easily see.

To learn more about our EHR software solutions and how they can benefit your practice, call 480-782-1116 or contact us online.

For many physicians, the thought of adopting EMR software is overwhelming, as it can require investing money in computer equipment, software fees and licensing. Not to mention the time that goes into setup, training and implementation, as well as the drastic changes to providers’ charting methods and workflows. The fact of the matter is, implementing an EMR doesn’t have to be as scary as some might make it out to be, as there are many resources available to help physicians make the transition – from regional extension centers to EMR vendors themselves.

With the deadline to start reporting for Stage 1 of Meaningful Use this year fast approaching, physicians eager to receive the maximum incentive payments allowed through CMS should take heed – if you choose not to participate in Meaningful Use this year, you could be missing out on $5,000 worth of stimulus money.

If you want to take advantage of the money available to you through federal incentive programs, we suggest taking note of the following date:

• October 3: In order to earn the full $44,000 in incentive payments, providers must start the Stage 1 reporting period no later than this day.

Of course, the first step to achieving Meaningful Use is implementing fully certified EMR software, and you’ll want to do that a month or so before you need to start attesting to Meaningful Use. This will give you enough time to learn the system, train your staff and start using the EMR with live patients. That way, you can have all the kinks worked out by the time you start reporting.

Fully certified EMR software meets national standards for data exchange (interoperability) and is a requirement for Meaningful Use. If you choose to invest in a cheaper EMR, be careful. Having an uncertified product could cost you more in the long run. Not only will you miss out on Meaningful Use incentive payments, but you run the risk of not being able to exchange health records with other EMR users. This is something that will likely be emphasized more in Stages 2 and 3 of the Meaningful Use program.

Though healthcare providers might have had their doubts once about web-based software solutions, cloud computing is gaining traction and more and more caregivers are taking advantage of web-based services. If you are medical professional debating the benefits of a certified, web-based EMR versus a client/server model, here are a few reasons why you should consider web-based software:

Lower Initial Investment: EMRs that run solely on client/server systems can be quite expensive. Healthcare professional not only have to worry about costly licensing fees, but about purchasing a server that meets the software’s specifications, as well as computers with adequate hardware specifications in order to achieve optimal performance. Web-based EMR systems, on the other hand, require lower, monthly payments, making them a perfect solution for providers with tighter budgets.

Leave Maintenance to IT Experts: The fees for web-based EMR software typically include hosting and maintenance, as databases are stored remotely on servers owned by the EMR vendor. Experienced IT technicians working for the vendor will generally handle updates and upgrades, as well as network and database security. With IT specialists taking care of the technical side, all you have to worry about is practicing medicine.

Increased Security: Providers are right to worry about the security of their patient’s protected health information, and web-based EMR systems offer the best security against potential breaches. In fact, EMR vendors offering web-based services are HIPAA compliant. You won’t even have to worry about running backups or losing patient data were something to happen to your database server.

Convenient Access to Patient Records: Have you ever needed to work on or access a patient’s record while outside your practice? With fully certified web-based EMR software, you can view and edit your patient database from anywhere as long as you have access to the Internet. This is great news for providers who see patients at different facilities, or for those who simply like to get work done at home.

Learn more about fully certified, web-based EMR software, such as how it can benefit your hospital or independent practice.