5 Ways the Right Orthopedic EHR Will Improve Your Practice

As a specialty provider, it can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint the right tools that help you operate most effectively. Many software in today’s field is made with a broad-spectrum, one-size-fits-all approach. Nice, in theory, this kind of software ends up leaving specialists without the tools they need. Specialists need tools that are tailored to their needs. For orthopedic providers, a specialty-specific Orthopedic EHR that is built for their individual practice’s demands will help grow and improve multiple areas. An Orthopedic EHR can help Ortho specialists improve patient engagement, practice revenue, productivity, and clinical decision making.

Positive Impacts of an Orthopedic EHR:

1) Custom Workflow

An Orthopedic EHR enables providers to customize their workflow to fit the model that makes sense to them. Regardless of the type of encounter, this specialty-specific tool helps ortho providers pinpoint the documents they use most often and build them out to fit their needs. The right Orthopedic EHR offers specialist customizable templates that can be reworked over time, a list of the most used diagnoses and prescriptions in their field, as well as custom dashboards. Each factor adding up to increased productivity and efficiency in your practice’s clinical workflow. The one-size-fits-all alternative to this custom option leaves provider filing through useless information and forms to find what they need throughout each encounter and thereafter.

2) Singular Data Source

A common frustration for many orthopedic specialists and their software is the fact that they have to click through multiple screens to access diagnostic images and patient history. With a specialty-specific Orthopedic EHR, the right vendor understands the need to quickly access a patients condition alongside their history. For this reason, your Orthopedic EHR should offer a singular data source, enabling providers to upload and manage digital and diagnostic images directly into the patient’s chart. This includes X-rays, MRIs, or just a photo of the patient’s injury. Simple to use file management systems enable a more efficient workflow as well as improved clinical decision making.

3) Mobile-Access

Mobile access to your Electronic Health Record is a vital component of an Orthopedic EHR in multiple lights. For providers who offer home care to the chronically ill or patients stuck at home, mobile access is vital for accurate note-taking and access to important patient history. Without mobile access, your team is stuck with paper documents that cannot be updated in real-time and a delay in the times they are able to type their notes. This leads to a decrease in the accuracy of your notes and patient health information. Mobile access is important is a beneficial feature of an orthopedic EHR also for the reason that it enables providers to work outside of the office. They are no longer stuck to the chair in front of your practice’s desktop computer, reducing physician burnout and allowing them to spend more time with their patients.

4) Patient Engagement

Patient engagement is a vital piece of any practice’s success. Without high levels of patient engagement, patients avoid their care, they avoid talking to their physician and they avoid important testing/labs that improve their outcomes. An Orthopedic EHR can improve patient engagement by offering your patients the tools they need to connect to your practice. With a fully integrated patient portal, patients are able to communicate more easily, visit in a way that is more convenient, maintain their care in a way that makes sense to them, and better understand their medical bills. The patient portal aspect of your orthopedic EHR should be integrated entirely with every other software at your practice, making it easy for your patients to complete digital intake, schedule/cancel appointments, and pay their bills. 

5) Telehealth Services

Telehealth is a visit alternative partnered with remote service that helps to increase patient engagement, increase the number of visits a provider can complete in a day, and improve revenue. An Orthopedic EHR with telehealth makes it easy for patients to visit with their provider from home rather than going into the office. This is especially useful for patients with Orthopedic injuries that make it difficult to travel and is also useful for patients who just need to give a quick update on their recovery. The total integration feature of an Orthopedic EHR enables patients to take pictures and put them in their charts for their providers to assess. Due to a telehealth visit being shorter on average than an in-person visit, providers are able to meet with more patients in one day, improving revenue.

To learn more about an Orthopedic EHR that can help improve your practice, click here.