EMR News

Physical Therapy EMR Checklist For Your Practice

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Feb 10, 2019 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Documentation

You have made the decision to convert your documentation into a physical therapy EMR software, now what? How can you be sure that you’re getting the best product at the best price, and one that will help maximize your documentation process?

Nitin Choda provides you with a checklist that outlines key areas you will need to consider in order to choose the best and the right software for your practice.

Physical therapy electronic medical records solution is sometimes hard to find. The same is true when picking a restaurant to eat at. We need help in finding the right product.

If you are feeling a little lost and confused by all the options available for a physical therapy EMR products, don’t worry: picking a good solution isn’t as hard as it might seem.

Just keep your eye on the goal, and your hands on this checklist.

Find a decent price. Price is important. A lower price doesn’t always mean a worse product, and a low price also means you will have more money in your bank for other things. Try to find the cheapest physical therapy EMR that you are comfortable with, and that does everything you need, but not at the expense of inefficiency.

Does it fulfill your needs? Physical therapy EMR has different requirements from other electronic medical records. After all, you are dealing with physical activities more often than drug dosages. Look for a product that makes documentation simple because much of what you will be doing is documentation.

You need to make sure that the physical therapy EMR you picked is actually capable of doing what you need it to do. That means getting your hands on a copy and simulating the activities you would do throughout the day. If you find that part of your process has been left out by the solution, well, you know it isn’t for you.

Is billing integrated? This might seem like a minor thing, but keeping billing integrated with patient information is the best possible way to ensure that you handle billing as efficiently as possible.

Billing is never fun, but you shouldn’t have to keep an extra database just to deal with it. Make sure that physical therapy EMR billing is integrated with your documentation software. And you will be glad you did.

Can you document your patients quickly? The fewer clicks, the better. How quickly can you document what is happening with your patient? The tool should be capable of handling rapid note taking.

It should be able to handle you recording your every observation, and archive those observations in a way that you can get to quickly. In short, your physical therapy EMR solution should be ready to handle your patient load.

Can you schedule new appointments easily? Appointments are the bread and butter of your practice. Without them, there would be no physical therapy. You won’t even need to use your physical therapy EMR tools. Make sure that your tool is prepared to schedule and manage appointments.

What does your staff think? Let your staff try out the physical therapy EMR software. If they don’t like it, or they can’t use it, then it doesn’t matter how many features it has. A piece of software is only as good as its user interface, especially when it comes to something used every single day.

Is it mobile? Physical therapy involves moving around. You shouldn’t be constrained to a desktop computer when using a physical therapy EMR solution. It should support iPads, so you can carry a single, lightweight computer with you at all times, documenting everything as it happens in real time.

Electronic Medical Records System Top Five Benefits

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Feb 3, 2019 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Documentation

There are many benefits that an electronic medical record system can give. In this article, Nitin Chhoda emphasizes on the top five most important benefits that EMR can provide so that practitioners who have not adopt the EMR system yet will understand its importance.

Electronic medical records are the next big thing in physical therapy management.

When EMR systems are fully adopted by all facilities, you are going to see a major change in how medicine is practiced.

Here are the top five benefits of using an electronic medical records system if you are a physical therapist.

BENEFITS OF ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS

Easy Access to Records. With electronic medical records, keeping track of your patients’ records is simple. Your database should be easily searchable, so you can instantly pull up all the information you have on the patient from exercise and appointment schedules to the medications they are taking.

That means no paper records to flip through, the ability to instantly search the documents for information, and no unintelligible hand-written notes. Electronic medical records is really the ultimate physical therapy management solution.

Document Completely. With electronic medical records, you can easily document everything that a patient does in real time. From arrival to billing to the appointment itself, all information can be listed in the database to give you a complete record of everything about the patient.

And, because of the easy access to records, all that information is immediately available on the database to anyone who might need access.

Send Records Easily. Sending electronic medical records using your physical therapy management software should streamline inter-office communications. Most EMR solutions integrate seamlessly with online cloud storage, and through these cloud storage solutions you can get the records to any other healthcare provider that the patient is working with.

It doesn’t even matter if the other facility has fully integrated electronic medical records for physical therapy services. You can still access the files as long as you have a computer connected to the internet. Relying on physical therapy management software with full EMR will help bring physical therapy into the next century, ridding practices of outdated technology and wasted energy and effort.

Easy Billing. Physical therapy billing can be a pain. As with all forms of accounting, keeping the information synced to the patient is difficult. Electronic medical records and physical therapy documentation can make the process far more comfortable.

With physical therapy scheduling software, you can time alerts for when your patients are coming, keep track how much they owe, how long it took for them to pay last time, and where to send the bill.

Physical therapy software makes billing patients an incredibly simple procedure and reduces the chance of mistakes.

No Chicken Scratches. This might be the most important one. In the medical profession, a remarkable number of doctors have terrible handwriting.

An electronic medical records solution means no chicken scratches.

All information is entered in on a computer screen, whether it is an iPad for a mobile solution or a desktop office computer for a more stationary one. That means that all the information is nicely organized, printed cleanly, and is easy to understand.In other words: you won’t have to worry about others not being able to read your handwriting.

Electronic Medical Records System: How Many Actually Uses It?

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Jan 27, 2019 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Management

Many private practice owners still have not switched over to an electronic medical records system. Perhaps most of them thought that having an automated system would be complicated.

Nitin Chhoda shares how physical therapy software can help your practice in the long run using the right implementation.

Electronic medical records is a new and modern way in a private practice business, while paper medical record systems still dominate the market.

However, the fact is that paper medical records are waning fast.

Paper documentation systems are a relic of time when physical therapists didn’t have the choice of simple, efficient, and precise EMR software.

The Current Status of EMR System

At the moment, only 10% of those practicing in health care fields have a fully functioning electronic medical records system. As of 2009, 20% had the most basic beginnings of a system, but still relied heavily on paper documentation.

Over the past three years it is likely that that percentage is growing, or that many systems have been updated. A more remarkable statistic is that only 1.5% of hospitals have integrated IT systems.

Half of those that do are government facilities, meaning that private practices are lagging behind. Most private practices are staffed by about 9 people, however, which makes that number less shocking.

With so few facilities using electronic medical records technology, you might wonder why you should adopt it in the first place.

The fact is that while very few firms might run physical therapy management software, there are still a number of advantages for those that do. Electronic medical records improve efficiency, accuracy, and quality of care.

Implementing the Electronic Medical Record

Any practice that implements electronic medical records software benefits from digitized records: easy access to patient information, the ability to sign patients in instantaneously, and massively improved handling of cancellations and no-show patients.

Electronic medical records simplify the life of a physical therapist by making it easy to manage patients, data, and finances. And you have the incredible ability to access your patient’s files and tests with the press of a button, instantaneously pulling up all the records you have on each patient.

In some offices, the physical therapists simply carry an iPad around, and type in the name of the patient before you walk into the room, instantly reviewing a listing of all pertinent information. Electronic medical records make patient care simpler and more effective.

You’ll also be handling records that are type-written, rather than hand-written. A surprising number of mistakes are made by physical therapists and physicians because they just couldn’t read the notes in a medical record.

But electronic medical records systems for physical therapy management aren’t just good for your firm. With a simple piece of software, you can send and receive complete records between offices. Download the software, press a few buttons, and another facility has the files. It really is that simple. EMR data management solutions ensure that everyone who cares for a patient always has the most recent information.

EMR is the Solution

When the number of firms with the technology reaches a certain point, the perception will be that every firm needs an EMR solution.

You can get ahead of the trend now by starting the process and going electronic for you, your patients, and the entire practice.

But even if your physical therapy office is unique in being equipped with medical records solution, electronic medical records would still be helpful. More and more facilities are adopting EMR for physical therapy services, and soon we will see a shift.

Physical Therapy EMR Top Five Advantages

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Dec 2, 2018 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Software

Many physical therapy business owners are not yet convinced they should make the change over to automated documentation.

Nitin Chhoda enumerates the five advantages that physical therapy EMR can give, and how it can affect the entire process of a practices’ documentation from scheduling to billing.

Physical therapy EMR system is obviously going electronic and is starting to look more and more like the obvious choice for physical therapy software.

Many physical therapy EMR systems handle everything from physical therapy documentation to billing to scheduling.

Just in case you’re not convinced, here are the top five advantages of physical therapy EMR for all of your PT documentation software needs.

#5: Integrated Billing

Many clinicians find this to be one of the most obvious benefits, but it cannot be stressed enough. When you implement physical therapy software that offers complete physical therapy EMR transition, your business has the opportunity to get much, much more efficient. Medical billing is a complex job, and EMR for physical therapy services can make it just a bit simpler.

Because billing, scheduling, and electronic medical records will all be tracked by the same system, you can expect things to be more intuitive.

Medical billing can involve many steps and should include aging reports and follow-ups. A good physical therapy EMR system will allow you to set reminders and collect insurance and patient payments in a more efficient manner.

#4: Professionalism

Your practice with an integrated physical therapy EMR services will give patients even more confidence about your services.

It turns out that the way patients perceive your office will make a difference – both new and continuing patients may decide your practice is not organized enough and walk out the door at any time.

If you show them a standard of paperwork, billing, and timely communications, they will respect the practice and feel more confident.

Additionally, physical therapy EMR can help busy therapists to keep all of their patients straight. No one is expected to remember every detail of every appointment. Electronic medical records make it quicker and easier to get caught up.

#3: Reporting and Profitability

A fully integrated physical therapy EMR will allow you to track the indicators that you want to check. How often do cancelled appointments remain empty? How often do referrals lead to a consistent new client? If you can get these numbers quickly and easily, you can use them to make your practice more profitable and efficient.

#2: EMRs are Coming

Physical therapy EMR and billing are the directions we’re all headed anyway. Why? Because they cut down on expenses and wasted time, which means you’ll be wasting less money on inefficient procedures. Implementing a physical therapy EMR now will ensure that you are on track to work with the rest of the medical community in the most efficient and practical way.

#1: Precision, Accessibility, Accountability

With physical therapy EMR and software that is designed by and for physical therapists, you can improve precision and accountability. When a system is intuitive to use and provides short cuts for a fast and constantly changing workflow, everyone gets better at their job. And if there is ever any question about why a decision was made or how a situation was handled, all the information will be together in one very easily accessible place.

Physical Therapy EMR Tips to Smoothen Implementation

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Dec 1, 2018 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Management

Nitin Chhoda provides a guideline that can be used when making the decision about physical therapy EMR. These tips are important, and if executed correctly, will positively affect the efficiency and productivity of your staff.

Physical therapy EMR systems transition are often interpreted as an uphill battle by clinicians and managers.

Gaining traction with all staff members and ensuring that the product is actually more efficient will be a big challenge at first.

Here are a few tips to help implementation of physical therapy electronic medical records go more smoothly.

Assign a Project Manager or Team Leader

Usually this job is given to the office manager or other administrative executive. No matter who does the job, it is critical that someone is responsible for pulling everything together. They will be responsible for figuring out which physical therapy EMR software is best for your practice and they will need to get buy-in from the entire staff.

They will set up a schedule for implementation and manage expectations so that nobody feels surprised or overwhelmed by the changes. They will also need to assess and inventory your current resources and decide what needs to be purchased.

Include Everyone

Having a point person is very important to implementing your physical therapy EMR. And one of the most important jobs that this staff member will do is manage the expectations of the rest of the staff. One of the hardest parts of transitioning to physical therapy EMR and software is that staff members are set in their ways and do not want to change.

Staff member buy-in should be prioritized by adding meetings or interviews to the schedule and plan. Each staff member’s job should be reviewed, to some degree, and the changes they will need to make should be determined and discussed beforehand.

Asking staff what would make their jobs easier and attempting to find the right physical therapy EMR that incorporates the needed improvements can make the process simpler and smoother.

Invest in Training Programs

Another thing that staff will find difficult is learning on the fly. If you are changing the way things work, you’d better train the staff beforehand. Physical therapy EMR should improve efficiency. While there will always be a bit of a lag at first, the more training given before implementation, the smoother the implementation will go.

Physical Therapy Specific Software

There are a lot of physical therapy EMR systems out there. Many are general and can be adapted to any kind of practice, from a general practitioner to a chiropractor or even a dentist.

But rather than worry about making a system fit your practice, find a system that is made for physical therapy documentation.

Physical therapy EMR and software will make billing, scheduling, and patient management more efficient. If you are just starting out and are looking for an EMR that will be easier to implement, find specific physical therapy EMR software.

Be Flexible

Make a schedule, ensure that the staff are ready, and transition your practice to physical therapy EMR software. But remember that there are always going to be challenges and the adjustment period will never be perfect. Build some flexibility into your schedule and ensure that staff have opportunities to refresh any learning even once the EMR has been implemented.

Medical Records and More

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Nov 6, 2018 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Documentation

Medical records provide health information about a patient. Nitin Chhoda discusses the value of having a complete and accurate information of a patient’s health records so that practitioners can decide the best treatment for a patient’s health.

Medical records of every individual contain personal, private information such as their blood type, previous diseases or conditions treated, and any medications being taken currently or in the past.

A medical record, which can also be entered in a physical therapy documentation process, will also include information about allergies as well as details about each visit to the healthcare provider’s clinic.

Like all legal documents, medical records are kept according to laws that usually relate to certification or licensing of a medical professional or medical clinic.

Maintenance of medical records is required by state or federal laws, depending on the specific requirements, and for good reason. Incorrectly maintained medical records could cause serious harm to the patient.

A doctor who neglects to record allergies to medications could be held responsible if a patient is administered that medication in the future because the information is not included in the patient’s medical record.

Medical and Health Records

Medical records can be the folder where all medical information for a single patient is stored as well as the cumulative history that a medical record provides.

A health record is the critical information about a patient contained in a medical record that is sent from one medical provider’s clinic to another.

Medical records can include charts, x-rays, prescription orders for physical therapies or medications, observations, test results, and the date of each previous visit to the medical clinic.

Any important type of note about the patient will also be included, such as pre and post operative notes and operative notes, admission notes, SOAP or progress notes, discharge notes, delivery and postpartum notes, and on-service notes.

Many of these notes are also regulated, so that certain procedures are always followed. The information contained in medical notes can inform the way a future clinician treats the patient.

Medical Records and More

A medical record can also be useful for future clinicians who may not have the opportunity or the context to know to ask certain questions about the patient’s medical history.

Until fairly recently, medical records laws were kept and maintained by health professionals only, and patients had little to no access to their own medical record.

However, today patient’s have more rights and can not only view their own medical record but have the opportunity to comment on some entries that they feel are inaccurate.

The other way that has helped medical care to improve is the use of medical records as educational materials. Medical school students and resident physicians can get the next best thing to first hand experience if they can compare a real medical record, which would be anonymous, to a current problem they are trying to diagnose or treat.

A Form of Communication

Besides being a compilation of all medical information relating to a patient, a medical record is also a form of communication and a way to share knowledge.

Because medical records can be so important and so helpful, there are legal precedents for maintaining medical records correctly. Medical services providers are also required to keep medical records for seven years after the last recorded addition to the record.