How Do You Know it's Time to Switch to a Paperless Medical Practice?

Today most medical offices use an EPM (electronic practice management) system. It's some kind of software that is worlds different than the old hand-scrawled system. Over the last 20 years or so, the EPM market has expanded to offer several products on a variety of platforms. It is unfortunate that although these many new systems have been launched and maintained, rarely has a paperless office truly been reached.

The first generation of EMR systems worked well for subjective/objective/assessment-style planning. There is a variety in levels of quality; it seems that text-driven practices have it better than the graphic-intensive offices such as an ophthalmology practice. Our practice has used an EPM since way back in 1983. While this software was adequate for scheduling and billing, still we realized that the accumulating mass of paper records would require an increasing expense in terms of area to accommodate it within. So, as we considered the change to an EMR system, we compared the forecasted costs of medical records storage to the costs of converting to a digital system. We knew we'd have to become more efficient while keeping full access to our stored records.

EMR System Implementation Costs:

1 - Computer Hardware
2 - Software Licenses
3 - Infrastructure
4 - Consulting
5 - Tech Support

There are other costs to consider, including extra hours that will be spent doing data entry or training on the new system. Usually a practice will use both the old and new systems together until a full conversion has been completed; in the meantime there may be some redundancies.

Our ultimate choice was formulated from considering the need to reduce the mass of paper we were storing. Meanwhile, there was the opportunity to proactively implement the new privacy and security guidelines being created.

EMR System Implementation Benefits:

1 - Improved System Integration
2 - Better Communications
3 - Increased Efficiency
4 - Improved Compliance
5 - Enhanced Documentation

Our business choice was based in the belief that we could recover our investment in about five years. This calculation is based on office space cost savings, as well as reduced need for services and printing expenses. Changes to job efficiency are more difficult to measure, but we are actively monitoring changes in order to accurately calculate benefits in terms of return on investment. Overall, the trend seems to be toward a world in which EMR is the standard. Government and insurance companies are putting on more pressure to standardize medical documents, and EMR could soon become an obligatory format. Costs are coming down as more businesses adopt this format, and soon even the smaller medical practices have the option to switch over to a paperless practice.

By the way, do you want to learn more about implementing EMR in your own practice? Download my free report "Getting Through The EMR Maze."

Click here for the free EMR report.

Do you want to learn more about increasing revenue and cutting costs in your practice? Download my free report "The 7 Key Strategies To Building A Successful Medical Practice Even In Tough Economic Times."