Oncology EHR Software Buyers Guide
Last updated: June 01, 2023
Let’s Help You Pick the Right One
It’s safe to say an oncology waiting room is one of the most challenging places for patients to sit. What if modern technology can make people’s experiences slightly more positive.
No, EHR software can’t help medical professionals perform miracles, but a streamlined process can add this to the scenario:
Provide doctors with necessary information in an instant, which helps reach a diagnosis faster.
Allow easy comparisons of results to enhance a doctor’s workflow.
Enable information sharing between doctor and patient, creating a more patient-friendly, inclusive relationship.
Free up doctors’ time so they can see more patients on a daily basis, making it possible to get an appointment a few days or weeks earlier than expected.
In direct or indirect ways, this can improve patient experiences and make it easier for oncologists to perform their daily tasks in a faster, more organised manner than ever before.
What’s So Unique About Oncology EMR Software?
You may consider using generic EHR software, but a look at unique aspects of oncology quickly shows it may become more of a burden than a resource. Cancer treatment includes unique processes other physicians don’t use. Something as prevalent as chemotherapy requires unique management tools if you want to enjoy the benefits modern technology can give. Therefore, choosing a regular EHR will mean you still have to perform many tasks manually.
Find These Features First
Before you even vet your oncology EHR software on niche-specific matters, just make sure you have access to these features too. It’s what improves an EHR’s general efficacy:
- Good customer support from service provider
- Secure servers and back up systems (on site or off site)
- User-friendly interface and features
- Compatibility with existing software you use
- An interactive patient portal to share information between doctor and patients
- You must be able to share data easily and securely with other professionals
However, this is not enough.
Oncology Streamlined
Oncologist practices take care of an extensive range of tasks, ranging from billing to diagnosing problems to managing chemotherapy. The latter in itself requires meticulous work. A dedicated Oncology EHR will lighten the work load with automated features, so doctors and staff have more time on their hands.
MCKESSON IKNOWMED EMR
How Can Automation Work in Your Favor?
Automation can improve three specific aspects of your practice:
It will save time which means you and your staff are able to attend to more tasks each day.
Automation ensures more accuracy, as you prevent human error.
A program can even make your treatment safer as it will automatically guard against mistakes and make adjustments. One example is compensating for renal adversities when devising chemotherapy plans.
You can see this is central to your functioning, making an oncology EHR software program worth every cent.
Manage Chemotherapy Better
But can technology really manage vital treatments better than experts can? The truth is it can. Modern software can draw information from your entire database and the rest if the EHR program &use this to create treatment plans. This will take all necessary information into account—according to the guidelines you set—ensuring a holistic, dynamic plan.
Developers of quality software stay informed of changes in your niche and add relevant options as necessary. Therefore, these same benefits will also apply to radiation treatment, as a state of the art software program will cater for all possible treatments currently available.
Collect & Analyze Data
Oncology ehr software requires constant analysis of data, feedback, treatment responses and personal data. Your ideal oncology ehr software makes it easy to do, even including treatment image reviews.
Also remember that both you and your staff will attend to your patients. Nurses must also be able to add the details of their actions, so a report is always a complete representation of a patient’s care. For cancer patients, the EHR must allow for long term capturing and monitoring of data, as it’s rarely a short treatment journey.
PrognoCIS
Sharing and Interoperability
This is a niche where many role players either work together or at the very least confer with each other about a patient. It must be easy to share data with other experts so they can make decisions with all relevant information at hand.
An important reason for sharing information is research. This is a field where a lot of studies constantly take place in the fight to beat cancer. Your patients’ data can help the cause, but only if researchers can access it in a useful format. A quality EHR will ensure this interoperability.
Easy Post Treatment Care
Your work doesn’t stop once someone leaves the hospital. Your software must help you provide post-treatment care of the same quality as the rest of your services.
An oncology EHR software helps you design the follow-up plan and also allows you to share it with others. Perhaps rehabilitation or follow-up procedures will happen at other facilities and your oncology EHR can ensure everyone works together as a well-informed team.
ONC-ATCB Certification
Also a result of software developers who stay informed of changes in the market is ONC-ATCB certification. Although voluntary, this certification ensures high IT standards and implementation specifications. For a field as intricate as oncology, this should be a prerequisite.
Important Question: Does it Enable Better Decision Making?
Many EHR features focus on automation and saving experts time. Some may wonder if this is enough motivation to acquire this technology. Yes, it is, if you look at the larger picture.
Automated, faster features allow physicians access to vital information whenever they need it. No time is wasted in making decisions when it’s an emergency. When lengthy discussions take place between experts to decide on a plan of action, information can conveniently be viewed. This holistic perspective makes it more likely that oncologists can choose the best courses of action. That makes EHR invaluable.
Conclusion
Here’s the bad news: There aren’t many dedicated oncology EMR software on the market yet. Not as many as for other niches, that is. Therefore, be prepared to pay a little more than for the average software program. However, the outcome for both you and patients will be worth it.
