Patient Intake EMR Software

Patient Intake EHR software is a HIPPA-compliant solution that allows patients to complete their check-in process before coming to the doctor’s office for an appointment. Without this software, your patients need to fill out the intake form during the waiting period outside of your office or through your website at home. In the latter case, they simply print out the copy of their intake form, fill it out, and bring it to the office at the time of their visit. Either way, your administration team needs to process the documents manually by copying the written data into the system and verifying insurance and legal information.

The whole process, apart from being troublesome, can put your practice at risk due to problems such as illegible handwriting, etc. This can cause issues when dealing with insurance companies and deciphering patient information. Apart from this, it gives no visible benefits in terms of profit for your practice or reduced waiting room period for your patients.

This is where your Patient Intake EHR software comes in. It gives your patients the option of filling out their necessary paperwork online before coming in for their appointment. Since patient information is always typed, it removes the risks of human errors and the insurance information is processed faster and easier. Lastly, it reduced the in-office wait times for your patients as well. Here is a complete guide to help you make the right choice in selecting a Patient Intake EHR software for your medical practice.

Important Features in an EMR Software 

Before purchasing any EMR software, there are a few considerations that you need to look out for. These aspects help differentiate a ‘good’ quality EMR software from a ‘bad’ quality one.

• User-friendly Navigation and Experience: A user-friendly interface can help you simplify tasks and actions for your staff and help them in increasing their productivity.
• Integration: You should easily be able to integrate the EMR solution you select with your existing system, irrespective of the device you are working on.
• Ease of Access: You should also be able to access patient information, write e-prescriptions, check patient charts, etc. 24/7 from anywhere in the world. One of the biggest benefits of having a cloud-based EHR system is to not be restricted to your server for patient information.
• Always Available for Support: When you are implementing a new digital solution, it is completely normal to run into problems. However, if you have strong support from your EMR software provider, you can easily overcome any problem you encounter during this process and afterwards as well.

Before making any final decisions, it is always better to ask your provider for a Patient Intake EHR Software Demo or check reviews of their past clients. This will allow you to make sure if the software you’re choosing is the right one for your practice or not. Lastly, make sure to compare the different EMR software you choose to select the one that is perfect for your Patient Intake practice.

Features of Patient Intake EMR Software

Now it’s time to talk about Patient Intake EMR systems specifically. Before making any final decisions, make sure your Patient Intake EMR systems contains the following features:

• Administrator Dashboard: The administrative dashboard allows your admin team to view patient information, such as patient profile, billing status, documents, appointment, etc. all in one place.
• Digital Forms: Patient Intake EHR software allows patients to fill out their intake paperwork in advance of their appointment. The data your patients fill into these forms can be verified and integrated with your existing EMR system.
• Form Templates and Customization: The majority of Patient Intake EHR software vendors provide common templates for intake forms which can be customized or edited according to your practice needs or specialty.
• Patient Survey: The software allows you to gather patient feedback about their visit to improve their overall experience.
• Reporting: Gather patient information from surveys, demographic questions, intake forms and create charts or visual representation of data for research.
• Smart Communication: The patient portal allows you to answer patient questions and or inquiries about upcoming appointments, promotion deals, and intake forms, etc.
• Document Sharing: The software also allows you to share small documents, such as images, patient notes, e-signature, and image scans.
• Insurance Validation: Verify payment details and insurance policies regarding your services to make sure you don’t run into issues during payment collection.
• HIPAA Compliance: A Patient Intake Care EMR Software must also ensure the security and safety of patient records while guaranteeing privacy and HIPAA compliance for patient/doctor communication. The majority of the providers ensure the safety of the patient records by using advanced tools such as data encryption technologies.
• Patient Scheduling: Patient Intake EHR Software allows patients to schedule and change their appointments without any hassle. It also gives the option of enabling daily reminders and electronic booking.

Determining Your Needs

Before deciding which EHR solution to implement, it’s important to understand what your practice’s needs are. When it comes to EHR solutions, one size doesn’t fit all. Understanding your needs will not only help you decide the best solution for your practice but also help you use your EHR solution to the fullest. Patient Intake EMR software is in today’s world essential for practitioners because it helps save time and money.

How to Select a Patient Intake EHR Vendor?

Now that you know what kind of features you need to look for, it’s time to discuss what type of Patient Intake EHR software vendor you should select for your medical practice.

• Vendor and Practice Size – Firstly, you need to understand which size of companies your vendor typically aims for. After that, you need to analyse the size of your practice as well. If you have a large facility, you wouldn’t want to select an EHR vendor that only deals with small practices. Typically, the vendors that cater to larger facilities have a high-cost Patient Intake EMR solution.
• Vendor Certification – This is probably the most important aspect before selecting an EMR vendor for your practice. You need to make sure your vendor is ONC-authorized testing and certification body (ONC-ATCB). Selecting a non-certified vendor will only bring you trouble and a nuisance to your practice.
• System Design – This will probably depend on whether you want to install Patient Intake EMR software on-site in your server, or use a cloud-based one. Although you’ll get more advantages with a cloud-based solution, it probably boils down to your personal preference. Whatever you choose, you’ll need to find an EMR vendor that provides the service you are looking for.

Even after making a final decision, you should use a Patient Intake EHR software demo or check out their guides to make sure it is exactly what you’re expecting. A quick comparison of the Patient Intake EHR software available in the market can help you find the best one for your practice.

What’s the Final Step?

Before making your decision, it is essential to understand how every vendor and practice workflow is unique. For this reason, a vendor that may work for one practice may not exactly suit the other. Therefore, software experts and industry specialists are an ideal source of information, advice, and ultimately ensuring that the right decision is made.

After understanding the features and deciding upon a few potential vendors, you can also compare the pricing of the Patient Intake EHR systems. After you reach a vendor with all the services, features, support, and cost plans you are looking for, you can finally make the last step and move towards its implementation.