Physical Therapy EHR Software Buyers Guide
Last updated: June 07, 2023
EHR for Physical Therapy—There’s a Better Way
No matter what health care niche you’re in, chances are developers have sat down with professionals from your specialty to discern what you need. That’s definitely true for physical therapists, which is why you can now take your pick of programs that will meet your unique needs.
Why Your EHR Selection Process is so Important
No day is the same when you’re a physical therapist. Of course, any medical practice has interesting moments, but in your position, you don’t simply work with patients; Often you’re part of a team working on a case or you get referrals from other medical professionals.
Such a unique setup can often lead to chaos in physical therapy practice and if you want to manage that better, a physical therapy ehr software can work. But you must use the RIGHT tech or you won’t get the full benefits.
We compiled a guide to help you pick the right software for your future, so you benefit you, your patients and your network of professionals.
What to Pick: Features You’ll Wish You Had Earlier
Connecting With Others in Your Network
Connecting with people in your network is a top priority because physical therapists are often part of teams all working together to help patients heal from injuries or other health problems. You work with their faxes, scanned forms, PDFs and data on a daily basis.
Why handle them manually if your Physical Therapy EHR Software can incorporate that data directly to patient files?
This is important not only to make your life easier; It’s also about preventing human error. Every time you or a staff member enters information from a written form onto a computer database, you run the risk of having faulty information.
An automated system minimizes this risk
An added benefit is that patient intake becomes easier and faster, because you can draw personal details from other professionals’ systems if it’s a referral case. A new patient won’t waste time filling in forms and your staff won’t have to process documents either.
Track Your Treatments
Because tracking progress is vital it’s worth looking for EHR features that can help. In your field, the outcomes are often a long time coming.
High-end Physical Therapy ehr software allows you to add details about exercise routines, results, and improvements. With each visit details from before can easily be carried over. This provides a holistic view and can even help encourage your patients so they don’t lose hope: Show them how far they’ve come.
CareCloud
Data on All Possible Aspects
Apart from information you draw from other professionals you’ll also do your own tests. Quality EHRs can communicate with electrotherapy devices so you can have that feedback whenever you review someone’s file.
Because diagnostic resources such as X-Rays and MRIs play important roles too, it’s preferable your EHR imports those documents, automatically adding them to the relevant individual’s file.
The Commercial Side
Physical therapy is one of the healthcare niches where selling equipment is a common practice. You may even stock over the counter medicine to give patients easy access and spare them a trip to the pharmacy.
If this describes your practice, look for an electronic health record that will help you manage the retail aspect of your business. It must be easy to add products to the system. Also it must connect with all other account features so your patient can make one payment to cover consultation costs and the items he or she purchased.
AdvancedMD
Prioritize Patient Portals
A patient portal that allows them to update information, make payments and view their appointments is a welcome bonus for smooth running of your business.
Patient portals are becoming increasingly important in all healthcare niches. Society is used to having access to information and doing everything digitally. Therefore, this is an excellent selling point for your practice: Show people you make life easier for them:
- Fill in forms online
- Ask questions via an app or receive a reminder about an appointment
- Update personal data
It’s also a method of providing more personal healthcare. In the physical therapy niche you need your patients’ full commitment because it’s not only your work that will determine the outcomes—They must do their share as well.
Something as simple as connecting via software can change the experience from being clinical to personal. Now people feel comfortable asking questions, talking about their fears and taking part. That’s how you can get them to do the homework you give them.
Start with the Right Foundation
While the above is essential to flourish in your physical therapy practice, you won’t enjoy your software that much if you don’t make sure you get the following features too:
- Excellent security features to keep your data safe and prevent being hacked.
- Easy integration with other software and equipment already in use.
- A quality billing system that helps you manage accounts and send out claims with the correct ICD 10 codes. By optimizing your revenue streams your new EHR software will affect your profit. Copay is also a common occurrence for physical therapy patients, so make sure your software can handle these logistics easily.
- A user friendly interface that you and your staff will quickly get used to.
- Scheduling portals that help your practice go digital. This will prevent misunderstandings and minimize mistakes due to human error. An outflow of this is that you’ll have fewer no shows. Since people can get reminder messages you won’t waste your time waiting for patients.
In Closing
Yes, it IS a business you’re running even though your focus is to help people. You need to make sure you optimize your resources—such as time—to benefit your bottom line. Time-saving features also benefit your patients because you’ll be able to focus on them even more.
Why not invest in a simple product that will have you and your patients work together dynamically to make recovery more possible?
It’s worth it—spend a little extra and get specialized Physical Therapy ehr software that will benefit all involved.
