Urgent Care EMR Software Buyers Guide
Last updated: December 05, 2023
How to successfully implement Urgent Care EMR for first-time buyers & EMR switchers?
Urgent care clinics have a huge influx of patients on a daily basis and it can be difficult to keep up with the workload. Emergency medical records need to be retrieved quickly to help those in need of urgent care. That’s why it’s important that urgent clinics and medical practices utilize software that can optimize workloads within these facilities so more patients can be assisted. EMR (Emergency Medical Record) software is designed to keep urgent clinics organized and to streamline workflow.
So when you’re looking to buy EMR software what features should you consider for your urgent care facility? Take a look at the following buyer's guide. It may help you make better decisions on which EMR software solutions would be suitable for your clinic.
Features to Look for When Buying Urgent Care EHR Software
There are many EMR software solutions on the market that are designed for various types of medical practices and clinics. Some EMR systems allow you to manage billing more effectively to increase revenue.
Other EMR solutions allow practitioners to record every detail of patients’ examinations so they can be monitored and the proper care can be administered to them.
Before you purchase EMR software for your practice or clinic you’ll need to consider what solutions you need to optimize your business. Take a look at the following features of an EMR system that are capable of reducing workload.
E-Prescriptions for Urgent Care Clinics
Doctors can send certified prescriptions to patients through the EMR system. The advantage is that patients don’t have to come into the clinic or practice which reduces foot traffic.
Easy to Use Billing System
The billing support on en EMR system is designed for urgent medical clinics that specialize in after-hour services for lacerations and fracture treatment.
It’s essential that your EMR software has billing support because there are also features that help pay staff wages, compensation and to keep a record of all patient medical insurance information.
Customizable Templates
The purpose of an EMR solution is to speed up workflow. In order to do this you need user-friendly templates to work with that you can customize to suit your needs. Some EMR systems allow you to change templates so you can retrieve certain patient or staff information quickly.
Charting Capabilities
Charting is extremely important for urgent care clinics because it allows doctors to digitally capture and store patient records & other documentation so it can be retrieved easily. The charting feature allows a doctor to assist a patient effectively when he or she is in urgent need of medical care.
Secure Transfers of Medical Records
Sometimes doctors don’t have certain skills to help patients with their specific medical needs. For example, if a patient needs treatment for cancer the doctor on call will refer him or her to an oncologist. Medical records will then need to be transferred to the oncologist so the practitioner can see which tests have been done and what medication has been administered to the patient. That’s why an EMR system should have a secure transfer of EHR features.
Patient Portals
Patients should have the right to access their medical records so they can make an informed decision on how they can manage their health. Every EMR system must have a secure patient portal so people can see important messages from doctors, test results, and medical prescriptions.
The patient portal is a way for doctors to reduce the need for more staff. EMR patient portals allow one doctor to assist many patients without the need to employ more practitioners or administrative personnel because patients can access information at home instead of visiting the facility again.
What are the Benefits of Urgent Care EMR Software?
One advantage of quality EMR software is that they’re all user-friendly systems. This is important because emergency doctors don’t have time to contend with difficult software. Time is of the essence when helping patients. Here are other benefits of EMR solutions:
- Fast communication between staff
- Easy retrieval of patient records
- Constant updates and backups
- Increases profit margins for practices
- Allows doctors to make notes and share them with patients & staff easily
- Decreases foot traffic in medical facilities
- 24/7 customer support
- Secure software with no chance of malware attacks
How are Urgent Care EHR requirements Different than a Regular Clinic?
Urgent care practices help patients with highly sensitive cases such as fractured bones, lacerations, deep wounds and third-degree burns. These types of cases need immediate assistance from doctors or surgeons.
Regular clinics assist people that don’t need immediate medical attention. For example, parents may bring children in for vaccinations and pregnant women may simply require an ultrasound done.
The difference in urgency between the two medical practices is quite significant. So an urgent care practice will need an EMR system with the following features:
- Fast retrieval of EHR
- Access to medical bills
- Quick transfers of medical history records
- Billing information of a patient
- Access to emergency contact numbers
- Effortless EMR interface
- Quick logins
EMR Market Trends in 2023
Healthcare is a dynamic industry, and the advancements made in this segment in the form of software are intended to improve urgent care. Keeping the new technological trends in mind, we present you with a few market trends that you should add to your list of considerations as a potential buyer:
Ease of Accessibility: Patient Portals help patients communicate with doctors or receptionists to check their medicines, appointments, and other essential reminders. It allows patients to be more responsible regarding their health. Moreover, automatic SMS reminders reduce no-shows, ensuring overworked physicians and overcrowded waiting rooms.
Software-as-a-service for greater benefits: Many small and mid-sized companies prefer cloud-based software because of their flexibility and ease of access. These systems cost much less and help practices get rid of servers that take up space. Practitioners can access patient records, lab results, and patient history by having a steady internet connection on their mobile devices.
Telemedicine to communicate remotely: Telemedicine is a useful feature that helps practices to grow exponentially. Senior patients enjoy this facility to get quality care in the comfort of their homes. No wonder the transparency market research expects the telemedicine market to reach $1,624.4 million by the end of 2020. Patients don't have to worry about frequent checkups and delayed hospital services.
Consolidation in the mid-size market segment: The EMR market space is full of vendors that offer solutions for mid-sized practices. There's been a steady rise in the adoption of urgent care EMR technologies due to which the partnerships, acquisitions, and consolidations have also increased among different vendors. This trend allows companies to expand into new markets, grow their business, and offer services to many healthcare professionals and patients.
An urgent care EMR buyer must consider the trends mentioned above to meet the requirements of their practice.
The Cost of Urgent Care EMR Software
The cost of Urgent Care EMR systems depends on several factors such as the number of providers, the number of features offered, software deployment, specialty, and pricing model provided by the vendor. Here are a few facts to consider for Urgent Care EMR pricing:
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Cloud-based software is generally cheaper than server-based EMR systems.
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Per-visit pricing models are available for low volume practices. Vendors include Charmhealth, advancedMD, etc.
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Urgent Care practices can choose to pay a percentage of their collections and get free PM and EMR.
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Setup and Implementation cost is usually between $1000-$3000 for a small to mid-sized practices.
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Data migration can be free of cost for practice, depending on the vendor.
Top EMR Vendors in the Urgent Care EMR Market
AdvancedMD
Schedule List - AdvancedMD
AdvancedMD EMR software is our best pick for top EMR software solution with a perfect combination of comprehensive clinical platform and effective medical practice management system. It has a flexible user interface and powerful features that you can customize according to your daily workflow routine. It is built to scale with medical practices as they grow, making it a flexible solution that can serve the needs of a wide range of specialties. The company also has excellent customer service. It also offers an ongoing training service with a support partner in the early days after their go-live date. AdvancedMD is specifically built for handling revenue cycle management for practices of all sizes, but it mostly excels at managing billing for practices with 100 or more providers.
Add-on Features:
These are included in the base pricing of other EMR/PMS platforms. Adding the following add-ons will cost extra:
- Appointment reminders
- Insurance eligibility
- Credit card processing
- E-prescribing of controlled substances
- Electronic faxing
- Laboratory interfaces
Free Trial: Yes
Pricing:
Practice management software (without the EMR system): $429 per provider per month. Fully integrated AdvancedMD EMR and practice management solution, pricing starts at $729 per provider per month. The company offers a stand-alone EMR system. Its pricing model also depends on a variety of factors:
Monthly Collections
This is for RCM deals only and the ultimate price depends on the percentage of your monthly collections. AdvancedMD needs to know how much your practice generates per month.
Patient Encounters
Number of total patients seen by physicians. This factor is normally for new practices.
Specialty
The billing process & rules vary significantly from specialty to specialty; AdvancedMD incorporates the complexity of your specialty into its final percentage.
Number of Providers
Total number of providers highly affects the quote, ‘per provider/per month’ is the most common pricing model EHR systems utilize.
Devices Supported:
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone/iPad
- Mac
- Web-based
Deployment:
- Cloud Hosted
Key Pointers:
- AdvancedMD has a first pass claims rate of 97%. Only 3% of claims submitted are rejected by payers.
- AdvancedMD is competitively priced, ranging from 3% to 8% of monthly practice collections for the average client.
Read our article on how to improve revenue collection rates with AdvancedMD.
Athenahealth EHR Software
Patient Portal - athenahealth
Athenahealth EHR software is a powerful, robust EHR system made for physicians, hospitals, and medical communities. Incorporating proprietary web-native practice management along with seamless and efficient care coordination. An updated payer knowledge base, integrated with back-office service operations, and live patient communication services.athenahealth offers five solutions:
- athenaClinicals– Clinical charting platform.
- athenaCollector – Practice management requirements.
- athenaCommunicator – A communication platform for the doctors.
- athenaCoordinator – Sharing order transmission and information.
- athenaClarity– Data analytics module for financial and operations management population health & care management functions.
Free Trial: No
Pricing:
athenahealth’s EHR software license starts at $140 per provider per month. So, a practice of 5 physicians would pay $700 per month, minimum ($8400 annually). Paying to migrate up to 1000 patient records and hold two sessions of staff training would add $1000 to starting costs, for a total of at least $9400 in the first year.
Features:
- Electronic Health Records
- Medical Billing
- Patient Engagement
- Order Transmission
- HIPAA Compliant
- Secure Text Messaging
- Epocrates
- Revenue Cycle Management
- Care Coordination
- Population Health
Devices Supported:
- Windows
- Mac
- Web-based
Deployment:
Cloud Hosted
Key Pointers:
- Resolution of 94% claims on the first submission.
- Same-day closing of 74% of patient cases.
- Ten hours of work per provider, per week.
- 69% more Medicare annual industry visits.
- Connection with 160,000+ other providers through a single national network.
Have you read our blog Comparing Top Tier Electronic Medical Records Software
eClincalWorks
Progress Notes - eClinicalWorks
eClinicalWorks EMR software is an award-winning solution system designed to streamline the workflows for healthcare providers. The EMR system has a full set of features stipulated in delivering customizable and highly innovative solutions for all kinds of settings, including the following and 50 more specialties:
- Health Centers
- Ambulatory Surgical Centers
- Primary Care Office
- Mobile Clinics
- Hospitals
This platform is known for prioritizing user satisfaction and optimizing an easy-to-use interface.
Free Trial: No
Pricing:
EHR Only: $449 per month per provider EHR with Practice Management: $599 per month per provider
Features:
- It is integrated with population health and patient engagement.
- Health and wellness tracking data.
- Integrated telehealth visits.
- Intuitive user interface.
- Patient charting.
- Patient portal.
Deployment: Cloud Hosted
Devices Supported:
- Windows
- Mac
- Web-based
Key Pointers:
- The system has all the vital features that are essential to qualify as a recipient for the Meaningful Use reimbursement for all the stages.
Check out our all-in-one guide to cloud-based EMR software in 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions about Urgent Care EMR
Q: How long does implementation take?
A: Implementation time usually depends on clients. The most motivated ones get the implementation done within a few weeks. Most EMR platforms offer speech-to-text, scheduling, claims status reports, electronic prescriptions, electronic billing, etc. It is up to a user and their office workflow to decide how quickly you will get started.
Q: Can I build my custom forms?
A: Most EMR vendors encourage their clients to customize clinical forms to mirror their old paper forms. For paid users, implementation specialists create multiple custom forms to cater to the needs and requirements of their practice. Moreover, you can also create their templates using the feature of Template Builder.
Q: Can I share the forms I build with other doctors?
A: Yes, most vendors offer an option to share every form you create with doctors by simply uploading custom forms to a software's Template Library.
Q: Can providers in a practice group share patient data and a schedule?
A: Yes, doctors in a practice group can share schedules and patient information.
Q: How does an Urgent Care EMR software help patient flow?
A: Urgent Care EMR platforms help patients to move through the care process faster, thus improving patient access and patient throughput.
Q: What kind of training do you provide before implementation?
A: Most vendors provide real-time and in-house EHR training teams before implementation.
