If you're scouting for a robust small practice EMR* system, then you've come to the right place.

Now, as a medical practitioner, your obvious primary focus is the provision of urgent patient care – dealing with the acute nature of incoming ailments before proceeding with their chronic management. But as all of us in the field know only too well, that's not the only concern you'd have.

You also need to implement the right digital infrastructure to help you deliver all-around quality treatment at scale.

Because no clinical facility, no matter how modestly intended, remains a small operation for long (and we're not just alluding to physical size here). The very nature of modern medicine necessitates expansion. Chasing therapeutic, science-backed, and systematic sophistication.

Competition demands constant improvement – even in the case of public (government) facilities. And we haven't even mentioned the regulatory checks that medical professionals need to align with!

The case for cutting-edge electronic health records for small medical practices (and large!), then, is strong. In this article, we'll explore just how airtight this equation is, delving into such concerns as:

The perks of small practice EMR – some 101
A (further) plunge into why small healthcare providers can't pass their software savior
Making the EHR software purchase decision/commitment
Our top small practice EMR system picks

Let's get to it.‍

The Benefits Of Small Practice EMR Implementation

To start with, EMR systems help medical providers save time and effort (scarce resources, right?) by majorly eliminating the need for manual processes. This is especially true for cloud-based EMR, which, in the long run, also saves money by countering the requirement for expensive hardware.

Two key benefits warrant further discussion:

Here are some of the key benefits of implementing an EHR in small practices.

Improved Clinical Efficiency

In any medical practice, it isn't long before rigid, manual protocols begin to run their course. Automation, courtesy of the right EHR system, immediately springs up as the next logical option.

What clinic can deny the advantages of custom workflows and intelligent adaptability to deal with the full spectrum of healthcare emergencies (not all of which can be anticipated)?

In addition, industry-leading EHR systems facilitate instant physician access to such daily practice management essentials as patients' treatment plans, lab results, hospital charting templates, and more.

The net result of this is that what previously took hours of careful toil now only takes a few minutes. Take patient charting, which, before the advent of EMR vendor tech and pre-built templates, required painstaking history-taking against each admission.

Minimum Errors - Maximum Productivity (The EMR Mantra)

EMR software streamlines your small medical practice workflows by reducing the chances of error and eliminating redundant steps. This removes much of the burden of routine administrative tasks from physicians and medical staff.

As a result, you end up with more time to divert toward patients: which directly translates into better care/satisfaction reviews and higher revenue figures.

So, win-win.

Why Small And Medium Practices Need Tailored EMR Solutions

No clinical facility evolves as a replica of another - even when its design dictates it. Different patient demographics and locales spurn differences in reported ailments. And so much like living things, each medical setup adapts differently to its environment. The aim for all is to make the most efficient use of available resources to provide the best care. Something that naturally gives rise to the need for custom approaches.

The other typical features of EHR systems that make doctors' lives easy - and which make them difficult to pass up - include such tokens as:

An Appointment Scheduler

This nifty function allows both healthcare professionals and patients to view all available appointment types on a single screen. Practice front desk staff, in turn, are enabled to check patients in fast. An associated appointment scheduling module automatically shows copays and verifies patient eligibility - allowing further time and effort savings.

Patient Demographic Module

This feature backs up all patient information, such as medical histories, insurance details, and other personal info, within a 'smart' (often AI/machine learning incorporating) framework to help physicians in their diagnoses.

SOAP Notes

Customized clinical notes that reduce documentation time for physicians. A top-rated EHR system for small and private practices should also allow text or voice recognition.

E-Prescriptions

Prescribe medication, approve refill requests, and manage patient medication from any EHR software-connected interface. This feature provides approval and request options for both physicians and patients, respectively. Rather than patients coming in every time for a refill, they can request their physicians to authorize their medications remotely.

Patient Portal

With an in-built patient portal, your patients can connect with their practitioners on the go. They can also chat directly with them in emergency situations, bypassing standard bureaucratic procedures (a facility that can mean the difference between life and death – we can’t stress enough).

This EHR system features listing is by no means exhaustive, of course.

Other prominent add-ons include such conveniences as:

Decision Support
Lab and Radiology-Connecting Interfaces
Reporting Module
Customer Support

Making The Purchase Decision

One of the best ways to implement an EMR solution is by first attaining your medical staff's input. Once you've systematically identified these concerns, you can choose software that helps untangle them.

You need to understand that this process can be both complicated and lengthy. With the right medical software apparatus, however, this is not something that you should need to do frequently: the silver lining.

Here are a few – additional – things to remember.

Most EMR companies do not discuss pricing on the first call. If the price is an essential decision-making factor and you want to save time, use a software review site such as Software Finder to assist you with this research.
It can take around three months to find the right software. So start early.
Many EHR companies offer a yearly or longer contract. There are some vendors, though, that offer a no-contract option, such as Charm Health EMR, Kareo EMR.

To dig deeper into what to expect while purchasing an EHR, read our whitepaper on What the sales team doesn’t tell you.

Electronic Health Records - Our Top 5 Picks

Now let's talk about some of the best EHR software available for small medical practices.

These are budget-friendly options curated by our team of experts and independently reviewed by scores of (mostly raving) medical professionals.

So, if you’re completely new to the medical software world, these are some solid considerations for your radar.

BestNotes EMR

BestNotes EHR is a cloud-based EMR solution. Tool features include a built-in CRM, patient portal, medication management, and telehealth services. Although the vendor does provide a general EMR arrangement, their primary focus is on offering healthcare IT services to behavioral and mental health units.

BestNotes EHR Dashboard

Cost: BestNotes EHR is priced at $50* per month per provider. They don't charge any upfront fees.

MedEZ EMR

MedEZ EHR is a cloud-based service provider specializing in medicine management and EHR modules. They also offer specialty-specific templates for behavioral health, substance abuse, mental health, and more. Other prominent services include integrations with labs and pharmacies, a patient portal, a clinical dashboard, and a 'Patient Navigator'.

MedEZ EHR Dashboard

Cost: MedEZ EHR is priced at $45* per month per provider.

Practice Fusion EMR

Practice Fusion EMR is a highly flexible and adaptable practice management tool ideal for small practices looking to grow. What makes the service particularly noteworthy is that you can either choose to purchase the fully integrated suite or only handpick the software features you need, such as medical billing, patient data access, online patient portal, e-prescribing module, advanced disease management, the 'Patient Encounters Assessment' module, and more. such as practice management, EMR, medical billing.

Practice Fusion EMR Dashboard

Cost: Practice Fusion EMR is priced at $99* per month per provider. The vendor provides free customer support.

Therapy Notes EHR

TherapyNotes EHR is a cloud-based software that offers behavioral and mental health-specific EMR services. Notable suite features include patient appointment scheduling, charting, telehealth, credit card processing, and specialty-specific templates.

TherapyNotes EMR

TherapyNotes EHR Dashboard

Cost: TherapyNotes EHR charges $49* per month per provider for solo practices and $59* per month per provider for two or more clinicians.

WebPT EMR

Another cloud-based medical software powerhouse, WebPT EMR offers practice management, medical billing, RCM, and analytics modules. This all-in-one service takes care of all of your clinical work processing needs. Prominent features include documentation management, system integrations, customizable patient scheduling, reporting and analytics, and much more.

WebPT EMR Dashboard

Cost: WebPT EMR prices their services at $3 per day per provider. They also offer free of charge email and live chat support.

* We’ve used the terms EHR and EMR interchangeably in this post. In practice, EMRs are narrowly concerned with collating patient records, while EHRs offer additional features as part of their basic subscription arrangements. For updated vendor pricing figures, please contact our helpline executives.

Getting The Most Bang For Your Buck: Our Quick, FREE Solution!

For busy clinical workers and hospital admins, we recognize the ordeal-like nature of having to sift between an avalanche of EMR implementation options. They all seem so similar and too good to be true: promising to be the panacea for all your pressing workflow needs.

But there are the horror stories you've heard from some of your colleagues and peers who haven't had a good experience with their subscriptions. Or maybe you've had a personal engagement with an EHR tool that has left you hesitant about graduating from a basic spreadsheet.

Whatever the reluctance may be, we've got a quick, free solution to help you move forward - make a resolving decision.

Just give us a call on our helpline number at (661) 384-7070.

Our software experts have already optimized scores of leading practices like yours by matching their operational requirements with the best EHR choices for their budget.

They're just waiting to make another happy, success story out of you - so why wait?

Shape

If you prefer the self-learning route, check out our list of top EMR systems that provide all the services you need to 10X your practice workflows.

But how do you know which EMR software you should go for? Check out our list of top EMR systems that provides all the services you need in your practice.

Best EMR Software for Small Practices 2024

EMR Vendor Selection Template