For all the potential benefits EHRs are poised to provide for chiropractors and other physicians, transitioning to digitized documentation can be a painful process, particularly if you don't know what to look for in a chiropractic EHR software provider.

In fact, the industry journal Health Affairs published a study earlier this year indicating that EHR implementation resulted in revenue losses for most of the 49 community practices that participated in the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative—an EHR pilot program.

Over the course of the five-year observation period, the researchers determined that 27 percent received "a positive return on their investment." Receipt of the federal meaningful use incentive only increased that figure by 14 percent, the study abstract states.

National Coordinator for Health IT Dr. Farzad Mostashari weighed in on the findings during a press conference, and ultimately questioned whether the study truly provided an accurate assessment of the cost involved in EHR software implementation.

"The first study was kind of a sister project of mine, Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative, that basically covered all the costs for software, hardware, and support, for these practices in Massachusetts. So there was no price sensitivity in this," he told the industry publication Health Informatics.

Chiropractors who are interested in adopting EHR software to streamline their workflow, improve the balance between administrative and clinical hours and ultimately provide more security and accessibility for their patients must bear in mind that adopting this technology is not without its growing pains. However, by selecting chiropractic EHR software that integrates well into your current workflow—and is backed by the continual training and support from an engaged and responsive provider—it is possible to offset these losses and start reaping the benefits of this technology from an earlier stage.