With initiatives like Meaningful Use Stage 2 and coding upgrades like ICD-10 routinely making headlines over the last several months — a fact that you can expect to see more of in the months and years ahead – there's no doubt that healthcare industry has been buzzing with electronic health record (EHR) news. But, to put it bluntly, is all of this really worth the hassle? Do clinics and hospitals really benefit that much from adopting chiropractic EHR into their recordkeeping practices?

The answer, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), is a resounding yes. The source reports that researchers determined that the impact that EHR has on doctors and healthcare organizations has been largely positive and even improved the ability to diagnose and treat patients. With the quantity of data collected and recorded from just routine check-ups, healthcare professionals can and do mine this information to develop accurate and overall better patient care.

"In one instance, a group of researchers looked at data from patients with sore throats and came up with a way to help determine whether people should see a doctor for a strep throat test or stay home and take aspirin," writes the WSJ. "In another, a pediatrician was able to follow a hunch to a study a connection between an eye disease and allergies in young patients with arthritis."

Chiropractic practices looking to reap similar benefits for both their clinics and their patients are encouraged to invest in new chiropractic documentation software. With the suite of tools offered by proper chiropractic EHR software, practitioners and clinicians can greatly improve their ability to diagnose and treat patients, all without disrupting their typical administrative workflow in the process.