The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act took effect in 2009 and calls for healthcare practitioners to adopt EHR technology.

Along with this, the federal government is providing incentives for chiropractors and other healthcare professionals who implement EHR systems. The financial incentives are accompanied by the cost-saving strategies of health IT, as paper costs are minimized and medical errors are reduced.

"I think it will be fantastic," Dr. Janie Pirner, a chiropractor from Kansas, told American Chiropractic Association in regards to chiropractic EHR software. "I know I'll feel so much more secure. The system will help flag me to stuff I’m notoriously forgetting. It’s so detail-oriented. I think this will make me a better doctor."

The biggest cost savings come from the area of cloud technology. This form of technology allows a chiropractor to store patient data in a secure offsite location instead of installing an in-clinic server.

In-clinic servers can be needlessly expensive for a chiropractor, ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 to purchase. Additionally, a health IT expert must come in and install this equipment, adding to the original costs. In order to protect patient data, someone must also backup the data every month. Clearly, adopting cloud technology or web-based EHR software will eliminate the need for such unnecessary costs.

Cloud technology will protect patient information more securely than an in-clinic server. Private medical data will be stored in the most secure data centers in the world, according to the American Chiropractic Association. Federal mandates like HIPAA-compliant protocols and encryption technology will be used to keep patient data private and safe.

Implementing web-based medical software will allow a chiropractor to improve workflow and gain federal incentives. Affordable EHR software such as this also enables a practitioner to access patient data anywhere with a high-speed internet connection.