In today’s chiropractic office, many chiropractors have a negative view of electronic health/medical records (EHR/EMR).  They view them as cumbersome, complex, and not easy to use.  However, in today’s ‘web-based world’ EHRs have an opposite effect.  Web-based EHRs allow clinicians to sit at home and catch up on patient calls, review results & complete charts.   It is more comfortable than the office because chiropractors can take frequent breaks, multi-task with their person affairs, and not be interrupted with general office tasks.   Using a web-based EHR many clinicians and/or staff can call patients on Sunday nights with results from the prior week and to remind them about their upcoming appointments.   Most patients are home on Sunday evenings, and because the doctor is not rushed with their day-to-day tasks, this provides better quality care & follow up for the patient.   On top of this, easily accessing your patient information through a web-based EHR/EMR helps you better market & build your practice.

¹According to healthIT.gov many health care providers find that EHR/EMRs help improve their practice by increasing efficiencies leading to cost savings.  ²A national survey of clinicians ready for meaningful use found that 79% of providers report that an EHR helped their practice function more efficiently, 68% of providers see their EHR/EMR as an asset with recruiting new clinicians, 70% report that it enhanced their data confidentiality.

Cost savings are also created in the following areas, reduced transcription costs, reduced time spent pulling charts, storing charts, and re-filing patient information, better reimbursement coding with improved patient documentation, reduced clinical errors though better access of patient data, improved quality of care though enhanced prevention & patient education. Even if it takes more time to learn to use a new system, the amount of long-term benefits are well worth taking the step towards implementing an EHR/EMR  It goes without saying that EHRs help revolutionize the efficiency of a practice.

¹ http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/medical-practice-efficiencies-cost-savings

²Jamoom, E., Patel, V., King, J., & Furukawa, M. (2012, August). National perceptions of ehr adoption: Barriers, impacts, and federal policies. National conference on health statistics.