Today, electronic medical records (EMR) software is the basis of any clinician’s practice. It is the primary tool for documenting a patient’s visit, storing their historical medical data, and tagging all associated media to their file. However, many doctors find it challenging to find a system that will intuitively meet all their needs and make for a seamless lab EMR integration.
Why Are EMRs Falling Short of Expectations?
EMRs were adopted with high expectations by many clinicians and healthcare organizations. While they have helped many achieve “Meaningful Use” in their practice and receive government incentives, they have also led to unexpected and unpleasant situations. Many EMR users are not pleased with:
- The long documentation process for each patient’s visit
- The inability to see all media types instantly on a single dashboard
- Failure to obtain a detailed analysis of data that has been captured or generated inside the EMR
What Should You Do to Solve These EMR-related Problems?
Indeed, these and other problems experienced by medical professionals must be solved if your organization is to provide practical, evidence-based care. The first solution that readily comes to CIOs and other senior managers’ minds will be to replace the EMR with a new one.
However, replacing your EMR after your clinicians have spent years learning to use it may be counterproductive. The replacement will also result in increased costs, loss of productivity, high training and deployment fees, migration errors, and other challenges associated with EMR replacement.
On the other hand, integration allows your practice to connect to other medical software that will give you the features you need without all the risks, costs, and challenges of replacing your old medical record management system.
Integration: The Solution to Your EMR Woes
EMR integration is one of the best ways to improve physician productivity and improve patient care. Integrating your EMR with other information systems can deliver these benefits:
1. Integrated Labs and Radiology Results
EMR integration makes it possible for physicians to order laboratory and radiology tests online. With an integrated lab or radiology interface, it is possible to view all lab results and images from CT, or MRI scans directly from a patient’s chart.
2. Improved Patient Health Tracking
Caring for patients with chronic illnesses becomes more manageable when the EMR is integrated with mobile health monitoring apps. Patient vitals can be transmitted from a wearable device to their doctor. Through an integration interface, the EMR can capture the information, and a notification will be sent to the doctor if the patient is experiencing any life threatening changes.
3. Access to Complete Patient Medical History
For effective treatment and diagnosis, a physician needs to have access to complete medical records. Integration makes this easier. A doctor can see past and current test results from a single screen and examine data visualizations that aid diagnosis and treatment.
4. Efficient Billing
The integration of EMR systems with billing software makes it easy to make insurance claims. Many lab tests and radiology orders can be sent for pre-approval before the actual test is carried out. This helps to reduce the number of disapproved claims and lost revenue.
Learn More About Lab EMR Integration
To discover how an lab EMR integration can help your organization save cost and boost physician efficiency, contact LifePoint Informatics today. We have handled over 20,000 projects over the last 20 years, and we are fully equipped to deliver the type of solution you need.