It’s always a good idea to think outside the box! Although we specialize in the eyecare industry, it can’t hurt to look outside of our industry for inspiration and ideas. A resource that I particularly like following is content fromSoftware Advice, a mobile EHR research group. They recently conducted a survey among EHR users from a diverse range of medical specialties and I wanted to share their findings. Check out what other doctors have to say about their EHR software!

What Doctors Like to See in Their EHR Software

The following are two key findings that I particularly find interesting:

• There are an increasing number of buyers looking to replace their existing EHR and investing in patient portals and ePrescribing
• Mobile EHR users are experiencing fewer EHR challenges

I was really excited about the findings of this study because it shows that the healthcare industry is finally embracing the use of technology in their practices and experiencing the benefits of it.

Invest in a Patient Portal and ePrescribing

Every practice’s needs are unique. And to find a system that can meet all those needs can be quite a task! Doctors often find themselves overwhelmed with choices and end up making a bad purchasing decision. We are going to see more doctors realizing a need for change as the study shows that more buyers are looking to increase their EHR investment, and they were more interested in increasing their investment in patient portals. We certainly think it’s important! Read our previous post on why you need the perfect patient portal. On top of increasing patient engagement, it is also a requirement for Stage 2 Meaningful Use. The other EHR module that buyers were willing to increase their spending on was ePrescribing. And it’s no coincidence that we’ve also written an entire post about ePrescribing, read 7 Benefits of ePrescribing with Your EHR Software!

While it’ great that more doctors are willing to increase their spending on patient portals and ePrescribing, they don’t necessarily have to! Some EHRs already come with these tools embedded, so there’s no need to deal with integrations and pay extra for these modules!

Experience More Satisfaction with Mobile EHRs

Mobile EHRs are relatively new to our industry, but the rest of the healthcare industry seems to love it! The study shows that “difficulty in learning to use the system and with decreased productivity were two areas where the differences between mobile and non-mobile users were greatest.” There could be many reasons as to why mobile EHRs are easier to learn, but with mobile, particularly cloud-based systems, you are able to access your system at anytime and anywhere, giving you the freedom to learn the system at your own pace and convenience – even outside of working hours.

It’s great seeing that other healthcare industries are getting on board with the use of EHRs. Is it time for your eyecare practice to move or switch to an EHR? Check out Uprise, a practice management and EHR solution that comes with a variety of embedded tools and is also cloud-based.