Making the tough decision to change your EHR or PM system doesn’t happen overnight. In some cases, it’s the everyday annoyances and inefficiencies that build up to push optometrists over the edge. However, in most cases, the existing system loses patient data, runs up your monthly bills, or stops your practice from serving its patients in another major way.
In order to gauge whether the problems you might be experiencing are minor or major, we’re summarizing the reasons many ODs switch and what causes them to take the leap. Making the decision to migrate your patient data and learn a new system isn’t easy, so we want you to be fully confident that you’re ready.
You know that you've outgrown your existing EHR or practice management software if it's stopping your daily workflow, creating inefficiencies, and it's just not the platform you expected. Take a look at the top 6 reasons ODs adopt a different EHR platform and see if you suffer from some of the same issues.
1. Poor Efficiency
You might find yourself unable to easily access information, entering data that could be prepopulated, or becoming frustrated with glitches. The top EHR complaint from ODs is that their platform doesn't intuitively automate processes to reduce data entry. Make sure that you switch to a system that was designed with the input of ODs.
2. Not Enough Integrated Tools
If you’re purchasing extraneous contracts or subscriptions for reporting tools and patient features that other EHR software comes equipped with, you could switch to an all-in-one solution. In addition to saving you money, an EHR with embedded tools like patient recall, e-prescribing, video-based patient education, frame catalogs, and code verification can also allow you more face time with your patients.
3. Difficulty of Adoption and Use
Did your staff have a difficult time getting fully trained on your software? Does it create inefficiency for your patients when you onboard a new employee who hasn’t used your software before? Hands-on training modules, a dedicated implementation advisor, and an intuitive user interface might be something to prioritize when shopping for your next solution.
4. Unresponsive Support
When your system is down or you’re receiving error messages, your practice is relying heavily on the EHR support team to get it back up and running. Anything that delays your exams or stops your practice from functioning will cost you patients and money. Therefore, an unresponsive or unavailable support team is a good reason to switch.
5. High Costs
Especially if you're paying for data servers onsite or a monthly IT consultant, the total cost of your EHR system could be higher than you expected. From data backups, IT, hardware, and the cost of extra tools, switching to an EHR that stores data in the cloud, performs updates automatically, and includes embedded tools could be a good avenue to reducing your expenditures.
6. Complex Reporting
For those of you who are exporting business data into excel documents, you’re vulnerable to human error and you are using your precious time creating graphs. We understand that your practice relies on reports that help you analyze payer-mix, optimize your workflow, and identify inefficiencies. We recommend switching to new EHR software that automatically generates performance metrics and financial reports making it easy to stay on top of your business.
In this video, you can watch an OD demonstrate how his EHR boosts exam efficiency through automation.