The right electronic medical records software (EMR software) can change the way your practice works. By replacing all you paper charts with computer files, the best EMR software makes your office more efficient in many ways.

All medical software packages should be fully compliant with HIPAA regulations. The best EMR software can bring your office to 100% compliance with HIPAA's privacy and security rules in regards to patient charts, but you'll still have to handle billing records and other sensitive data appropriately.

Compare ease of use
The best EMR software is focused on ease of use. If your doctors and administrative staff can't use it easily, even the best EMR software won't provide much of a productivity boost. And the only dependable way to evaluate ease of use is to try the software yourself.

Go through all your most common tasks during the demonstration provided by the vendors you're evaluating. See if you can figure out where information goes, if it's easy to navigate from one screen to another, and if the software can be set up to match the way your office works.

How will you transition to EMR?
If you have a substantial amount of paper charts, you'll need to work out how to get them into the EMR system. The most common approach is called the "scan forward" method: the vendor will set you up with a scanner, and every time you access a patient's file that isn't in the system yet, you'll scan it into the EMR software. This lets you get your most used records into the system quickly, without the expense and effort of scanning all your old files in at once.

If you're switching from an old EMR system to a new one, the transition should be completely automated. The best EMR software companies will carefully import the data from the old system to make sure it's all accessible in the new software without any down time.

Choosing the best EMR software company
As you search for the best EMR software companies, you'll probably encounter two very different approaches to software delivery. Traditional systems, where you run the software on your own computers, are contrasted with application service provider (ASP) or software as a service (SaaS) models, in which the bulk of the processing and data storage is done at the software company's data center and you access it over the Internet.

Both models can provide excellent reliability and most of the same features. One important distinction is that in-house software involves a larger up-front purchase fee, while ASP software is usually priced per user per month.

Ultimately, the best EMR software companies are those that treat your business like a partner, taking the time to understand your needs so they can offer a solution that you'll be happy with. And the first step in finding the best partner for your EMR software needs is using BuyerZone's free electronic medical records software quote request service to get connected to qualified suppliers in your area.