Computerized medical record software features

Aside from how they handle patient records, there are many other features offered by computerized medical records software. Consider which are important to you: 

• Allowing multiple users to access a record at the same time lets your administrative staff update insurance and billing information while the doctor meets with the patient.
• Remote access lets doctors access the computerized medical records from outside the office.
• Prescription handling can automate cross-checking for harmful drug interactions, as well as automatically transmit prescriptions to the pharmacy.
• Built in reporting can let you see statistics and trends across all patients: treatments ordered, visit times, total costs, and more.
• Any computerized medical record software should use SSL (secure sockets layer), the standard for secure communication – it’s a HIPAA requirement as well as a good idea to protect sensitive patient data.

Once you know which features you want, you’ll be able to narrow down your list of options. However, comparing these features across multiple computerized medical record packages can be difficult: you’ll often see similar features going by slightly different names or with slightly different options, so make sure you pay the most attention to the features your staff considers important.

Avoid being “wowed” by bells and whistles you’re unlikely to use – stay focused on evaluating the features that are important to you.

Don’t just depend on a feature checklist, either. Getting your doctors and staff to adopt new computerized medical record software can be difficult, so it’s important that the system be easy to use.

Of course, every salesperson will tell you their computerized medical record software is easy to use. You need to decide for yourself what “easy to use” means, but here are some examples.

• Is entering information intuitive? Can you skip sections or include non-standard information?
• How much is automated for you?
• Can you easily find specific information about a patient?
• Are the various screens easy to understand?

Consider real-life situations: what happens when a doctor is in the middle of editing a record and gets a phone call? Does the system allow for quick jumps from one spot to another, outside the typical flow of work?