Why rural healthcare providers need to reevaluate their EHR

As the backbone of a strong technology foundation, EHR (also called EMR) can help rural health providers increase revenue and improve the patient experience by streamlining the documentation process. But realizing those benefits depends on how your organization is making use of your system. With the growing importance of telemedicine integration and mobile devices in healthcare, it’s crucial to ensure your EHR is up to date and supports care optimization.

If your organization isn’t seeing the benefits that it should, it may be time to optimize, upgrade or switch your system to support virtual patient care, improve operational efficiency and enhance telehealth interoperability.

The benefits of a high-functioning EHR

Your EHR should be helping your organization:

1. Save time

By automating or providing templates for different aspects of documentation, the best EHR systems help physicians spend less time documenting a visit and more time on patient care, helping improve overall patient satisfaction and care quality. This is particularly important when considering how does telehealth improve patient care.

Additionally, with less time per patient, you free up time for more visits, ultimately increasing your revenue and supporting workflow streamlining. This efficiency extends to ED telehealth and patient telehealth services as well.

2. Improve revenue capture

When your EHR is being used effectively, it helps your organization better capture revenue for the services you are providing for your patients. By making it more seamless for physicians to document (and even automate) charge capture, you can ensure you are getting paid accurately for services, including those provided through telehealth platforms for primary care.

Your EHR should also be giving you the visibility to see where you could be increasing your net patient revenue gain. For example, it should be easy for your coders to see if your emergency department isn’t billing high enough for the level of service. Advanced EHRs can even support population health management, allowing for more targeted and efficient care delivery and forward telehealth initiatives.

3. Incorporate new technology

Technology changes fast. Innovations like AI and machine learning are creating new ways to revolutionize care, and the addition of systems like ERP and CRM are increasing the need for integration. To keep pace, you need to ensure that your EHR has the capability you need to support the future of your digital journey, including data analytics and virtual care delivery.

Key capabilities for rural health providers include:

• Integrated telemedicine: Telemedicine is helping rural health providers increase patient access to care. Your EHR can support these services by helping you capture all the information you need for documentation in the same way that you would for an in-person patient. This includes facilitating virtual consultations, supporting remote patient monitoring, and enabling video conferencing for telehealth.
• Interoperability: EHRs with interoperability can connect to data from other facilities, giving you a comprehensive picture of a patient’s history and care no matter where they get treated. The benefits of electronic health record interoperability include providing a more complete view of a patient’s medical record, which can help physicians make better decisions about care and support clinical decision support systems. This interoperability is crucial for real-time data exchange and legacy systems integration.

Getting more from your EHR

Optimizing, upgrading or switching your EHR can help provide your organization with the capability it needs for seamless communication and long-term savings. When considering the best EHR for telehealth, it’s important to evaluate EHR telemedicine integration capabilities.

EHR optimization is typically the easiest option as it saves your organization the costs and implementation process that comes with upgrading or switching. However, staying with your current system could mean sacrificing needed capability or a better vendor relationship.

If you’re uncertain of which option is better for your organization, consider the following:

Training

Sometimes limited capability may not be rooted in the system you’re using, but in a lack of staff training and adoption. Effective change management is crucial for successful EHR implementation and use.

It’s typical to undergo a major training period when an EHR is first implemented, but training needs to happen on a continual basis. Depending on how long it’s been since implementation, those initial people who were trained may have left your organization and knowledge about certain capabilities may have been lost.

If you’ve fallen behind in training, consider working with a consultant to help optimize and ensure you're using your EHR to the best of its ability, improving staff adoption and overall efficiency.

Vendor satisfaction

Evaluating your relationship with your vendor can help you decide if your organization needs a new system.

When looking at your vendor satisfaction, ask if your organization:

• Has control over the features of your system that you want to change, including customization options.
• Receives timely responses to requests.
• Gets the level of support you’re paying for, including assistance with regulatory compliance and HIPAA compliance.

Your level of satisfaction in answering these questions can help you determine whether you want to continue working with your current vendor on optimization or upgrades, or if you want to switch.

Integration

Your organization’s overall digital strategy is another important factor in virtual integration in healthcare.

Integration is becoming increasingly important for providers as they take on additional systems like ERP and CRM — not to mention integrating patient monitors, point-of-care devices and other equipment. But older systems often don’t have that capability, causing slowdowns and increased errors as staff have to switch between systems and even duplicate or manually enter data.

Choosing a new or upgraded EHR can help lay a successful foundation for all your organization’s digital needs, including cybersecurity and data security measures. Modern EHRs also support telemedicine integration, allowing for a more comprehensive approach to patient care. Key features to consider include APIs for seamless integration, e-prescribing capabilities, and scalability to grow with your organization.

How Wipfli can help

Wipfli gives you the guidance you need to understand how the latest solutions can help your organization grow. We can provide support for your EHR journey, from selecting the right software to overseeing your implementation and optimization. Our experience extends to telehealth program examples and developing a comprehensive telehealth plan. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your organization transform with technology and improve telemedicine integration.

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When considering an EHR upgrade or switch, it's important to factor in the financial investment required. However, the long-term benefits in terms of improved patient care quality, efficient appointment scheduling, and enhanced telehealth capabilities often outweigh the initial costs. Remember, the right EHR system can significantly influence how digital records impact healthcare delivery in your rural setting.