EHR - EMR Software
Frequently Asked Questions
& Answers
Some of the most frequently asked questions many doctors, healthcare providers, and patients have.
Electronic health record software is becoming increasingly common place, with many doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities using it. Its ability to capture, store, and share patient information, makes healthcare providers more efficient and productive while reducing errors. Not least of all, by giving healthcare providers a holistic view of a patient’s health, it improves patient care significantly.
Yet, despite its popularity and the variety of benefits it offers to healthcare providers and patients alike, many providers still have some lingering questions about whether EHR software is right for them, how long it takes to implement, and what it costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
A collection of the most asked questions we receive when new customer inquire about PrognoCIS EHR
What is EHR Software?
EHR or Electronic Health Record software is software that captures, stores, and enables sharing of patient data. It enables you to not only collect a patient’s clinical data and medical history but also other data across a variety of providers and share it with all the parties involved in a patient’s care.
What is your customer service policy?
We have customers in all of the US time zones and in other countries as well, so support is available from early morning east coast until evening west coast (beyond normal 8-5 hours). You can contact support via telephone, chat, or via our ticket system. Systems are hosted on AWS so outage is extremely rare.
How Often Should Passwords Be Changed in the EHR System?
Typically, passwords should be changed once every three months. In addition, apart from these scheduled changes, passwords should also be changed when weak or reused passwords are identified, when passwords are compromised, or when employees have shared passwords.
Can results be downloaded for critical factors (BP, VO2, body fat, cholesterol, etc) in aggregate by employers for research purposes? (Database or excel format)
Yes – we can create custom reports to pull and export exactly what you need. We also have dashboards that can give a visual representation of the reports.
What Is the Difference Between EHR and Practice Management Software?
EHR software is specifically designed to document, capture, and store a patient’s medical information. Ultimately, it reduces errors that often arise when manually capturing and storing patient data, which, in turn, makes healthcare practitioners more efficient.
In contrast, practice management software is designed to help staff manage the administration in a medical practice or healthcare facility. Although it could have some patient information, it generally deals with appointment scheduling, billing, and other clerical information.
How To Choose an EHR System?
To choose the right EHR system, it’s important to decide what your priorities, goals, needs, and requirements are for the system. With these in mind, you can look at the different options and consider aspects like:
- Cost
- Whether it’s hosted in the cloud or on-site
- How easy it is to implement
- With what other systems it integrates
- What customer service it offers
- Ease of use
What Is the Difference Between EMR and EHR Systems?
Both EMR and EHR systems capture and store patient information and these two terms are often used interchangeably. There is, however, a significant difference between them. At their core, EMR systems are a digital version of a patient’s medical chart. As such, it holds the patient’s medical and treatment history from a single medical practice or facility.
In contrast, as mentioned above, EHR systems hold a patient’s information from various doctors and other healthcare providers. Due to this, it gives a broader overview of a patient’s health.
What Is the Approximate Cost of Implementing an EHR System?
The cost of implementing an EHR system depends on the specific system and whether the system is deployed on-site or in the cloud. Generally, a web-based or cloud deployment, also known as Software as a Service (SaaS) is cheaper because it eliminates ongoing support and infrastructure costs.
For example, on average, on-site deployments require an upfront investment of $33,000, a yearly cost of about $4,000, and a 5-year total cost of ownership of $48,000. In contrast, SaaS platforms are more affordable and can range anything from $200 per month and upward.
What is the general cost per provider or per user?
We generally charge per provider but can be flexible in arrangements. The cost is typical $225-450 per month per provider depending on what modules you need and the provider’s license type.
How do you inform providers of changes?
Any major changes would be announced ahead of time and we offer webinars for training. Most changes are small and don’t require training. In that scenario, there will be a bubble when you login the first time after the upgrade that explains it. There is also a flashing new icon on the home screen that tells you about new functions and a separate section of the training and support site for new features.
We use the AZ industrial commission fee schedule, which we can upload. Can we discount the fee schedule for different clients? (SYSTOC, SafeLane, Enterprise, MediTrax, and Firefox, Agility).
Yes, you can have separate fee schedules or discounts per employer or department. You can also auto split an encounter’s claims to bill to multiple payers if needed.
Who Uses EHR Systems?
Generally, doctors and hospitals use EHR systems to store, capture, and share patient data. It is, however, also commonly used by laboratories, emergency facilities, clinics, medical imaging facilities, and pharmacies.
How Long Does It Take To Implement an EHR System?
Depends on the specific system. For example, the Health Information and Technology, Evaluation and Quality Center (HITEQ) estimates that, irrespective of practice size, the entire implementation process can be finalized in a year.
Likewise, for smaller practices implementing cloud-based systems, implementation can be done in a few weeks up to between six and nine months.
Do Medical Offices Need Both EHR and Practice Management Software?
Yes, medical offices need both. As mentioned above, these software systems were designed for different purposes and are used for different tasks.
Can employers access work status, results, etc?
Yes – you automatically send results via email or fax or give employers access to our employer portal.
Do you have OSHA required forms (respirator, asbestos, HAZMAT, CDL built-in?
Yes, we do. We are also working on an interface to auto-upload DOT certifications to the database.
We have up to 30 years of data scanned in pdf files in our legacy system. Can these be uploaded in some batch process?
Yes, they can.
What Is the Best EHR Software?
Ultimately, the best EHR software depends on your specific needs and requirements, where you want to deploy it, and what features and capabilities you require. One of the best options on the market is arguably Prognocis. It has all the features that you need in a comprehensive and well-priced package.
Some of its standout features include cloud-based deployment, connectivity with labs, HIE, EHR and billing, mobile apps, and telemedicine portals. In addition, it offers extensive support and the ability to migrate your data into its platform.
Could EHR Software Help Small Organizations?
Some of the benefits of using an EHR system include better patient care, increased efficiency and productivity, enhanced privacy and security of patient data, reduced paperwork, and more. Any organization, whether big or small, that uses an EHR system can enjoy these benefits.
Cloud vs. Server: Which EHR Option Is Best?
Although cloud and server-based EHR deployments offer the same features and capabilities, there are some distinct advantages to opting for a cloud-based EHR system.
For one, because it’s deployed in the cloud, your data is available everywhere while you don’t have any infrastructure costs. Likewise, there’s no need to install the software on every computer in a practice, and there’s no need for continuous maintenance and updates.
Are multiple users able to access the patient charts at the same time?
Yes, multiple users can access a patient chart at the same time and can also have multiple patients open.
Can we customize the forms in the system easily?
Most documentation templates are easily customized. Some forms such as the patient forms for the portal require HTML programming. We include some of those for free during implementation.
Does the system support coding prompts for different levels of service for injury care (ie, does it help you ask enough ROS questions to make a level 4 visit -99204?)
Yes, we have an E/M calculator that helps pick the appropriate code based on documentation.
Ordering and tracking labs?
Yes, we have a full order sheet and tracking module for labs, radiology, consults, and/or procedures.
What will happen when previous bills are posted?
I assume you mean when remittances/ERAs are posted? Any payments on remittances for charges incurred in your previous system get posted as “non-prognocis” money so you can track it seperately. It’s a bulk function that doesn’t require manual entry.
What Are the Different Types of Electronic Medical Records?
Electronic medical records are typically digital records of a patient’s:
- Medical history
- Diagnoses
- Medications
- Treatment plans
- Immunization dates
- Allergies
- Radiological imaging
- Lab and blood test results
We Are Always Ready To Answer Additional Question
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We look forward to connecting with you.
