Top 5 Things to Look for When Choosing Your Dermatology EHR System

Our checklist gives you the top 5 categories when it comes to your Dermatology EHR System

Getting what you need from your EHR and PM systems is critical when running a busy dermatology practice. There are certain things to look for when it comes to selecting the software solution that is going to keep your clinical, financial and operational processes and information at the tips of your fingers, or centrally located on a desktop in the front office.

The state of your workflow in your current dermatology practice is probably an important topic of discussion. If you are experiencing slower workflow due to your EHR or PM system, it probably means it’s time to shop around and see what else is out there. When you find a reputable EHR vendor, before making the final decision, it’s a good idea to consider the following 5 things:

1. Finding an EHR That is Built Specifically by Practicing Dermatologists

This is key. You wouldn’t want a urologist uploading specialty-specific content into the clinical side of your EHR. So why have anyone other than a professional in your field building your EHR software? After all, who better to know what dermatologists actually need when it comes to procedures and diagnoses other than actual dermatologists?

Dermatologists and staff having to re-enter notes and use countless templates waste tons of time. This is a major complaint with EHRs in the market today. When software is built by practicing dermatologists, it could help alleviate duplicate content being produced and therefore help save you time.

Basically, when you use software built by dermatologists the main impact is simple—more time to focus on patient care. Out-of-the-box functionality means there are no templates or customization required—it means your practice can be up and running with a state-of-the-art, specialty-specific EHR in no time.

Modernizing Medicine®’s very own #1 dermatology EHR*, EMA®, could be the solution you’ve been looking for. Built by practicing dermatologists, it offers intuitive workflows and adaptive learning technology that lets you work smarter, not longer. You’d be amazed at how much better your practice can run when you have an abundance of powerful information, right at your fingertips.

The bottom line is this: if you’re tired of dealing with software that isn’t made specifically for dermatology workflow, it could be time to switch to a dermatology-specific EHR made for practices just like yours.

2. Knowing the Importance of Powerful EHR Analytics

When you’re evaluating data, are you wasting time searching for and deciphering different spreadsheets in disorganized formats? Does your data provide actionable insights? These questions are on the minds of many practice administrators these days, which has led many to search for other solutions by way of a robust analytics platform.

If you’re wasting time trying to find the exact data you’re looking for, chances are you’re experiencing serious inefficiencies which are continuing to slow down your operations. When this happens, many physicians will use a third-party vendor, which may have the insightful data you need, but because it’s not an integrated part of your system, it could be hard to organize, resulting in even more time wasted.

Instead of using a third-party vendor, consider using an all-in-one system that has a powerful healthcare data analytics platform built in. Having business intelligence at your fingertips with structured data sets helps you evaluate how you compare against your peers. Then it can be much easier to make informed decisions that can impact the overall health of your practice.

3. More Popular Features that are Available with EMA

Prescription benefits in a smart EHR system can really impact the quality of care you provide to your patients. For example, if you’re able to see your patient’s prescription benefits at the point of care, it can help them determine cost and affordability, right there from your office. Having conversations with your patients about their treatment plan is then much more of a reality, versus having to make them wait to find out how much their prescriptions are going to cost.

Real-time prescription benefits in your EHR system can help determine a treatment plan for your patients. EMA does that, and also allows you to see whether a prior authorization is needed before you e-prescribe. If prescriptions are too expensive, patients can review other options right from your office.

Your EHR should provide you with the tools you need to give you the best chance of providing quality care to your patients.

4. Let’s Talk About MIPS- Data Collection and Reporting

A company like Modernizing Medicine® that takes pride in having quality MIPS reporting and boasts powerful MIPS dashboards can help you in your dermatology practice. We’ve done the research and come up with a concierge-style program that gives our EMA clients access to our MIPS specialists, helping you achieve the possibility of MIPS success.

So, if you’re frustrated with your current EHRs ability to report to registries, and would love nothing more than to know your estimated MIPS score in near-real time, then it’s time to consider switching to an EHR system that can help you with MIPS tracking and reporting.

EMA has a built-in MIPS dashboard that can help capture your MIPS data within the flow of the exam and track your estimated composite score. On top of that, we offer one-on-one MIPS advising^** services and have our own Modernizing Medicine Qualified Registry, making it easier for you to submit your required data straight from your EHR.

The best thing to remember is this: if you can’t report your MIPS data when you’re ready, this may be yet another clue it’s time to make a switch. A dermatology EHR with a helpful built-in MIPS solution should be on your checklist when researching a new solution.

5. Forced Migration to Other Products

Do you feel like your EHR and PM systems are always falling behind the times and you are forced to update or migrate to other systems? Some change is good—like when your vendor updates your EHR or PM system. Frequent updates are ideal to keeping software modern. However, some change is not so good, especially if you have to migrate to a new system that you didn’t want in the first place.

I know we mentioned that the checklist would have five components to look for, but now more than ever, having a telehealth-enabled EHR with integrated synchronous audio and visuals capabilities should be a top consideration.

What is the solution? Well, our name says it all. At Modernizing Medicine, we work hard on making our products innovative and adaptable with your changing practice. As the industry changes overall, it’s part of our approach to have our on-staff practicing dermatologists help build our solutions.

If you are working with a vendor or are using software that’s forcing you to migrate to another product, it’s definitely time to look around and see what works best for you.

*2020 Black Book™

**MIPS advising is available for an additional fee

Information relating to our EHR certification, including certain costs and limitations, can be found at www.modmed.com/costs-and-limitations