The government mandate to implement EHR systems is a rather beneficial type of legislature. With EMR technology, chiropractors will be able to save costs, improve care and reduce medical errors.
In April of 2004, President George W. Bush issued an executive order to establish the electronic computerization of medical records by the year 2014. This would later become law under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA.
Many chiropractic offices have the most basic type of EMR in the form of billing software, according to Dynamic Chiropractic. However, implementing EHR software that can handle scheduling, prescribing and documenting chiropractic SOAP notes can dramatically reduce a chiropractor's reliance on paper and store data via computer. Also, the government mandate expects physicians to implement EHR systems that cover more than billing.
The entire definition of EHR software includes all history, treatments, diagnoses and SOAP notes for each patient, appointment schedules, letters, emails and phone calls for every consumer and insurance and billing information, according to Dynamic Chiropractic.
There are not too many systems in place that can handle all of these tasks and there are even fewer chiropractic-based technology. Chiropractic EHR software is often designed by chiropractors with knowledge on best ways to improve chiropractic workflow.
The biggest benefit of implementing such a system is the reduction in paper records and elimination of filing. Along with minimizing paper costs, this could also reduce costs by removing the need for a secretary to handle paper files all day long.
Adopting web-based medical software can also bring benefits to a chiropractic office by reducing the costs of installation and providing immediate online access.