Are You Getting the Most Out of Your EHR?

Get the most out of your EHR, or find one that works best for you, by taking a look at all the features it offers.

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Your EHR: Are you using its full potential?

EHRs aren’t new for the behavioral health world. Unfortunately, too many agencies aren’t realizing the full potential of this software they’re already paying for. Get the most out of your EHR, or find one that works best for you, by taking a look at all the features your software offers. If you’re not taking advantage of useful modules, start today to optimize the administrative side of your operations. Continue reading to learn more about important features EHRs commonly offer, how to decide what you and your team need, and whether you need a generalized solution or one tailored to the behavioral health industry.

One-size-fits-all versus made for your specialty.

Clinics and practitioners have a love-hate relationship with EHRs. They’re either too confusing, too clunky, or just don’t fit your unique needs as a behavioral health agency. But when an agency finds the right EHR for them, things just click. Reports are easy, patients are engaged, and staff members have more time to focus on helping people heal. Software is too personal and too important to how your agency runs to compromise on less-than-satisfactory usage.

Tip:

If you’re using a generalized EHR, consider alternatives that are made for behavioral health, mental health, or substance abuse recovery, like Procentive.

General EHR solutions are great, for the software developers. The bad news for behavioral health agencies is that “one-size-fits-all” solutions force agencies to work the way the software dictates whereas tailored solutions allow agencies to work the way they always have, now just optimized and streamlined.

Because the needs of every agency differs, be sure to talk other customers before finalizing the contract with your EHR. See what challenges and successes they’ve experienced with the EHR. Schedule demos with the EHR team to see the product in action before purchasing. Ask tough questions of sales team and customer care members to see if the software can meet your needs. Keep in mind that while no software will solve every challenge, some will come close. When you find one that you trust the team and like the software and it’s affordable, you know you’ve found your EHR match.

What integrations does your EHR offer?

EHRs must easily integrate with your existing systems and should also offer additional valuable integrations to help your agency grow. For instance, Procentive offers the following integrations that add extra value to its practice management software:

Outcomes Assessments

HDI Connect™ is fully integrated within Procentive and is a standardized, client-friendly assessment. It helps connect clinicians, clinics, and clients to better engage with a client’s treatment plan by helping identify emergent symptoms and risks before they become a crisis.

Lab Integrations

In Procentive, you can place lab orders from within a client’s record and have the results immediately posted so your client can see it.

E-Prescribe from DrFirst®

Procentive fully integrates the leading e-prescribing, medication history, and adherence monitoring solution in the U.S.. It simplifies adherence monitoring and improves medication history tracking.

Credit Card Processing

If your EHR doesn’t include a secure, convenient, and fully integrated payment experience it’s time to change. Making payments easy is one of the best things you can do to increase patient payments. Procentive’s credit card processing module allows for easy reconciliation and is fully PCI compliant.

Practice Planners®

Procentive’s integrated Practice Planners® to help agencies create treatment plans faster and more effectively. In less than 20 minutes, practitioners now have the option to customize treatment plans with evidence-based interventions and a wide menu of choices without having to start from scratch every time.

Who’s the team behind the software?

Software often seems impersonal and robotic. However, since the behavioral health field is anything but, agencies and clinics need to be able to trust the team behind the software. There are four crucial categories to evaluate the team behind the software: experience, quality, customer support, and mission. Ask yourself these questions to dig deeper into understanding which EHR is best for your agency.

How much experience does the EHR company have?

EHRs that have many years in business under their belt will have dealt with most scenarios you can throw at them. They’ll be better prepared to help you with any challenges that arise. Besides that, there’s a reason they’re in business so long: they’re good at what they do.

Does the EHR employ people with experience in the behavioral health field?

Not every EHR has people on staff with direct experience in the field. They don’t need to be licensed counselors but when an EHR has team members with personal ties to the behavioral health field, it helps you. They’ll likely be more motivated to build solutions that fit your needs and understand the importance of software in running an agency. They’ll also have a deeper understanding of the industry itself which will help smooth communication between you and them.

Quality

Is the EHR ONC certified?

Your EHR needs to be certified by the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). ONC certification is done by an objective third-party and ensures that the EHR meets technological standards like security measures, implementation specifications, and other requirements as set by federal regulations.

How does this EHR compare to others?

Do some digging for reviews and comparisons to see how the EHR you’re considering stacks up against others in the industry. Reviews never tell the whole story but might be a good place to start as you’ll be able to weed out unlikely candidates quickly by comparing features. Be a little skeptical though as companies can often pay for reviews.

Are current customers (and previous ones) satisfied? Why or why not?

Ask for testimonials from the EHR you’re considering. See if they’ll let you speak to current or past customers to gain a deeper understanding of what it’s really like working with them.

Mission

Do they live and breathe your agency’s mission of caring for others?

Successful, long-lasting partnerships must be built on a foundation of shared values. If not, you risk competing priorities and misunderstandings about your own mission. While it’s easy enough to find a mission statement on someone’s website, trust what your gut tells you about the EHR during your deliberation process. Are they pushing you forward just to make a profit? Or are they coming alongside you and investing in your agency’s success? Just because it’s a business-vendor partnership doesn’t mean it should be all about the money. Partner with an EHR that cares just as much for you and the health of your patients as you do.

Customer Support

Are they accessible and responsive?

Even the best EHR system has flaws. That plus normal technological issues means it’s crucial to find an EHR that has an easily accessible and responsive team to efficiently solves any challenges that come your way.

Do they communicate well?

Nothing is worse than communicating with customer support that uses either tech jargon or speaks down to you. Your support team needs to be able to be the bridge between you and engineers and should be able to communicate your questions and the EHR’s solutions in a way that is both respectful and clear.

The Bottom Line

Choosing the right EHR is one of the most important choices agencies have to make. It’s more than finding a great tool for your digital toolbelt, it’s about finding a partner who will be there for you and who has the right fit of features to help you grow. Industry-specific EHRs fit like a glove and with the right team behind them, become an indispensable helping hand for agencies like yours.

Getting the Most Out of Your EHR?

Schedule a demo and we’ll show you how Procentive will make sure you are!

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