The Best Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Software of 2021
Electronic medical records (EMR) systems and practice management software digitize administrative tasks and the storage of clinical records.
These healthcare IT platforms streamline communication between various points of the healthcare ecosystem and make it easy for providers to track patients' medical histories.
Monthly subscription costs for healthcare IT platforms range from about $200 to $1,000 a month per provider.
This article is for healthcare organizations looking to choose medical software to improve their internal processes, comply with healthcare IT regulations, and boost the efficiency of their workflows.
Medical practices rely on electronic medical records (EMR) systems and medical practice management software to run both administrative and clinical operations. These healthcare IT platforms have become an integral part of the day-to-day for healthcare organizations everywhere, spurred by the efficiencies they offer and the government regulations incentivizing adoption.
Business News Daily reviewed dozens of healthcare IT platforms and selected six best picks based on pricing, ease of use, features, implementation, training options and ability to integrate with other systems.
DrChrono is one of the most inexpensive medical software solutions on the market; practices can choose from multiple tiers to suit their needs and budget. On the practice management side of the software, users work from a calendar tool to schedule appointments and verify patient insurance eligibility. An adjustable dashboard provides an overview of its operations, such as billing and appointments. There are no add-on costs or implementation and training fees.
The company offers an integrated practice management and electronic health record (EHR) system that is easy to navigate on the clinical side. Clinical notes appear in a single window, which providers can scroll through to complete a patient encounter naturally, without excessive clicking or navigation.
AdvancedMD includes a top-of-the-line EMR system and a full-featured practice management module. The company maintains hundreds of integrations with labs, pharmacies and hospitals nationwide, as well as with third-party applications like marketing tools and payment platforms.
AdvancedMD is more expensive than other programs we reviewed. It charges add-on costs for elements like advanced reporting and telemedicine. However, its base package is quite powerful and should suit the needs of most medical practices. The company offers one-on-one implementation support through a dedicated account manager, as well as U.S.-based technical support.
March 2021: AdvancedMD announced its upcoming winter 2021 release, planned for March 11-25. The release includes the addition of several new features to AdvancedMD's integrated EMR and practice management software, including:
A referrals tool that automates elements of the authorization process
Color-coded scale for inactive patient status
New payment parameters for the patient search history tool
New filters for AdvancedMD's online scheduling tool
EHR note status will now appear in scheduling
These changes provide additional visibility between the administrative and clinical sides of a practice. For example, administrative staff can use the EHR note status feature to see whether a provider has uploaded the clinical documentation associated with a particular visit, while providers can use the enhanced scheduling tool and new filters to more effectively sort through appointments and only view what is relevant to them.
Greenway Health offers a powerful and flexible integrated practice management software and EMR system, Intergy. Intergy offers multiple ways to complete any given task, and practices can customize the software to suit their workflows. It provides easy-to-use options to expedite normal practice management functions, such as patient registration, insurance eligibility verification and billing. Its rates are high compared to other programs; however, there are no additional costs for implementation and training.
December 2020: In partnership with Amazon Web Services, Greenway Health has launched Greenway Telehealth, an enhanced virtual care solution as part of its Intergy platform. Greenway Telehealth features high-quality audio and video, as well as more flexible scheduling options to reduce the risk of no-show patients. Greenway Telehealth is the first product in a series of updates it has announced to its virtual care services.
CareCloud is the best practice management software for small practices. The platform is easy to use, the company offers strong customer service, and it has a powerful claims scrubber that increases the chances claims will be approved the first time they are submitted. It is also flexible software that allows providers and staff to adjust the system to suit their workflows. You can take advantage of an open API for building out integrations.
CareCloud's price is higher than average among the software we evaluated, but its features and usability make it a great choice for small practices needing to implement a software solution quickly.
Athenahealth is cloud-based practice management and EMR software with an exceptionally effective billing module. The module is based on athenahealth's rules engine, which draws on the experience of hundreds of thousands of partner providers. The rules engine flags potential errors or missed revenue opportunities before they become problems, helping your staff bill more effectively.
Beyond billing, athenahealth offers full implementation support and training, as well as a one-on-one dedicated account manager for the life of your partnership. Athenahealth's reports are generated based on its network of more than 150,000 healthcare providers, offering baseline measurements of your practice's performance against similar practices elsewhere. It also takes a consultative approach to help you improve your metrics against this baseline.
January 2021: Athenahealth and health insurance company Humana Inc. have entered a multiyear partnership. Humana will provide its health plan data for athenahealth to supplement the predictive data of its rules engine with more detailed insights into patient and provider behavior. This new information can better predict patient needs, simplify the process of working with multiple providers, and produce more real-time, personalized alerts for all parties.
Kareo's highly intuitive user interface requires little to no training for users to become comfortable with navigating the software. The cloud-based EMR/PM software is scalable, able to grow alongside practices that expand into multiple locations or even require multiple tax identification numbers. In addition to its intuitive navigation, Kareo employs automation features that streamline daily tasks for both administrative and clinical personnel.
Kareo's charting features are especially useful, allowing providers to see detailed information about past patient visits, as well as to place medication and lab orders with a simple search tool. All charting can be performed almost exclusively in a single window, eliminating the need to navigate in and out of different tabs during a patient encounter.