EMR Electronic Medical Record

Electronic medical records (EMR, or EHR for electronic health records) have been steadily increasing in use among healthcare practitioners. The benefits of EMR are clear: the potential to help physicians deliver enhanced care (including more informed decision-making, the ability to track preventive care and improve care coordination), greater efficiency and cost savings, and improved patient access to tools to manage their own healthcare needs. While these benefits can aid any healthcare organization, particular impact may be felt by the smaller medical practice where profit margins are smaller and where there are fewer hands to get the work done.

As the number of physicians using some form of EMR recently reached the 50 percent markⁱ, a wider variety of EMR electronic medical record solutions are available to help implement EMR. This has particular significance for the smaller medical practice and the independent clinician who, until recently, would have had difficulty implementing a medical records program. Traditional EMR electronic medical record systems are often deployed on expensive hardware and software which must be purchased upfront, installed, maintained and upgraded by a team of IT professionals. The cost and complexity of this kind of deployment is more than most small practices can take on. Fortunately, in recent years a web based EMR electronic medical record solution has emerged as a more affordable alternative that nevertheless delivers remarkable benefits.

Learn more about web based EMR electronic medical record technology.

Web based EMR solutions provide electronic medical record benefits to medical practices.

A Web based electronic medical records solution does not require the practice to purchase expensive hardware or software, which can represent a large capital investment. Instead, the software is made available to the practice online. Upgrades and maintenance are handled by the provider. And because the software is typically easy-to-use and install, the practice need not hire an IT team to support the system. Bottom line, for an affordable monthly subscription fee, the practice gets advanced EMR software that can be accessed from the office, the hospital or any remote location where an Internet connection is available.

Centricity Advance EMR software: support for electronic records and medical practice management.

Developed by GE Healthcare, Centricity Advance is a leading web based EMR electronic medical record solution that delivers support for EMR as well as practice management software and a self-service portal for patients. Centricity Advance delivers all the benefits of web based EMR solutions while giving the practice additional tools to:

• Streamline operations with medical management software that enables administrators to automate routine tasks, manage electronic record data more easily and get more done with fewer full-time positions
• Improve management of cash flow and the revenue cycle with electronic medical billing software that helps track, analyze and manage patients, payments and financial data
• Enable patients to go online to schedule appointments, view lab results and electronic medical records, request prescription refills and more, minimizing the administrative burden on practice staff while empowering patients to take charge of their own healthcare needs.

Learn more about EMR electronic medical record solutions from GE Healthcare.

ⁱU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): "Electronic Medical Record/Electronic Health Record Use by Office-based Physicians: United States, 2008 and Preliminary 2009" http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/emr_ehr/emr_ehr.htm