The implementation of electronic health records (EHR) first became an essential part of healthcare in 2009. Medicaid and Medicare were quick to get on board, offering incentive programs to encourage providers—from physical therapy to general practitioners to specialty clinics — to adopt an EHR.
In the decade after EHRs first took root, an estimated 73% of healthcare providers registered for the EHR incentive program that provides some financial benefit to practices that choose to utilize an electronic health records software. Whether you’re adopting an EMR for the first time, or switching from one EMR to another, making the change can be daunting. That’s why it’s important to take note of the top challenges with EMR implementation, as well as the practical solutions that can save the day!
What Challenges Do Therapists Face With EHR Implementation?
Though navigating the EHR implementation process can be difficult, Raintree faces those complex challenges head-on! Let’s look at three common roadblocks that therapists face when switching to an EHR and how Raintree’s technology-enabled solutions make EHR adoption easier and more efficient.
EMR Adoption and Staff Training
Unsurprisingly, one of the toughest challenges in implementing an electronic medical record (EMR) is training your staff. So prepare to experience some resistance, but not because your employees are trying to be difficult! It’s natural – people tend to resist change, especially when the change means upending established routines.
Keeping this in mind, you should anticipate a temporary decrease in productivity during the transition to a new EHR, and potentially even a drop in the number of patients seen. However, a structured approach to training and a quality implementation plan can help you take the leap to a new platform as well as improve your operational workflows.
Solution: Resources, Resources, Resources!
Transitioning to a new EHR platform doesn’t have to turn your practice upside down! When you choose Raintree’s all-in-one EMR, you aren’t just signing up for a practice management software, you’re getting the tools and services your therapy practice needs to make the switch smooth and painless. Our digital solutions include the services of an expert implementation team, our customer support line, video and PDF resources, as well as educational webinars and user group forums!
But don’t just take our word for it – here’s what one of our satisfied clients had to say about Raintree’s educational resources: “In addition to Raintree’s amazing customer service, we love the continued training webinars they provide each week as well as the functionality, ease of use, and customization.” – Unified Therapy Services
Plus, from interactive training to upcoming product sneak peeks, our annual Raintree User Conference (RTUC) takes place in October where our customers benefit from authentic engagement with our staff and enjoy a plethora of networking opportunities.
Juggling Data Migration and Privacy
If you’re making the jump into an EHR for the first time, then you’ll quickly realize that moving from a paper-based records system to an electronic platform can present unique problems, such as the potential for patient data loss and privacy, security, and even HIPAA compliance concerns. That being said, it is imperative that your practice can securely transfer your patient’s health information (PHI) – especially since patient records can contain life-saving information! Whether your practice is a small therapy clinic or a large, multi-provider rehab facility, the migration of your patient and administrative data can be a logistical nightmare.
With all of the intricacies of keeping patient information secure, moving data to a new system can be tedious and time-consuming unless you’ve developed a data migration plan. Coupled with solid employee training and a development program that can teach office personnel how to identify migration issues, you can diminish any negative impacts of switching before they even have the chance to happen.
Solution: Optimized Clinical Documentation and Compliance
The prospect of scanning all your patient documents, paperwork, and charts into your new EHR system may seem daunting— but not if you have Raintree on your side! With our robust clinical documentation tools, Raintree empowers you to go entirely paperless all while protecting patient safety. Additionally, our document routing technology allows you to scan existing paper records as well as store future updates to patients’ plans of care, keeping all of your notes in one secure, accessible, and single-source database!
Our clinical documentation tools also work side-by-side with our business intelligence tools to ensure that errors are minimized and areas of concern are flagged for review – eliminating a lot of the manual leg work that would normally need to be done by office personnel!
Interested in what our clients have to say about our flexible documentation tools? “Raintree Systems is the best solution for clinical documentation, billing, collections, and reporting that we’ve ever seen.” – Easterseals DuPage
So with all of that in mind, we take your patient’s health and safety seriously. That’s why we’ve taken additional measures to ensure that our EMR software is not only HIPAA-compliant but also MIPS-compliant and Drummond/ONC-certified!
Interoperability and Electronic Health Records
At the end of the day, one of the biggest challenges in the successful implementation of an EHR system is interoperability, which is the ability to exchange, communicate, and use information shared between two or more computer systems. For efficient healthcare delivery, clinical information must be sharable within an organization, but also with outside providers who may need to access the patient information in the event of a transfer or referral. In fact, poor interoperability can negatively impact clinical performance and patient quality of care, not to mention make it difficult to associate and network with other therapy providers!
Interoperability is a difficult hurdle to overcome when searching for the top EHR to suit your practice’s needs, but when correctly implemented, the benefits include reduced operational costs, less patient note rework by therapists, as well as improved online patient experiences!
Solution: Low Code, No Code Application Platform
The best way to address interoperability issues is scalable, flexible functionality that you can customize to meet the needs of your business without sacrificing compatibility with outside vendors. Raintree’s low code application platform (LCAP) gives you the base functionality you need to extend, enhance, or create something new in your technology stack.
“We love how friendly and engaged the engineers and support staff are. We also love how flexible and customizable the system is. Our practice operates differently from others in the pediatric world and it is so nice to be able to make the system our own.” – MOCO Movement Center
How Raintree Conquers Therapy EHR Implementation!
While change can be difficult, a solid plan, robust technology, and a dedicated implementation partner can help you succeed with minimal disruption to your therapy and rehab practice. And let’s put an emphasis on partner – because when you switch to Raintree’s all-in-one EMR, you not only have access to the most powerful, flexible solutions for therapy, but you’ve signed up for an actual business partnership where our tools and tech grow alongside your practice’s measurable goals!
“Every step of the onboarding process was 10/10! The communication was outstanding and the implementation was seamless. They configured Raintree to meet our needs as a growing practice.” – Beyond Therapy
So give your therapy practice permission to breathe easy as you transition to your new EHR system, and then breathe even easier once the impact of Raintree’s digital solutions becomes apparent to your staff and your patients! Don’t hesitate, schedule a free 15-minute discovery call with us today.