Challenges with EHR in 2021
According to sequence, nearly 88 percent of medical appointments are made over the phone, and the numbers are only going to rise post-covid. The need for EHR software that combines design with functionality has increased. Sadly, most EHR software is terribly inadequate. They couldn't care less about user experience and are built on obsolete platforms to gain quick market share. It is one of the reasons why a physician is forced to click 30 times on a screen just to provide a patient with a sleeping pill. Common implementation hurdles, underdeveloped UX and excessive documentation are some of the pain-points for a doctor using an EHR software right now.
But covid has forced the developers at electronic health records software companies to innovate on their platform. If they don’t, the likes of Amazon, Apple, and Google, who are foraying into the healthcare space will disrupt the market. We have already seen reports that Apple reportedly planned to open its own primary healthcare clinics and employ doctors in a project codenamed Casper. It isn’t a secret that the changing dynamics of the healthcare industry require rapid innovations.
But right now, only hospitals and large multi-facility networks are able to leverage government incentives to implement EHRs even though the quality of EHR software is sub-par, as demonstrated by the fact that in a survey of physicians by Deloitte, only 10 percent said they would leave their current EHR system as it is. While large hospitals can afford a system that costs thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of dollars, the cost of many EHRs remains prohibitively expensive, particularly for small practices.
A challenge gives you a chance to develop. So, what does the future have in store for Electronic Health records software?
What’s the future of EHR?
Apart from the development required in UX and UI, EHRs need the ability to integrate with other systems. The data that the hospitals have of a patient must be integrable and interoperable to get a complete picture of their health profile. The said data should also be easily accessible by healthcare professionals because utilizing that sometimes proves to be a challenge.
Amy Leopard, partner and Health IT specialist at Bradley — argues, “a lot of people lack time along with the lack of knowledge and training in health IT,” which makes utilizing these solutions correctly a challenge. And there is a big difference between using one right and just using one.
Tech will drive EHR
IoT, AI & voice recognition would be the major driving forces behind EHRs in the future. In fact, the global market for IoT-enabled healthcare devices is expected to jump from 2020's $50 billion to nearly $135 billion by 2025. Many companies are already conducting research to incorporate AI-powered voice recognition into their EHR software.
Keeping patients engaged
It is critical to keep patients engaged throughout the scheduling and treatment process. Emailing appointment reminders can reduce cancellations while increasing patient engagement. One way to increase engagement is to reach out to patients and make content available through patient communities. With the advent of wearable devices, people care more about their health attributes than ever before.
The number of wearable tech is on the rise, and physicians need a way to harness those huge chunks of data. By 2022, there will be over a billion wearable devices, up from around 835 million in 2020. The wearable market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 26.8% through 2028, with a market value of $16.6 billion in 2020.
Predictive Analytics
For the longest time, doctors have been using their training, experience, available knowledge and research to deliver treatment and make significant clinical decisions and predictions, but ultimately they have still acted upon incomplete information. HIT (Health information technology) vendors & Cloud-based EHR systems supporting predictive analytics will be able to harness the bulk of data generated for efficient Clinical Decision Support. (CDS)
The fundamental advantage of predictive analysis is that it can be applied to individuals rather than groups, overcoming a key drop-back of traditional research and statistics. It will help improve patient care and satisfaction while reducing costs.
What are the best EHR software in 2021?
Some of those features might be available in the distant future, but what if you want to use an EHR software right now? What are some of the best options out there?
If you are looking for the best EHR software filtered by Individual features such as collaboration and medical billing, the results might differ but overall, these are the top 5 EHR software in 2021. (Based on analyst rating)
- athenahealth (https://www.athenahealth.com/)
- DrChrono (https://www.drchrono.com/)
- SimplePractice (https://www.simplepractice.com/)
- TheraNest (https://theranest.com/)
- eClinicalWorks (https://www.eclinicalworks.com/)
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