The Best EMR and EHR Software of 2024- businessnewsdaily.com (2024)

Medical software, including electronic medical records (EMR) systems and practice management software, are essential parts of medical practices and healthcare systems. Not only is the use of these platforms a regulatory requirement, but they enable medical practices to operate more effectively and deliver higher-quality care to patients. Medical software supports the many functions a practice needs every day, including setting appointments, updating patient information, checking insurance eligibility, storing medical charts and test results, prescribing medications, and generating claims and managing medical billing.

When a software platform is responsible for so many critical functions, it’s important to choose the very best. To help with that, we’ve spent hundreds of hours testing the best medical software to find cost-effective and reliable options that are most suited for small- to mid-sized medical practices. The solutions we considered are compatible with a range of specialties, include both administrative and clinical tools, and provide patient engagement tools that improve a practice’s relationship with its patients. Ultimately, we selected the following platforms as our best picks, each of which comes with its own unique value proposition.

The best medical software makes it easy for providers to plan their day at a glance, with useful scheduling tools and the ability to review patient profiles in one or two clicks. This example comes from athenahealth’s medical software, our best pick for reporting. Source: athenahealth

Most medical software costs a set amount per provider per month. The exact fee you’ll pay will depend on several variables concerning your practice, so you’ll typically need to reach out to the software providers for custom quotes. In our research, we’ve seen rates as low as $110 per month, per provider and as high as $1,000 per provider, per month.

Most medical software platforms have several pricing tiers. Lower tiers may include just basic EMR or PMS features (or a small mix of both). Higher-priced tiers typically incorporate medical billing software, and the highest pricing tier usually adds revenue cycle management. There are exceptions to this rule, of course: Tebra is notable for including all its EMR, PMS and billing features with all pricing tiers.

Alternatively, some vendors offer encounter-based pricing. In this model, you’ll pay a few dollars per patient encounter. We found that to qualify for these plans, practices usually must remain under a certain number of encounters or claims per month.

Implementation and Training Costs

Most medical software vendors charge some form of setup or implementation fee. Some charge as much as several thousand dollars for data migration, implementation, configuration, payer enrollment and more.

In other cases, you won’t pay an extra fee to implement and set up your medical software, and many vendors also offer free onboarding and training. But just because implementation is free doesn’t make it comprehensive, so be sure to ask what the implementation process includes and whether training is involved.

There is another wrinkle to consider: revenue cycle management. We found that if practices opt for outsourced medical billing services, vendors generally provide full access to their medical software suite in exchange for an agreed-upon percentage of the practice’s monthly collections instead of predetermined fees. Learn more in our overview of the best medical billing services, which includes some of these providers.

Medical software platforms can come with an overwhelming number of features. Not every practice needs every bell and whistle, but there are some essential functions and tools that almost every healthcare organization should have.

Appointment Scheduling

On the PMS side of medical software, appointment scheduling tools are fundamental to streamlining your front-office staff’s calendar-related tasks. Appointment scheduling features can also expedite intake and registration in ways not possible with traditional paperwork.

Although appointment scheduling is primarily a PMS tool, you’ll also see it on the EMR side of most medical software platforms. Your medical software’s appointment scheduling tool should let you see your daily appointment schedule and appointment types. It should also display a patient’s status and location within your facility (or which facility they’re scheduled to visit). Some medical software allows you to track patients right down to the specific exam room or piece of medical equipment, as well as to check them out when their visit is complete.

AdvancedMD allows customization of the appointment calendar, including color-coding appointment types so it’s easy to prepare for them at a glance. Source: AdvancedMD

Billing and Claims

The PMS portion of your medical software tool should be able to post charges and create claims based on your EMR data. It should also have built-in ICD-10 and CPT coding libraries, alongside automatically generated E&M codes, that your billers can use.

The best medical software platforms should clearly indicate the patient and care provider tied to the claim, as well as the total claim value. Your software should also include claim-scrubbing tools, and many platforms have tools for handling rejected or denied claims too. Another critical function we looked for in our reviews is insurance eligibility verification. This allows you to check whether a patient’s insurance policy on file is active and up to date as soon as the appointment is scheduled. High-quality medical software enables you to check this information en masse.

Charting and Notetaking

EMR software should make it easy to take notes during encounters and add information to patients’ charts, whether typing or using hotkeys or voice-to-text. Your patient charts should clearly show the patient’s vitals, current medications, recent appointment history, medical history and other basic information. They should also let you easily jump to other tools, such as your e-prescribing suite.

Medical software includes clinical tools such as patient charts. In the example above, a CareCloud patient chart displays basic patient information alongside a toolbar that can drill down further into their details. Source: CareCloud

Customization

In your EMR system, you should have access to numerous templates you can use to take notes during patient encounters or add important information to patient charts. Most importantly, these templates should be extensively customizable. You should be able to modify them based on the appointment type or your preferred notetaking method.

Your chosen template should give you a quick view of the most critical information for your encounter and fill in chart fields as needed. If a template isn’t working for you in the moment, some medical software platforms will let you tweak it as you take notes.

Medical software customization also extends to PMS reporting. Many PMS providers offer hundreds of customizable, filterable financial reports; in fact, we suggest not choosing platforms that offer little to no customization on the reporting side.

E-Prescribing and Labs

Your medical software should make electronically prescribing medications a breeze. It should also give you the option to review a patient’s entire medication history. Most EMR platforms even flag potential drug interactions or medicines that could trigger a patient’s allergies.

Several medical software solutions also include tools for electronically ordering labs and bloodwork. These platforms typically integrate with leading lab providers such as Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics, though some of our best picks lack this capability. These standout products make up for this gap with the vast majority of their other features.

Interoperability

No two medical practices use precisely the same software suite, but practitioners often need to communicate with one another. Interoperability features ensure no information gets lost or misinterpreted in transmission between disparate systems. They also allow instant provider access to a patient’s medical data.

Interoperability is also fundamental to getting your practice’s vaccine and immunization data into the CDC’s immunization information systems. The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs also have several meaningful use standards that practices can and should achieve through interoperability measures.

Patient Portal

Many medical software companies include a patient portal with their PMS offerings to expedite patients’ ability to book and modify appointments. Through these portals, patients can also request medication refills or message your front-office staff for assistance. Similarly, your front-office staff can use this portal to send patients their registration and intake forms, billing statements and payment requests.

Performance Management and Reporting

The best medical software includes customizable reports that can help you view and analyze all kinds of performance data tied to your practice’s operations. You can filter your reports based on numerous categories, such as provider, payer or location. With most platforms, you can also modify the period over which the information is collected and export your reports in several file formats.

Telehealth

As telehealth becomes increasingly important in modern healthcare, the best medical software includes plenty of telemedicine tools. Ideally, your chosen telehealth platform will fully integrate with your EMR system and PMS for easy notetaking and scheduling. In some cases, patients won’t have to download separate apps to start telehealth calls from their phones. This convenience may be useful to keep in mind as you browse medical software options.

No matter your medical field, your practice stands to benefit significantly from the use of medical software.

• More efficient operations: With medical software, you get scheduling and billing tools that expedite your front-office staff’s tasks. A combined EMR/PMS interface is crucial to medical software because it prevents redundant data entry. Other medical software tools streamline processes involved in insurance verification, appointment reminders, patient intake and more.
• Higher first-pass acceptance rates: Practice management software includes tools to improve your medical billing, helping your team avoid errors that result in rejected claims. They can also keep your staff on track with filing deadlines. As a result, payers will accept more of your claims on the first go. And if claims are rejected or denied, your billing tools can also help your staffers address those.
• Financial reporting: Practice management tools typically include financial and accounting reports that help you identify trends that are restraining your practice’s performance. You can use the information in these reports to implement changes that will maximize your profits.
• Patient data generation: With the right medical software, data that a patient enters into your patient portal appears in your PMS as well as your EMR system. The time this saves your team on data entry and organization is immeasurable.
• Customization and flexibility: EMR tools let practitioners take notes however they please in whichever kinds of patient charts they prefer. Practice management features present you with hundreds of customizable, highly filterable reports.
• Quick prescribing and lab orders: Gone are the days of calling in prescriptions or printing lab instructions for your team. Instead, with the best medical software, you can send refills or lab orders electronically. This process saves you time and is often more convenient for the patient too.
• Drug interaction alerts: A solid e-prescribing suite will alert physicians if they prescribe medications that could interact dangerously with a patient’s other medications. This function keeps your patient safe from harm and your practice safe from medical malpractice suits.
• Digitized medical records: When a patient sees a specialist or moves to a new city, well-equipped medical software makes sending their medical data to other providers much easier. Interoperability tools streamline the patient data-sharing that’s fundamental to these transitions.
• Patient requests: Medical software patient portals streamline the process of patients asking for prescription refills or new appointments. Their interfaces for doing so typically reduce the number of questions your front-office staff might have and eliminate the time spent calling in prescriptions.
• Faster patient intake and registration: Through your medical software’s patient portal, you can send patients intake and registration forms to complete on their own well before their appointment. This feature saves your front-office staff time before appointments and reduces the time patients spend in the waiting room.

When choosing medical software, you’ll need to consider more than just a platform’s features. Other concerns, like pricing and customer support, should come into play, but you can balance the most critical factors by following this selection process.

1. Look at how much medical software platforms cost.

Medical software costs vary substantially between providers, as do fee structures. Some vendors charge a percentage of your monthly collections, whereas others charge a small amount per patient encounter. The most common pricing structure, though, is a monthly per-provider fee. In some cases, a medical software company’s advertised prices mask substantial hidden fees.

Your best bet for obtaining exact pricing is to set up a call with each vendor you’re considering. During your conversation, tell the sales representative how many users you’ll have. Also state which functions you feel are negotiable or non-negotiable. Ask the representative to send you a written list of the software’s features and how much you’ll have to pay for them. This way, you’ll know exactly what your dollars are getting you.

2. Determine the availability of customer support.

Rare is the medical practice that won’t encounter some sort of challenge with its medical software. When you face issues, you should be able to reach your software provider quickly for assistance. Likewise, if your platform goes down due to problems on the vendor’s end, you’ll need to reach the company for updates on when it’ll be back online.

As you speak with medical software vendors, ask whether you’ll have access to customer support 24/7 or just during normal business hours. You should also find out whether you’ll have a dedicated account representative or just access to a call center. The former is generally preferable, as someone who knows your practice intimately is far likelier to assist you adequately.

You should also get clarity on how much customer support access will cost. Perhaps customer service is included with the medical software plan, or maybe you’ll need to pay extra. Either way, get an answer from the sales representative in writing.

3. See how easy the platforms are to use.

Medical software platforms contain an abundance of tools and information, so it’s understandable if you feel overwhelmed as you initially browse them. You’ll feel far less confused if you choose a platform known to be user-friendly.

However, if you worry that even the simplest software could confuse your team, investigate your preferred software provider’s training programs. Guided implementation and one-on-one training are highly likely to help your employees adjust to your new system, though they sometimes come at a high extra cost.

As you compare the user-friendliness of many software options, you’ll notice that vendors organize their software interfaces quite differently. Some platforms employ dashboards that resemble social media feeds, while others function via drop-down menus. Still others make their features available through easily accessible tabs at the top of your screen. Think about which of these arrangements best suits your team as you compare options.

4. Consider implementation assistance and training.

Since even the user-friendliest medical software may come with a learning curve, especially if your staff isn’t super tech-savvy, we’ve included only companies that offer thorough training (though, again, often at an extra cost) among our best picks. When shopping for medical software, ask the sales representatives about the potential for training and assisted implementation and how much each costs. Get this information in writing.

5. Check for adequate EMR and PMS interfacing.

Good medical software lets you add information to your EMR system and PMS simultaneously. Check for this interfacing ability as you compare platforms. No practice benefits from a system that makes your staff enter information once in your EMR system and then again in your PMS.

6. Look into the reporting options.

A trustworthy medical software platform should offer highly customizable, filterable reporting and data analysis options. Reports should clearly indicate your practice’s financial standing and show you how factors such as how your practitioners and the services you offer are affecting your performance. You’ll see what’s bringing in revenue and what’s holding you back, and you can use this information to maximize your profitability.

7. Assess the fit for your specialty.

If your practice comprises specialists rather than primary care professionals, not all medical software will work for your needs. No medical software platform addresses the unique requirements of each and every medical field, and few medical software companies explicitly advertise themselves as geared toward a specific field.

To figure out which vendors are best suited for your specialty, ask other specialists in your field which platforms they use. Be sure to directly ask sales representatives about product tools pertinent to your specialty as well.

Medical software has become the foundation of most healthcare organizations’ operations. Almost all small practices, large hospitals and providers in between rely on these services to provide a top-notch patient experience. This starts during patient registration and continues all the way to the final patient statement. Government incentives and penalties around medical software adoption have primarily driven this shift toward widespread EMR use.

Typically, smaller practices pay for a cloud-based medical software subscription, whereas large health groups may require on-premise systems. In both cases, a variety of solutions exists, and in 2024, advancements in both realms are expected.

According to research from Allied Market Research, these trends will push the size of the global medical software industry to $63.8 billion by 2030. This represents a 7.7 percent compound annual growth rate between 2020 – when the industry was valued at $30.6 billion – and 2030.

The Allied Market Research report highlighted the increase in artificial intelligence (AI) use as a major driver in industry growth. The growing population of geriatric adults, a factor that demands stronger recordkeeping and patient management, will also contribute to the global medical software industry’s growth in 2024.

As cloud-based technology expands, security weaknesses may result, so EMR data security is expected to be a priority in 2024. A patient data breach that the medical billing service Arietis Health announced in 2023 may fuel this concern. This breach resulted in the selling of patient medical information and Social Security numbers. A February 2024 suspected ransomware attack against UnitedHealth Group unit Change Healthcare may further drive cybersecurity concerns. Expect EMR vendors to emphasize data security in 2024 and encourage you to do the same.

Additionally, a recent study found that only 38 percent of U.S. hospital systems achieved three core medical billing quality standards. These standards were the timely sending of itemized patient statements, hospital legal action on overdue patient payments and patient access to qualified billing specialists. Since more than 60 percent of U.S. hospital systems failed to meet at least one of these standards, expect all these standards to be paramount in 2024. This notion may apply equally to hospitals and smaller practices.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is also set to be a major growth driver in the medical software sector. For example, some doctors have already begun using a program known as DocsGPT tool to streamline their writing of several certificates and letters. These include patient referrals, post-surgery instructions and death certificates. As this technology becomes more commonplace, leading medical software providers may integrate it fully into their platforms.

Generative AI-based messaging systems may also prove beneficial in creating direct patient care tools. Researchers at NYU Langone Health recently examined the benefits of utilizing Chat GPT when designing a personalized messaging system for patients with diabetes. The study found that this technology has strong potential to bridge the gap between technical teams and medical experts in designing patient care software.

Doctors and nurses can input prompts which take their nuanced medical knowledge into account. Chat GPT can then output explanations of what’s needed in technical development terms, so engineers can design a messaging system that benefits the patient.

Another type of medical software may become more prominent in 2024: virtual reality (VR). According to a Virti survey of 211 U.S. healthcare workers, 77 percent of healthcare organizations are using VR to train staff. Although the term “medical software” is currently used to describe EMR and PMS systems, VR software may start getting folded into this term in the near future.

We also expect an increased focus on transparency in the patient bills that practices generate through their EMR software. For example, Texas recently passed a law mandating clear invoices before sending patients to collections. Additionally, national publications have reported on a Colorado billing error that could affect tens of thousands of people. Medical billing transparency could well be one of the big stories within medical software in 2024.

Similarly, the Minnesota Attorney General’s office has launched an investigation into how the health systems Allina Health and Mayo Clinic conduct medical billing. Public listening sessions to get consumer feedback are core to this investigation. The increasing government attention on medical billing in 2023 suggests that, in 2024, using your medical software to power a positive patient billing experience is paramount.

In 2024, practices must also heed the federal No Surprises Act, which guards patients against unexpected medical bills. However, this law, which was enacted at the start of 2022, has already been subject to change and controversy. Two federal district court rulings have invalidated certain aspects of the act, and in July 2023, federal agencies requested that one court reverse its ruling.

An amicus brief was also filed by the American Medical Association’s Litigation Center with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2024. The Litigation Center has requested one of the federal rulings invalidating part of the law be upheld. It’s clear that the No Surprises Act will continue to be debated in courts as 2024 progresses.

Additionally, as of late November 2023, approximately 30 public companies have cited the No Surprises Act as a potential risk. According to the Biden administration’s February 2024 progress report, these companies may have been right. For starters, the three federal agencies that manage the Act are spending more time enforcing it than expected. Additionally, insurers were ordered to pay greater amounts to out-of-network providers than they would to contracted providers in over 80 percent of Act-related disputes.

All medical software platforms should be equipped to accommodate the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule that took effect in 2023. This rule expands Medicare Part A and B coverage to include dental procedures that could improve patient disease and treatment outcomes. Knowing that practices will likely need to change for what, and in what ways, they bill their patients, we expect to see medical software adapting to ensure they are able to account for these changes.