EMR-EHRS Blog

Anesthesiologists, pain medicine professionals, and pain management EHR vendors will be congregating in Chicago, IL this year from April 3-6 for the 39th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting. Hosted by the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, the meeting is set to cover interesting topics, provide innovative teaching opportunities, and give providers unsurpassed access to industry experts.

The meeting is a highly anticipated event for pain medicine professionals, as it provides informative educational sessions, great networking opportunities, and access to dozens of pain medicine software vendors. 1st Providers Choice will be exhibiting their Pain Management EHR software and Anesthesiology EHR software at the conference in Booth #215.

Healthcare professionals attending the spring meeting will be taking active roles in workshops, refresher course lectures, and PBLD sessions. Because of its outstanding popularity during the fall meeting, the simulation-based crisis management and ultrasound-guided perineural catheter insertion workshop will be available to all participants.

Other new and special session workshops for the spring meeting include:

• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Regional anesthesia in the era of the Affordable Care Act
• Prevention of acute to chronic pain
• Risk factors for neurologic injury

A portion of the meeting will also be devoted to the highly anticipated update of the ASRA Anticoagulation Consensus Statement, which addresses the new oral anti-thrombotic and anti-platelet agents. To learn more about the annual meeting, click here.

Will you be in Chicago next month for the conference? Don’t forget to stop by Booth #215 to learn more about our EHR software for pain medicine and fully integrated ICD-10 ready practice management solution.

The American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) is holding their 30th annual Pain Medicine conference this March, titled the Emerging Science & Research of Pain Medicine – and 1st Providers Choice is proud to announce that our Pain Management EHR team will be in attendance.

The conference will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona from March 6 to 9, with preconference sessions beginning on March 5. Physicians attending the APM Annual Meeting’s various sessions will have the possibility to earn up to 32.25 Continuing Medical Education credits.

Sessions will cover topics including the improvement of pain treatment protocols, pain medicine education initiatives, and more. The following are a few of the stand-out sessions:

• Improving Pain Treatment Protocols: AAPM and the FDA Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks (ACTTION) Initiative
• Updates in Chronic Pain Management in the Adolescent Population
• Square Pegs in Round Holes? Do Clinical Treatment Guidelines Fit Our Patients’ Treatment Needs?
• Advancing the Practice of Battlefield (Auricular) Acupuncture

Held as a way to promote continuing education in pain medicine and professional networking, the AAPM Annual Meeting will also feature an exhibit space for more than 100 pain treatment products and services, including pain management EHR software from 1st Providers Choice. It will be a great opportunity for pain management and pain medicine specialists to learn more about electronic health record software and how implementing it can reduce operating costs and improve care.

To request a FREE demo of our EHR for pain medicine or fully integrated ICD-10 ready practice management software call 480-782-1116. You can also stop by Booth #100 at the AAPM Annual Meeting to talk with one of our EHR specialists. For more information about the conference and session descriptions, click here.

About the AAPM: The American Academy of Pain Medicine is the premiere association for pain physicians and their treatment teams. The 2104 conference is a celebration of the organization’s 30 years of pain medicine and the better and safer management of pain.

The selection process to find the ideal EHR software takes time, but choosing the right system can result in improved patient care, increased efficiency and reduced costs. This is why it is important to define your practice’s needs before starting your search, to research vendors thoroughly, and to understand how an EHR might benefit you in the long run. Though there are many questions you should ask yourself before you start examining your options, these four fundamentals are a good place to get started:

1. Think about what makes your practice unique.

To choose the right EHR for your practice, you first need to determine what makes it different from the average healthcare organization. Is your specialty uncommon? Does your workflow differ greatly from other clinics? Do you use an old billing system that might not be easy to integrate with a new EHR? If you take the time to think about your practice and how it operates, it will be easier for you to come up with questions to ask potential EHR partners. The more thorough your questions and research, the more likely you will be to end up with the right EHR.

2. Get to know the EHR vendor.

Researching an EHR system to ensure that it meets all of your practice’s needs is important, but you also want to make sure that you do your homework and get to know the EHR vendor. Once your electronic medical record system is installed, is the vendor going to be there to help you customize the software? Will their training and support team help make sure you make it to your “go live” date and that your staff is adequately prepared? The relationship with your vendor is ongoing, so make sure that they are people you want to work with.

3. Consider the importance of mobile-ready EHR software.

More and more doctors want to use their smartphones to connect to their EHR, yet few electronic medical record systems provide this useful capability. Whether your have the need for this feature now or think you might in the future, make sure the EHR vendor you partner with provides software that is mobile compatible. Being able to access patient records on-the-can help you respond to patient requests, view scheduled appointments, and monitor important test results for critical patients even when you are out of the office.

4. Choose an EHR that will grow with your organization.

Mobile capabilities aside, there are many other EHR features that few systems have but that are likely to be the norm in coming years. Patient portal software, for example, is gaining importance as providers prepare for Meaningful Use Stage 2. Even if you are not participating in Meaningful Use and have no plans to in the future, you will eventually want a patient portal to meet patient demands. If you don’t want to use that feature quite yet, you can always ask your EHR vendor if you have the option to add it in the future. EHRs that can be customized, that easily adapt to changes in workflow, and that can interface with other software tend to be systems that make physicians happier long-term.

Call 480-782-1116 or contact us online to learn more about our certified, mobile-ready EHR software.

Times are changing in the medical field, and it’s not hard to see why. Modern technology has brought about a myriad of benefits, facilitating higher efficiency, accuracy and convenience for both doctors and patients alike. Through the use of mental health EHR software, for example, psychiatrists are now providing patients with easy access to their health records and tests, online scheduling, and more. New technologies are also helping reduce costs for providers and patients and, more importantly, they are helping to improve care delivery and treatment outcomes.

By using EHR-integrated patient portal software, mental health professionals are able to provide their patients a safe place to answer sensitive questions. Being able to answer personal questions in a non-threatening environment (and knowing that their information is kept confidential and secure) allows patients to really open up. Additionally, filling this information out online before a scheduled appointment reduces waiting time for the patient, while simultaneously giving medical staff extra time to address the patient’s questions and concerns about specific things they may have trouble understanding. It also gives providers the data they need to make accurate diagnoses.

Patient portal solutions, when used together with EHR software for psychiatry or mental health, also allow patients take advantage of convenient features such as online scheduling and bill pay, e-consultations, and easy medication refill requests. In addition to this, psychiatry EHRs can be customized to meet the unique needs of mental health patients by allowing them to list out their health issues before their appointment, on their own time, eliminating unnecessary stress.

Not only do online healthcare portals increase efficiency and patient customization, they also reduce costs for the provider. Some aspects of online portals that cut IT and administrative costs at the benefit of the patient include the ability to:

• Add patient demographics before initial appointment and update them anytime.
• Add and update billing and insurance information.
• Input current medications.
• Enter past medical history and family history.
• Fill out part of the subjective note for the provider.
• Send secure messages to the provider.
• View documents, immunizations, and labs.
• Update and monitor vital signs.
• View care plans.
• Complete intake forms.
• View statements and pay bills online.
• Request appointments without making a phone call.
• Request prescription refills online.
• Access patient education resources.
• Check for authorizations and referrals.

Keeping customer service as the primary focus in medical care, we provide an optimal solution to lowering costs while increasing comfort and convenience. Our psychiatric EHR software is fully certified and HIPAA compliant, ensuring patient information is kept confidential, strictly between the patient and provider.

Call 480-782-1116 to learn more about our leading health IT solutions.

Endocrinology and diabetology EHR software increases the efficiency of documenting patient medical records for physicians. In fact, using EHR software improves clinical documentation, ensures health records are safe and secure, and results in a faster and more effective retrieval process. Full-featured EHRs, like 1st Providers Choice’s IMS solution, can also make patients’ lives easier and result in better medical care overall by integrating with glucose devices and other self-monitoring tools.

Using recent advances in technology built into our IMS for Diabetology and Endocrinology EHR software, physicians can automatically download glucose meter results from patients’ portal glucose devices. All you have to do is connect the patient’s device to a laptop or PC running the EHR. You can then import results from the device into the EHR directly into the health record of the patient you select. Not only will your endocrinology practice save by having patient data automatically documented and analyzed, but patients will no longer have to manually keep track of this data.

At 1st Providers Choice, we have years of experience working with endocrinologists and diabetology practices. This has given us the experience necessary to implement highly successful EHR solutions. Our technology is tailored to the endocrinology specialty throughout the application, from documentation templates and custom forms and billing.

Aside from certified EHR software, we also offer fully integrated practice management and patient portal solutions. Practices that use our patient portal software, in addition to our endocrinology EHR, have the option of allowing patients to upload glucose readings themselves. Once approved by a member of your staff, this data can be added automatically into the patient’s EHR chart. When patients get involved in their care, everyone wins. Endocrinologists can ensure their patients’ health records are complete and accurate, allowing them to deliver better care.

Interested in learning more about how our EHR software for endocrinologists and diabetologists can benefit your practice? Call 480-782-1116 to contact us today.

Our Electronic Health Record software is one of the most trusted, well-designed specialty healthcare products in the market today. Not only is it a secure, full-featured electronic medical records system, but it is also fully integrated with a multitude of useful medical management office modules that improve the workflow of your practice. See how our Electronic Health Record software can help your practice improve care quality for patients, reduce risk, cut costs, and increase revenue.

Click here to watch a video about our fully certified EHR software. Call 480-782 -1116 or contact us online to learn more.

Choosing an EHR can be complicated for any physician, but it is even more difficult for specialty clinics as most systems are geared towards primary care. Pain management practices, after all, more so than many other specialties, require EHRs geared specifically to their needs. This is due to the fact that pain specialists see patients at multiple locations and have unique workflows that can’t be easily accommodated with standard systems.

Is your practice shopping around for its first EHR or for a replacement to an under-performing system? Here are three reasons why you should consider an Ambulatory Surgery Center EHR for pain management:

1. Pain Management EHRs are designed specifically for your specialty.

At 1st Providers Choice, we aim to make physicians’ jobs easier while improving patient care. This is why we have developed EHR software with pain management specialists in mind. Not only is our EHR ready to use right out of the box – it also features templates, forms and other tools that physicians in this field rely on most. Our EHR can also be customized to match your practice’s workflow and each physician’s needs, ensuring productivity isn’t affected and that different charting styles can be accommodated.

2. They allow for easy, automated sharing of patient records.

Our Pain Management EHR’s Intelligent Exchanger utility tool allows physicians to easily pull information from one EHR database to another. This is useful for specialists who might see patients both at their practice and at an ambulatory surgery center for further treatment, as it allows them to share data between systems without a hassle. How does it work? Upon visit note sign off, you can check if your patient is part of the surgery center you typically work with. If so, you can send the visit note to the surgery center to be filed in the patient’s chart as a visit note from a referring doctor. When you’re at the surgery center with the patient, you and the staff there will be able to access those files.

3. Access to pain management EHR records is possible at any time, from anywhere.

Many EHR systems for pain management specialists allow for easy access from Internet-enabled devices – and this is certainly the case with 1st Providers Choice. Our mobile-ready, cloud-based EHR allows physicians to access their patient charts securely no matter where they are, as long as they have access to a device with an Internet connection. This is an important feature seeing as pain management specialists must often travel between their practice, ambulatory surgery centers and local hospitals to treat patients.

Interested in learning more about our ambulatory surgery center and pain management EHR, including how it could help you improve care delivery and patient outcomes? Call 480-782-1116 or contact us online.

Endocrinology and diabetology EHR software increases the efficiency of documenting patient medical records for physicians. In fact, using EHR software improves clinical documentation, ensures health records are safe and secure, and results in a faster and more effective retrieval process. Full-featured EHRs, like 1st Providers Choice’s IMS solution, can also make patients’ lives easier and result in better medical care overall by integrating with glucose devices and other self-monitoring tools.

Using recent advances in technology built into our IMS for Diabetology and Endocrinology EHR software, physicians can automatically download glucose meter results from patients’ portal glucose devices. All you have to do is connect the patient’s device to a laptop or PC running the EHR. You can then import results from the device into the EHR directly into the health record of the patient you select. Not only will your endocrinology practice save by having patient data automatically documented and analyzed, but patients will no longer have to manually keep track of this data.

At 1st Providers Choice, we have years of experience working with endocrinologists and diabetology practices. This has given us the experience necessary to implement highly successful EHR solutions. Our technology is tailored to the endocrinology specialty throughout the application, from documentation templates and custom forms and billing.

Aside from certified EHR software, we also offer fully integrated patient portal and practice management software. Practices that use our patient portal software, in addition to our endocrinology EHR, have the option of allowing patients to upload glucose readings themselves. Once approved by a member of your staff, this data can be added automatically into the patient’s EHR chart. When patients get involved in their care, everyone wins. Endocrinologists can ensure their patients’ health records are complete and accurate, allowing them to deliver better care.

Interested in learning more about how our EHR software for endocrinologists and diabetologists can benefit your practice? Call 480-782-1116 to contact us today.

Pain medicine experts and pain management EHR vendors alike will be descending on Phoenix, Arizona this year, from November 21 to 24, for the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine’s annual meeting. The 12th annual scientific and educational event will provide a variety of opportunities for attendees to network with other physicians while learning about new and innovative pain management practices and techniques.

Healthcare professionals attending ASRA Fall 2013 will be able to attend lectures, courses and workshops, with topics ranging from “Botulinum Toxin Injection for Headache” to “Complementary and Alternative Medicine.” Other new and Special Session workshops announced for the fall meeting include:

• Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Pain Medicine
• Pharmacologic Controversies in Pain Medicine: Pro-Con Debate
• Long-Term Efficacy and Cost-Effectiveness of Pain Interventional Techniques: Pro-Con Debate
• Anticoagulation and Interventional Pain Procedures

Pain management specialists will be able to select content based on their preferred learning styles and individual educational needs. In fact, many of the workshops will be hands-on and interactive, allowing participants to practice skills on live models and/or cadavers.

ASRA Fall 2013 is also set to feature an Exhibit Hall where attendees will be able to talk to pain management and anesthesiology EHR software vendors, like 1st Providers Choice, and learn about other pain medicine-related products and services. EHR software designed specifically for the pain medicine specialty can simply workflow and improve the efficiency of many clinical and administrative processes.

To learn more about the 12th Annual Pain Medicine Meeting, click here.

About ASRA: The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine is the largest subspecialty medical society in anesthesiology. Their mission is to advance the science and practice of regional anesthesia and pain medicine by addressing the clinical and professional educational needs of physicians and scientists. Originally founded in 1923, ASRA has about 4,000 active members, including pain specialists, physicians and scientists from around world.

For behavioral health organizations the advantages of switching to a mental health EHR are many. Yet, few EHR vendors have produced a tried-and-true software solution suitable for behavioral health providers. With 1st Providers Choice, psychiatrists, psychologists, professional counselors and other mental health providers have finally found an end-to-end EHR solution that meets their extensive charting needs.

Senior PsychCare (SPC) recently implemented our mental health EHR and billing modules across its various Texas locations and has achieved improved results in billing and patient care. Their more than 60 mental health providers have benefitted from simplified workflows, more efficient documentation, customized reports, and more. Following are some of the features that SPC’s behavioral health specialists have benefitted from:

Specialized content and customization: EHR systems designed with mental health providers in mind include features that are most relevant to behavioral health specialists. The systems also allow for a high level of customization in order to meet the specific needs of providers practicing within the mental health field. For SPC, this has included specialty-specific diagnoses and treatment plans, preventative care resources and psychiatric management tools, among others.

Real-time data: With mental health-specific EHR software, providers can create reports to conduct analyses of patient progress. All it takes is a few quick mouse clicks to export the data from the EHR.

Alerts and reminders: EHR software for mental health facilities allows providers to set up daily, weekly or monthly alerts. This can be useful for following up with suicidal patients or with those taking antipsychotics with potentially harmful side effects. This has been beneficial, in SPC’s case, for treating patients at Long Term Care facilities, as they need continuous monitoring and follow-up care.

Continuity of care: SPC maintains active contact with other physicians regarding changes in their patients’ mental status, diagnostic services, psychological treatments, and medications – and EHR software allows for thorough documentation of these changes. With mental health EHR software, behavioral health specialists at SPC are also able to share visit notes with other providers responsible for their patients’ care.

Learn more about our mental health-specific EHR features. Contact us today to speak with one of our expert EHR consultants or to schedule a free demo.

About Senior PsychCare: Senior PsychCare was founded by physician and specialized psychiatrist Dr. Leo Borrell, a leader in innovative care for stress and age-related problems. SPC is affiliated with Medipsych and Senior Psychological Care of Houston, San Antonio and Dallas, and employs more than 60 mental health providers in facilities throughout these major Texas cities. SPC provides independent evaluations, psychiatric management and mental health services. They also work in collaboration with mental health programs and medical providers who lack the resources of a comprehensive team of medical health specialists.