FAQ: Practice Partner

Q: What is an electronic medical record?
A: An EMR is software that allows you to create, store, edit and retrieve patient charts on a computer. Practice Partner actually delivers a step more which is why they call it can electronic health record. The system is not just a stand alone system. It integrates seamlessly with the practice management and integrates with other third parties such as labs and medical devices in order to create a more in depth health record for the patient.

Q: What benefits should a customer expect from an EMR

A:

• Reduced transcription and malpractice costs
• Supports correct evaluation and management (E&M) coding
• Creates easy, rapid access to patient information that supports clinical decision making
• Improves practice productivity with decreased chart pulls and pharmacy callbacks
• Saves on general expenses spent on storage and copying
• Increases potential to capture lost reimbursement fr om Medicare and other commercial carriers

Q: How can practices afford an EMR?
A: HealthCare Data Systems offers four different options. Either cash, traditional bank financing (loan or line of credit) lease or asp hosted (eliminates server purchase).

Q: What is a typical EMR configuration?
A: The most common configuration of an EMR is to have PCs in the exam rooms, doctors’ offices, nurses’ stations, and at the check-in desk. These are networked together and linked to a common server. This configuration gives both administrative and clinical staff easy access to workstations and the EMR.

Q: How are progress notes created?
A: Practice Partner allows progress notes to be created through over 200 clinical templates. They allow for point and click entry or keyboard entry based on possible conditions that might be observed for a given patient. Many Practice Partner customers also use a Quick-Text, which are commonly used clinical phrases that can be dropped into a progress note with a push of button. Additionally, the Practice Partner also includes insert codes that automatically pull data from other parts of the chart (i.e. medication list, allergies, social& family history, problem list)

Q: How secure is the EMR?
A: Practice Partner provides a very detailed security and privilege levels, defining specific viewing, data entry, editing and a myriad of other rights on an individual by individual basis.

Q: Is the record legally valid?
A: Yes, the Practice Partner Patient Records EMR offers a complete, medially legal record with an audit trail, allowing practices to track all changes to any textual record (progress notes and other clinical documents).