A few weeks ago, Brandon Betancourt wrote an interesting post titled, “10 Hidden Costs When Implementing an EMR.” While all ten points have some validiity, number nine really struck me:
“Plan for reduced productivity.”
This is a fear that’s real, and it’s something that I’m asked about every day. Truth is, if you chose a traditional EHR that is based on templates and a point & click workflow… then you probably will have a loss in productivity.
My solution? SRS Electronic Health Record (EHR).
I can honestly say that there is no lost productivity with the SRS EHR whatsoever. It wasn’t built as a traditional EHR . It was built for the sole purpose of increasing productivity and efficiency in a high-volume practice. Nothing goes into the software that will not make a doctor and their practice more efficient and more productive. In short… if it slows you down, it is not a part of SRS.
When SRS was first formed in 1997, it was designed specifically to allow high volume specialty practices, like an orthopedic practice, to increase productivity and efficiency.
Physicians’ new reality is this: With lowering reimbursements and issues with Medicare, one of the only ways to increase profits is to increase patients. (Also see HIS’ RCM services) A software like a traditional EHR that’s not made for your busy high-volume practice will slow you down. And that slow down means loss productivity and loss productivity means loss revenue
Many people are cutting costs and trying to save money on the purchase of an EHR system. Heck, you can even buy some systems at Costco or Sam’s Club. But any amount saved from buying a “cheap” EMR system will cost you exponentially more in the long run.
For instance, take your total collections and divide it by the number of visits per year. This simple calculation usually yields a number in the $200-range and rough estimate of revenue per visit. If an EHR slows you down by just 1 patient per day (very conservative because traditional EHR’s have been shown to reduce an orthopedic surgeon’s productivity by 30%). If you see patients 3 days per week, that’s a loss of $600 per week, $30,000 per year and $150,000 over 5 years. If you average 40 patients per day and the EHR slows you down by just 10%, that would be a 4 patient per day loss in productivity…. the 5 year cost is $600,000.
Can you afford to cut corners?
Fear has driven many physicians’ practices to focus on the cost of a system. This blinding fear does not allow you to focus on what “cheap” software will cost you in productivity.
A client of ours is an Orthopedic Surgeon who received training on the SRS EHR system, and then went on vacation. His first day “live” on SRS coincided with his first day back from vacation. The doctor was extremely booked. Incredibly, he finished on time using SRS EHR. Not only did this make his patients pleased that he was running on time, but this attests to the competence and ability of the software.
“My patient load was at the maximum—a truly challenging number of patients for which to provide our high level of patient care. Not only did I see every patient on my schedule but, astonishingly, I left the clinic on time that day. The SRS EHR is intuitive, easy to learn, and assists me in providing an enhanced level of patient care without sacrificing my quality of life.” ~ Dr. Jimenez
Good software really does pay for itself.
We’d love to hear from you in the comments below: What has your experience with your EHR been like?
-Andy Salmen