As a healthcare technology development company, we receive a lot of questions regarding EMR integration, such as what ongoing support and maintenance are needed, what criteria healthcare providers should consider when selecting an EHR solution, and how integration challenges can be addressed.
The queries are usually posed by healthcare providers looking to optimize their use of EHRs, IT professionals charged with integrating health systems with other healthcare technologies, and even policymakers aiming to promote interoperability and leverage data migration.
And we get why: the importance of EMR integration can’t be overstated, particularly when it comes to connecting with other healthcare technologies to boost efficiency, communication, and care quality for patients.
However, we are also cognizant of the complexities that hospitals, medical practices, and healthtech products may face. These challenges include time-consuming data entry and adoption, staff training and support, integration issues with other healthcare systems, and data privacy among concerned parties.
With that said, we have decided to create a detailed plan to help all involved parties successfully implement EHRs into their existing system.
This article will provide an overview of the advantages of EHR integration systems, a list of the best software options to consider, and how to circumvent potential obstacles.
What Is EHR Integration and How Might Key Issues Be Overcome?
The term “EHR integration” refers to the process of facilitating the sharing of medical records amongst different types of electronic software applications.
To put it simply, one electronic system is able to function because of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), which allow for bidirectional communication between the many applications involved.
Interoperability is an essential component for smooth EHR integration. According to ONC’s definition, interoperability is “the capacity of a system to share electronic health data with and draw on electronic health information from other systems without substantial effort on the part of the user.”
Finding what you’re looking for, using it, and exchanging it with other users, sending and receiving data from external systems (Independent IT vendors) are all crucial elements of interoperability.
When integrating electronic medical records, it is common practice to first develop a detailed system architecture with rules-based logic to organize the many fields in which relevant information is gathered during normal doctor’s appointments and other interactions with healthcare providers.
Nevertheless, it is not without a few bumps along the way.
Tackling the Biggest Concerns
EHR/EMR implementation of healthcare systems is a point of contention among key players (hospitals, insurers, and vendors) due to a number of issues.
According to Kerry Kozuki, COO at OpenMindHealth, the integration of third-party applications with electronic medical records pose technical challenges, especially when trying to incorporate an assessment and integration process.
In fact, clinicians, particularly psychiatrists in the United States, may hesitate to use this technology and input patient healthcare data. This factor depends on the human being’s ability to use the technology effectively. Providers have their methods, which may increase resistance to adopting the new technology.
Unfortunately, clinicians do not always possess a broad range of reasoning abilities to consider multiple client inputs when diagnosing or understanding their conditions.
Overall, the roadblocks center around the uptake and acceptance of most EHR systems by clinicians due to technical challenges with functional integration.
Technical Issues
Integration requires multiple systems to retrieve the necessary third-party information within the EHR user interface at the appropriate time and location.
This necessitates a technical framework that exposes pertinent data in the interface. Technical support may include application programming interfaces (APIs) that fetch data when specific screens are viewed or tabs that link to external content for task lists.
Configuring software for information sharing is a minimum requirement for functional integration in the healthcare system.
In a positive development, healthcare IT authorities are pushing for universal protocols to facilitate the open interchange of data between various digital health resources and electronic health record systems.
If the parties are ready to provide the necessary technical infrastructure and free exchange standards, technical problems will soon become less of a significant barrier to integration.
Third-party Distrust
Trust in electronic health systems is essential for their widespread adoption and use by the healthcare community.
It is crucial that the public have faith that their health records are secure, hence the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) incorporated trust promotion as a guiding concept in its Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap.
By introducing appropriate, strong, and effective safeguards for accessing personal information, the healthcare industry may better build and sustain confidence as interoperability expands.
- The healthcare personnel shouldn’t have to take any particular steps in order to gain automatic access to the API so that another software vendor can use it.
- The application programming interface should support both retrieving large amounts of data from the past and updating information in real time. In addition, the software provider shouldn’t limit the amount of data retrieved or how often users can access that data. Healthcare professionals are free to grant access to the API to any software vendor they see fit, and the software vendor is not allowed to charge more than a modest price for accessing the API.
Data Security & Privacy
Patients have the right to know how organizations utilize their data, even those that aren’t subject to the HIPAA Privacy and Data Security Regulations, and all stakeholders should work toward this end.
The transaction regulation, for instance, mandated the use of ANSI X12 and NCPDP exchange standards for business dealings in the pharmaceutical industry.
Besides the HITECH Act’s mandates for healthcare data exchange, these standards have also helped advance interoperability’s reception and transmission goals. Initiatives like the Direct Project and Blue Button have also facilitated the exchange of electronic health information.
However, the integration won’t be possible unless health systems and manufacturers enable and set up their systems for it.
For instance, when a health system wants to incorporate data from third-party data sources on socioeconomic determinants of health influencing a patient’s care, it must set up its EHR so that these elements display in a window within the experience.
Who Needs to Integrate an EHR System?
Below, we identify the market players who will benefit the most from EHR system integration by considering who absolutely requires such systems.
Hospitals
Integrating EHR is vital for Hospitals because it allows information to be shared seamlessly, efficiently, and securely between healthcare providers.
It reduces errors caused by transcription or inconsistent data mistakes that can occur when transferring medical records from one healthcare provider to another.
This ensures safer, more effective care through improved health history communication and real-time access to needed clinical decision support tools at the point of care.
Clinics
Health systems for clinics are worth investing in because they allow clinicians to access patient medical records and other vital health information.
This enables faster diagnoses, effective care plans, improved record keeping for billing purposes, and more efficient use of resources, helping to manage patient flow.
Successful EHR integration supports data sharing across multiple clinics, facilitating collaboration between larger treatment centers and smaller clinics.
Healthcare Providers
Primary Care Physicians
Successful EHR integration enables Primary Care Physicians to streamline the healthcare workflow of their practice and make more informed, evidence-based decisions.
Easy access to accurate records also helps to prevent medical errors in providing care or medication prescriptions.
Specialty Care Providers
EHR interoperability is achieved among special care providers.
It also streamlines care coordination since different disciplines, such as psychiatry, cardiology, oncology, etc., typically have separate health systems in place.
But with an integrated system, they could easily share information securely whenever necessary without relying on time-consuming manual transfer methods.
In addition to this, it helps increase regulatory compliance due to better record-maintaining documentation needed for audits.
Behavioral Health Providers
EHR integration offers Behavioral Health Providers a more comprehensive view of a patient’s history and treatment.
For example, mental health professionals can better assess their patients’ situations and determine appropriate treatments based on previously observed behaviors or diagnoses.
Laboratory Services
Laboratory Services require EHR integration to allow results to be quickly integrated into the patient’s medical history information and accessed by other healthcare professionals.
Through EHR System integration, test orders can also be shared securely between systems in real time, which allows for quicker treatment decisions.
Pharmacies
EHR integration for pharmacies is essential because it allows them to access important patient demographics and health information accurately.
This includes medication history, allergies, past treatments, and more – all of which are critical in preventing adverse drug interactions or ensuring the safety of a prescribed treatment.
Durable Medical Equipment Providers
DME Providers need EHR integration because it allows them to better connect with patients, physicians, and other medical professionals.
With an automated system, DME providers can quickly review and update patient records, access meaningful measurements, and identify care delivery opportunities for their patients.
It also facilitates prompt ordering and delivery of equipment and efficient reimbursement processes.
Diagnostic Imaging Services
EHR integration is essential for Diagnostic Imaging Services to facilitate the seamless clinical experience and exchange of patient data for accurate, timely diagnosis.
Integrating EHR allows Diagnostic Imaging services to utilize the most up-to-date information regarding patient management.
This provides a more comprehensive and effective diagnosis.
Furthermore, successful EHR integration allows medical professionals to easily share pertinent medical information to enhance the continuity of care between providers.
Researchers and Public Health Organizations
Researchers and Public Health Organizations need EHR Systems integration to improve the quality of healthcare, reduce costs, meet compliance regulations, or provide data-enabled initiatives.
The integration enables researchers and public health organizations to gain access to complete patient information from multiple sources quickly.
This can help to drive the development of evidence-based studies that lead directly toward population-level improvements in care delivery processes.
Telehealth EHR integration also helps speed up research efforts by enabling fast data migration of relevant clinical datasets between different healthcare providers without losing any important protected health information (PHI).
Furthermore, collaboration with many external stakeholders via EHR implementation allows researchers to reach broader populations within shorter time frames using fewer resources than traditional methods.
Government Agencies
Government Agencies require EHR integration to facilitate data migration between departments, improve communication across facilities, centralize medical record-keeping, and optimize healthcare-based decision-making.
It also grants them access to a wealth of useful data for developing more effective policies. Additionally, it can bolster efficiency in care delivery and assist with population planning.
EHR Integration Benefits: Examining Its Impact on the Healthcare Industry
Let’s take a closer look at the reasons why today’s medical service providers absolutely need to integrate their electronic health records.
Consolidates Patient Data
As per a publication that cites ” Dr. Nicolas Robert Medical oncologist with The US Oncology Network: “The example of analyzing electronic health record data and utilizing real-world evidence to help establish a first-line therapy approval is significant.
Therefore, when a patient’s medical record from several locations, like clinics and laboratories, are integrated with EHRs, the patient’s whole medical history is available in one place.
For instance, researchers have been able to curate data on Covid-19 patients because of advances in data management.
As the number of reported occurrences of this respiratory illness has increased, doctors’ ability to obtain and analyze relevant information has allowed them to better care for their patients.
In contrast to this innovative method, traditional manual processes need extensive searching to locate patient files, duplication of that data, and storage in yet another data silo.
Healthcare establishments may greatly increase the quantity and quality of data analysis and the insights it helps give by integrating EHRs.
Streamlines Billing and Coding Processes
Christine Queally Foisey, President and CEO of MedSafe says ‘’EHRs have the ability to improve efficiency, increase revenue cycle management by improving scheduling and medical billing functions, lower costs and enhance the quality of human services’’
Indeed, cross-functional processes like reimbursement management are simplified through broad interoperability with all relevant stakeholders (payers/providers). This helps reduce both the cost and lead times involved in payments for services rendered.
Enhances Population Health Management Initiatives
The ability to capture real-time data analytics and clinical information from various locations allows organizations to monitor public health trends – by geography and demography.
This is further evidenced by the opinion of Dr. Felix Carpio, Medical Director of Clinical Informatics at AltaMed Health Services, who admits that ”Reaching quality improvement goals would not be possible without an EHR”
As such, EHR integration in a digitally-transforming world is mandatory to help tackle underlying community issues that affect overall well-being.
Facilitates Collaboration Between Research Institutions in Clinical Trials
The OpenNotes researchers partnered with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to investigate the benefits of providing patients full access to their doctor’s notes and electronic health records (EHR).
According to the study’s authors, this health information exchange has shown promise in enhancing patient engagement, adherence, trust, and satisfaction.
Additionally, institutions can benefit from seamless digital connectivity among participating nodes in research projects, resulting in shorter collaboration periods and access to quality evidence collected over wider geographic areas.
Promotes Connected Care and Continuity of Services
Paul Cerrato Author, Realizing the Promise of Precision Medicine: The Role of Patient Data, Mobile Technology, and Consumer Engagement, believes that in nature, ecosystems consist of fauna and flora, climatic characteristics, soil conditions, geologic features, and a host of other interacting influences.
Similarly, the precision medicine ecosystem is made of many interacting components, including patients, clinicians, researchers, laboratory services, CDS software, genomic databases, smartphones, servers, claims data, mobile apps, biobanks to store clinical specimens, and EHRs.
EHR integration serves as a gateway to this ecosystem. And for the EHR to become an effective conduit, it needs a way to organize these diverse sources in a way that lets clinicians and patients make more effective diagnostic and treatment decisions.”
With unified access to patient data, providers are better equipped to provide connected care across healthcare settings and with multiple stakeholders involved.
This significantly improves clinical workflows and the overall safety net services provided by hospitals as patients have access to information regarding diagnoses and treatments prescribed.
Boosts Patient Satisfaction and Experience
According to David C. Classen, MD, MS Research professor in the department of internal medicine at the University of Utah: “Physicians have come to rely on an EHR system to ensure their patients get safe care.”
Studies have also shown that improvement in patient experience is directly correlated with improved health outcomes. In essence, hospitals can facilitate better interactions between patients and providers by eliminating manual and redundant processes through robust data integration systems.
This results in higher levels of satisfaction for the end user.
EHR Solutions to Integrate with Your Healthcare Product
Selecting the right EHR system can be critical in enhancing patient care and optimizing workflow efficiency. Here are a few of the best software on the market.
Cerner
Cerner is a cloud-based EHR platform that offers a comprehensive and intuitive solution for healthcare professionals. This versatile platform provides financial and operational guidance and offers powerful digital health tools for patient- and provider-centered care. It provides automated documentation, real-time analytics, and intuitive navigation to ensure a clinical team can easily access timely, accurate, organized patient information and complete medical history.
The software is frequently updated, providing the most up-to-date and comprehensive medical records. This ensures accuracy and compliance with current standards and regulations. With Cerner’s EHR software, healthcare centers can gain an edge in providing superior care while streamlining operations and reducing costs.
Epic
Epic is one of the top EHR Solution software available. It is a comprehensive health system designed to reliably store, organize, and manage patient health information. From precise documentation to internally stored lab results and orders, Epic’s software integrates cutting-edge technology to offer physicians a sophisticated platform for delivering high-quality care.
This secure and intuitive electronic health records system leverages data capture, streamlines communications between providers, and facilitates superior patient experiences. By incorporating innovative automation, Epic EHR streamlines processes for all stakeholders, including physicians, nurses, and staff, so they can focus on providing the best possible care. With an extensive range of integrated solutions, from predictive analytics to physician portals, this modern technology helps to improve care and overall outcomes.
AthenaHealth
AthenaHealth provides an efficient, intuitive platform for tracking patient health data to optimize care delivery. This cloud-based program gives access to real-time data from any device with an internet connection.
The system’s customizable features, such as an automated billing system and app integrations, enhance the continuity of care and ease the administrative workload. Furthermore, AthenaHealth offers enhanced security and privacy protocols to protect patient confidentiality.
Allscripts
Allscripts is a comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) system designed to streamline and simplify healthcare operations. It has features like coding accuracy, meaningful use stage 2, leverages data exchange and interoperability, and medication reconciliation that allows healthcare professionals to manage, monitor, and collaborate effectively. The software includes reporting, billing, ordering, and document management components, providing a set of helpful tools for effective care.
eClinicalWorks
eClinicalWorks is a cloud-based medical records platform designed to transform how providers store and manage patient data. The software provides a solution for various clinician needs, including appointment scheduling, e-prescribing, secure messaging, patient education, telehealth capabilities, and more.
Its robust suite of features helps providers quickly and accurately share vital patient data with other clinicians, so they can make informed decisions and provide the best possible care. eClinicalWorks also enables providers to access critical patient information on any device and easily scale their practice as needed.
Practice Fusion
Practice Fusion is one of the leading EHR software solutions. It’s a web-based software designed to help streamline workflow processes, enable secure communication, and increase clinical productivity. Specifically created for health professionals and health institutions, Practice Fusion provides useful features like scheduling management, diagnosis coding, e-prescribing, patient accounts management, and lab interfacing.
It also offers access to online patient portals and other customizable digital health tools to help practitioners better manage patient information. Its sleek dashboard allows users to quickly and easily access medical notes, diagnoses, lab results, and more for quick assessment and treatment decision-making. Practice Fusion is a powerful, user-friendly software designed to help healthcare providers and organizations save time and improve patient engagement.
Key Considerations When Choosing EHR Vendors
In instances where a healthcare organization has a flagship hospital, the leaders of said hospital play a significant role in choosing the vendor and product for the EHR system. Meanwhile, larger systems typically determine EHR selection at a corporate level, with input from clinicians and other end-users from their primary hospitals. Key considerations in this process include:
- EHR’s potential for outpatient care integration
- Vendor’s provision of technical support throughout implementation and beyond
- Capability for extensive customization
- Availability of upgrades to align with meaningful-use guidelines for hospitals.
Riseapps: Empowering Healthcare Providers Through EHR Integration & Solutions
Riseapps is a leader among Electronic Health Record (EHR) integration companies, offering comprehensive, effortless integration with a variety of medical applications and systems. We are proud to have formed successful partnerships with healthcare organizations that have achieved groundbreaking results due to the expertise of our development team in ensuring EHR systems remain interoperable and integrated.
Black Doctor 24/7
Black Doctor 24/7 is a telemedicine platform that integrates virtual assistant technology to streamline patient-doctor relationships and provide amputation-prevention care while complying with HIPAA regulations.
To achieve a marketable and fully-featured telemedicine platform, Black Doctor approached Riseapps, wanting to decrease care delivery overheads by 40%, reduce patient service time by 65%, and maintain 100% HIPAA compliance. Through the discovery process, Riseapps developed several solutions:
Mobile and Web UI/UX Design
We designed user interfaces and experiences for both physicians and patients, aiming to create an engaging user experience and streamline navigation using Blueprint.js.
3rd-Party Services Integration
The platform integrates Agora to provide telemedicine services, GetStream for real-time communication between patients and doctors, and Infermedica to provide Al-driven virtual assistance to facilitate patient-focused care delivery.
Clinically-Tested Artificial Intelligence Assistant
We developed a virtual assistant named Amina that is available 24/7 to automate patient care delivery, minimize missed diagnoses, reduce patient service time by 65%, and prevent possible COVID-19 exposure for patients and professionals.
Wound Pros
The Wound Pros is a US-based wound care management service company that uses Al technology and is also a Medicare Part B Biller. The company aims to provide exceptional wound care management services and standardization.
In seeking to improve its data management system to cater to complex operations, the company contacted Riseapps. Riseapps was responsible for developing a multi-component medical data management system that synchronized with an intuitive web-based platform.
The platform would help cut care delivery costs by 65%, increase wound healing rates by 34%, and ensure full HIPAA compliance. Once the requirements were analyzed, we came up with the following solutions:
Automated Reporting Module Design
The team at Riseapps developed a report generation module for patient-related data with insightful views that are compatible across different platforms. This was intended to assist physicians at The Wound Pros, who handle a large volume of patients.
Facility Management Dashboard Module Design
The implementation of a hospital/clinic-centric management dashboard function was crucial for The Wound Pros as they actively expand their coverage of facility entities..
Supply Ordering/Tracking System Module Design
We developed a centralized supply ordering and tracking system. This system has been designed to streamline the delivery of supplies by enabling physicians to conveniently order medicines, manage warehouse availability, plan logistics operations, and track the delivery status all in one place.
FAQ
What are the benefits of EHR integration?
EHR integration offers multiple benefits, including improved patient outcomes, enhanced access to accurate health data, streamlined clinical workflow, and communication between providers and teams of caregivers. Additionally, it can lower costs associated with storing and retrieving healthcare records and reduces errors caused by manual entry.
How do you implement an EHR system?
Implementing an EHR system requires proper planning and a clear strategy. It typically includes partnering with an EHR vendor to purchase and install the necessary software, hardware, and network components, staff training, quality assurance protocols, and transition management.
How could integrating an EHR improve facility operations?
Integrating an EHR into a facility’s operations reduces paperwork, eliminates duplicate entries, and helps to streamline processes. It also allows staff to access patient information easily from any location within the facility while reducing costs associated with paper filing systems by minimizing administrative data entry tasks.
