Ready for a Stress-Free EHR? Here Are 5 Key Features to Look For

Plenty of factors contribute to physician burnout. From crushing workload to onerous rules and more, doctors face new stress every day. An AMA study, however, is now claiming that EHRs are also a key contributing element. With everything from information overload to poor interfaces, it’s easy to understand. Not all EHRs are created equal, though, and there are vital factors that make a stress-free, better EHR.

While there might be a few poorly designed systems in the market that are detrimental to physician well-being, there are still those that embody the opposite. These are the EHRs that move healthcare forward and have led the charge in creating a new, more efficient standard for medical practice.

The solution to EHR-induced burnout is not to walk away from EHRs entirely but rather to choose an intuitive and easy-to-use system that ticks all the right boxes for your practice. So what exactly makes a stress-free EHR?

A good EHR should help improve patient care and drive practice revenue rather than be a burden. Here are the characteristics and features to keep in mind.

1. Specialty-Specific

When it comes to choosing a practice software, moving away from generic ones can make all the difference. EHRs, by and large, are specialty-agnostic. Although they’re meant for a broad range of specialties, they often lack the specific details and features each specialty requires. 

Rather than settling for a one-size-fits-all system, it’s worth taking the time to look for one with tools built for your specialty. Whether through a small, niche system, or a more extensive, module-based system tailored to your specialty and practice, you get all of what you need and nothing you don’t. Often developed hand-in-hand with experts in your field, specialty-specific EHRs answer your unique needs in a way generic EHRs simply can’t. 

2. Customizable

Sometimes, having too much can be a bad thing. That’s why customization is a crucial feature you should look for in an EHR. Some items in your software spec list might be bloatware, meaning you don’t need them but still end up paying for them. These extra items eat up a ton of memory space and, more often than not, make interface navigation more complicated than it should be.

Having the ability to pick and choose what features and functionalities you’d want in your software can save you from stress and unnecessary expenses. When your EHR is free from irrelevant and redundant elements, it makes for a smoother user experience and fewer fees in your monthly subscription bill.

3. All-In-One

One non-negotiable standard for a good EHR is that it should be able to support every area of your operations. If you’re forced to acquire a separate system to compensate for your software’s limitations, the added cost and hassle will only create more stress in the long run.

A truly complete EHR eliminates the need for multiple systems and meets your clinical, billing, and administrative needs, all with a single platform. Running your practice smoothly, without the daily frustration of switching between different systems, is a great relief in itself – plus, you get to save time and money.

4. Fully-Integrated

Made from a web of individual components closely working in conjunction with each other, fully-integrated EHRs accelerate, simplify, and ease your practice workflows so you can spend more time with your patients. 

However, some systems in the market lack the level of integration needed to streamline daily processes and end up being more of a burden than a relief. Far too many doctors still endure the frustration of manual data entry simply because their EHR can’t handle something as simple as data synchronization. All of that additional work disappears with a fully-integrated software that syncs information in real-time to all other relevant system components for better efficiency.

5. Receptive to User Input

No EHR on the market is perfect. With that said, being attuned to client feedback is an ideal characteristic you should look for in an EHR vendor. 

With your valuable insights acquired through daily interaction with the system, you and your staff members deserve an opportunity to be heard. As the ones using the software in your actual practices, no one knows better what areas of the system need to be improved or changed. An EHR provider’s willingness to listen and implement user inputs is the easiest way to gauge its commitment to continuous improvement and innovation. 

Choose the Right EHR Today, Stay Stress-Free Tomorrow

Whether or not EHRs fuel stress is dependent on how intuitive and user-friendly they are. While it remains a multi-faceted problem that requires a multi-faceted approach, identifying a stress-free system’s characteristics is a crucial first step in improving EHR usability and ultimately avoiding physician burnout.

Having a complete, customizable, and specialty-specific EHR with a set of fully-integrated tools built by a company that listens to its users can go a long way in making your user experience better.