How to find the best podiatry EHR for your practice

When selecting an EHR, podiatry practices like other specialty practices will be faced with a number of questions to consider. Foremost among these concerns involves the type of EHR features podiatrists requires.

Podiatry practices, like other ambulatory practices, will require a core set of features that manage basic record keeping, conduct practice management, and administrative functions such as scheduling and billing. Further, since podiatry patients are often receiving care in other settings, an EHR should also allow the sharing of clinical information with other physicians, outside laboratories, pharmacies, x-ray, and imaging centers.

Podiatry practices will also require a set of features that are specific to podiatry. The types of features your organization considers to be a prioritized requirement will depend on your practice’s requirements, budgetary concerns, and overall technology strategy.

Features specific to podiatry EHR

Podiatry EHRs feature a number of useful features that can assist practices in improving quality of care and delivering services in a more efficient manner. Some of the features that can provide podiatry practices with the greatest value include:

Podiatry billing software

Podiatry practices, like other ambulatory practices, are subject to financial pressures.

Podiatry note templates

The type of clinical data podiatry providers enter occupies a wide range of data. Podiatrists require note templates that are intended to this specialty’s unique workflows that can include a diverse range of treatment areas including specialized fields, including, pre and post-operative care, wound care, diabetic care, sports medicine, and pediatric podiatry among others. Given this diversity of patients and treatments, podiatry EHRs should provide a collection of notes templates for common procedures and less common areas.

Compare the top podiatry EHR software using our free specialty EHR comparison engine

MIPS scoring

An important feature podiatrists should consider involves the ability to track MIPS performance. Podiatry EHRs offer practices the ability to track in real-time peer benchmarking, automated reporting allowing providers to track their performance under the newly implemented merit-based reimbursement program through CMS. Podiatry practices will likely have a high percentage of their patient population billing through Medicare it is important that they avoid penalties under CMS’s value-based reimbursement scheme by monitoring MIPS performance.

Cloud-based deployment and mobile capabilities

According to the 2018 Black Book Integrated, Ambulatory Systems report, ambulatory practices are overwhelmingly selecting cloud-based EHR solutions. 93 percent of those surveyed stated that cloud-based mobile solutions for on-demand data were their top priority. given their scalability and the ease through which mobile solutions can be integrated into cloud-based EHRS. Given the need for clinicians to be able to access clinical data from several remote location cloud-based solutions offer an effective way to address these practices data portability needs.

Speech recognition

In the Black Book survey mentioned previously, 82 percent of ambulatory providers said they wanted speech recognition solutions for hands-free data. The ability for clinicians to input data in a quick and streamlined manner and maintain the ability to engage patients without the distraction of typing in clinical data is an important concern for ambulatory practices, specifically podiatry practices. Speech recognition can expedite data entry and make workflows more efficient while improving patient engagement, particularly in busy clinics.

Finding the right EHR for a podiatry practice involves balancing a practices technology with practical considerations such as budgetary, market and organizational concerns. The features listed above, offer a snapshot of some of the important features that should be considered when selecting a podiatry EHR.