Physical Therapy Electronic Medical Records

Many people hear the term physical therapy Electronic Medical Records (EMR) but they do not know exactly what that means. What is EMR? How can EMR be integrated into my physical therapy or rehab clinic? The information below will aid those searching for answers to EMR questions.

According to the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), EMR is:

“the documentation of the healthcare services provided to an individual in any aspect of healthcare delivery by a healthcare provider organization. The term includes records of care in any health-related setting used by healthcare professionals while providing patient care services, for reviewing patient data, or documenting observations, actions, or instructions.”

AHIMA firmly believes that healthcare providers (including physical therapists) who are not incorporating EMR into their clinics need to move towards an EMR system soon.

“Electronic medical records, as a technology, are a logical progression in advancing the ability of the healthcare industry to provide more comprehensive care options more quickly. As electronic medical records (EMR) systems continue to proliferate with further Electronic Health Records (EHR) implementation, the state of    health information management (HIM) becomes more agile and patient-centered. AHIMA sees these changes as extremely beneficial.”                

Electronic medical records must be kept in an unaltered form and authenticated by the creator, just like paper medical records.

Physical Therapy EMR and EHR software

Unlike physician-centric systems used by hospitals and medical offices, physical therapy EMR is designed for the workflows, clinical requirements and regulations unique to physical therapy practices. Since medical EMR supports a wide variety of medical specialties, it is not as efficient as PT EMR for physical therapists, occupational therapists and other rehab specialists.

An Electronic Health Record system (EHR) is an electronic record of health-related information on an individual that conforms to nationally recognized interoperability standards to share data between systems. This will allow authorized healthcare clinicians and staff to create, manage, and consult patient records across more than one health care organization.

Why go digital/paperless? Why now?

More and more rehab clinics are going digital. Here are the most common benefits that WebPT members have experienced since going paperless:

• Drastically reduced costs of printing, faxing, filing and record storage
• Patient and clinic information can be accessed anywhere through any web-enabled computer or device, including smartphones, mobile laptops and the iPad
• Faster documentation creation and distribution enables more time with patients
• Increased accuracy and efficiency of digital documentation speeds up reimbursement and reduces billing errors
• Improved responsiveness and customer service when all patient records are available instantly
• Increase professionalism with referring doctors and patients with clear and legible digital documentation
• Real-time reporting on every aspect of your clinic productivity, billing and scheduling
• Automatic reminders keep you from missing important billing deadlines and help you complete unfinished notes on time
• Eliminate the costs of dictation and transcription services
• Web-based PT EMR systems eliminate the need for IT support, software downloads and expensive support contracts
• Easily maintain Medicare compliance with built in alert system for outcome measures and 8-minute rule

WebPT can help your PT practice to go digital

• WebPT is the leading web-based physical therapy software
• Easy and affordable – get up and running in one day
• No servers, downloads or backups – no IT staff required
• Access patient data from anywhere using your PC, Macintosh, iPad, or smartphone

Schedule a demonstration today!