5 Top Reasons Why You Should Implement EMR and Telemedicine

As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, medical practitioners are adopting new tools to grow their practices and provide better services. One area in the medical industry that has experienced tremendous growth, as CIS consulting will rightly let you know, involves electronic medical records (EMR) and telemedicine. By the year 2020, the telemedicine market alone will have grown to $36.2 billion from $14.3 billion in 2014. Also, the global consulting market value is expected to grow. By 2017, it was forecasted to reach $262 billion.

Implementing EMR systems and telemedicine, according to CIS consulting, can prove hugely beneficial for both patients and health practices. Here are five of the top things you stand to gain by taking advantage of EMR and telemedicine.

You Gain More Space and Cost Savings

Storing medical information on paper charts can consume a lot of space. As the number of paper charts increases, the need for additional storage facilities for older charts arises. With electronic medical records, there’s absolutely no need for paper charts, which means more space for other office functions.

Converting from paper to electronic medical records also eliminates the need to procure endless supplies such as paper, charts, dividers, and so on. Telemedicine implementation has the effect of reducing health care costs, too— both for the patients and the health facility. With the remote analysis of health conditions taking care of patients, the need for non-emergency ER visits is eliminated, thus cutting transportation costs.

Overall, implementing an EMR project and taking advantage of telemedicine will more than triple your ROI and save you over 11% in costs.

It Increases the Convenience and Accessibility of Patient Care

Clinical content consultants like CIS consulting claim that convenience is paramount when it comes to making your healthcare facility more attractive to potential clients. About 74% of patients say they prefer healthcare services that are easier to access over having to interact with providers one on one.

Making health care virtually accessible to people in remote locations is one of the most significant benefits of telemedicine for patients. No longer do your patients have to worry about the usual time and cost wastage that comes with in-person visits. With online management systems, your patients can now connect with you much better than before.

EMR Eliminates the Possibility of Misfiling or Losing Charts

By keeping your medical records on charts, you run the risk of misfiling or losing them. Errors are bound to happen from time to time. Even if the record is just misplaced, accessing a chart that’s in another part of the facility can be time-consuming and disruptive to the flow of work.

One of the best ways to avoid this is by converting paper to electronic health records. With an efficient EMR system, multiple employees can electronically access one chart at any time. CIS consulting can help you identify and set up an EMR system that works best for you.

You No Longer Need to Employ Staff For Certain Tasks

Before adopting an EMR system, many health care facilities have to keep employees for tasks like transcribing and filing. By keeping all medical records electronically, you can easily take care of a lot of filing tasks. Moreover, the system can transcribe predefined notes, thus eliminating the need to employ a human transcriptionist.

With telemedicine, the number of your patients visiting the health facility for non-ER issues at any given time is significantly lower. Therefore, the pressure to have a large team at the reception desk to take care of visiting patients is diminished.

You Can Grant Your Patients Higher Quality Care

People who use telemedicine, according to new research, have 38% fewer hospital admissions than those who don’t. These people also score much lower for stress, anxiety, and depression.

As CIS consulting will let you know, telemedicine provides a patient-centered approach that includes enhanced timelines of health care. Patients can quickly access real-time emergency consultations and get to learn more about the treatment options available in minutes.

As newer and more efficient methods of providing health care emerge, top health facilities are quickly implementing them to stay ahead of the curve. EMR and telemedicine are among the latest tools with proven results.